Juicing has changed my way of thinking. I am a big believer in it and how clarified my mind feels. So what kinds of ailments can juicing help with. Okay, I am not too sure how long some juice fasts have to go on for to get rid of a certain disorder but I would say continue until the problem has gone. After seven days of juice fasting, however, the muscle tissue starts to break down, and heart tissue can wean away too. I know, a scary thought.

I have decided that the benefits of juice fasting are so beneficial for me that every month I am going to do a five day juice fast. Others may state, “Oh I can’t do a juice fast because I HAVE to eat.” But how do you know if you don’t at least try it?

What about if you suffer from mental health issues, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, skin problems such as acne and eczema, negativity, weight trouble, even cancers. Juice fasting can heal the body from within and reverse the original problem. If you think I’m a bullshitter then prove me wrong!

Now I know that my body – which is a marvel in itself – does need time to detox. Actual diseases start in the body because of clogged up foods in the colon. The thought of decayed, rotten food stuck in the colon for years may surprise some people, but for unhealthy people who follow a high protein, high fat diet, the colon is the place where many problems can start. A juice fast can rid the body of pounds of toxic fat and therefore flush out ‘the toxic problems’.

Okay, I admit I was a bit of a skeptic before I tried it. I am a full of energy person but on a juice fast and calories of probably just over 700-800 calories, I had too much energy. If you start a juice fast and think that you can’t continue…please persevere. I got hunger pangs for solid food but my stomach wasn’t actually hungry for it, they were merely memories. If people knew this secret, doctors wouldn’t be needed. Our bodies are wonderful and self-healing so give it a break with a juice fast and let the fresh vitamins, minerals and enzymes flood your body with vitality.

Juice Day 4

Woke up with no appetite…again  but I had a fruit juice anyway. Took my psyllium husks and they do work to clean the colon. Take them 30-60 minutes beforehand with 250 ml of water or other fruit juice (not from concentrate). I’ve been reading up on juice fasting on other websites and some of the ‘toxic’ symptoms include: nausea, headaches, irritability, moodiness etc etc. I can’t say I’ve suffered from nausea or headaches but I was very over emotional on day 4 of my juice feast (and yes, I meant to say feast not fast). It was awful. Felt like I was going through some kind of a spiritual crisis. Thoughts of what’s the bloody point (career choice) and how I piss people off came to mind. Of course, I couldn’t sleep so I got up and did some work on my erotica. From out of the blue, I got an email from a New York publisher about my erotica. She wants to offer me a contract. Boy, the universe does send a clear message to lead us on the right path when we feel stuck, like I did that night.

Throughout the day, I felt no hunger and had four pints of fruits and vegetable juices. Tomato juice is divine and excellent for men to drink as it contains lycopene, a powerful antioxidant which helps to prevent testicular cancer. I used some of the carrot, red pepper, and celery fiber to make a soup because I was so bored and wanted something warm in my stomach. I simmered it for 45 minutes, and added black pepper. I strained it and it looked like piss juice (sorry but it did). Fuck me! When I drank it, I coughed manically. I had really over peppered it. Peppered piss juice. Mmm (not). I suppose without the pepper it would have been okay. Must strain the fiber though and drink only the broth.

I was so over emotional on juice day 4 that I almost gave in and ate solid food. Advert after advert on the TV showed some luscious looking food, which made me just want to break it. However, I got through the pain and remained on the juice fast.

I don’t feel like I’ve lost any weight, although my clothes state I have by several inches. Perhaps I’m not at all toxic inside, although after my emotional ‘paddy’ I did feel clear minded and more focused.

Juice Day 5

Again woke up with no hunger. I had a carrot juice in a rush and I would not recommend to drink a pint of juice fast. I almost felt sick. Plus with each swig of fruit or vegetable juice it must be swished in the mouth so that the body can absorb the nutrients. I had no time to swish the juice, and it filled me up for about ten minutes before I had hunger pangs again. Two small bottles of apple juice helped that (again not from concentrate).

My mate bought me an orange and ginger juice in Manchester, and the scent coming from one of the food outlets really overpowered my nasal passage. All the time I kept thinking, only one more day to go. Stick to it and I have.

I weighed myself today. Last Saturday I was exactly twelve stones (not sure what that is in kilos). Today, magnificently, I weighed 11.2lbs. I have lost 12 pounds. My clothes are definitely looser and my mind is focused and full of beans. I have a zest for life.

And no folks, it’s not water loss because I’ve been drinking my fluids in warm water with lemon and my vegetable and fruit juices. This is fat loss.

A little information about juice fasting

While some people may think that a juice fast is a silly detox, it detoxifies the body much more slowly than a plain old water fast. The fruits and vegetables supply enough calories, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Because all of the fiber is taken off through the juicer, the body absorbs no fiber so, therefore, this why psyllium husks or a daily enema is required to help your colon flush out the toxins.

Days one and two the body gets rid of old fecal matter through the colon. Days three and four the body turns to ketosis, and old fat is used up to supply your energy, hence the extremely fast weight loss. If you are a beginner to a detox, do try and do this juice fast for only 1-7 days (I chose 5-6).

I won’t say that it has been easy but my stomach has been content. The memories of food are still at the forefront of my mind, so it is merely memories that make us eat. This juice fast has taught me that I am only going to eat when I am hungry rather than snacking on stuff when I feel bored. Keep at it. It is a mental challenge but definitely worth it. Twice a year ritual for me now. Almost lost a stone in weight. I’m buzzing!

I woke up this morning with no hunger pangs…again. Usually I’m desperate for my eggs, bacon, and toast in the morning but. This is strange because I always thought I was hungry before but feeling hungry is not the same as being hungry. Food is manipulating. Should have seen how many adverts last night were about food. It was torture.

I have definitely lost weight in only three days. I have lost weight off my stomach definitely. It is so flat. I am worried that I am not so toxic though because I have not had the headaches or feelings or nausea. I feel bright eyed and full of energy, like on day 2 of my juice fast.

I know I’m definitely going to stick to this plan for five days. Fuck what the medical experts say. They only promote drugs anyway. If this juice fast can cure multiple sclerosis I’m on it there’s got to be something good in it.  I can’t wait for the ongoing positivity (as it states on some websites). I believe that we should juice fast a couple of times a year. I will definitely be putting myself through this again because it is positive for my body. I’m off to get some psyllium husks or else my colon will get clogged up again, but apparently one can lose 5-7lbs per day from toxic waste. How amazing!

I did want to write about my Juice Fast yesterday, but there was trouble uploading a blog. Anyhow day one was hard. I was constantly hungry and craving KFC. I must have looked a right juicing plonker walking round Morrisons with my two cucumbers, three packets of mixed peppers, three massive bags of carrots, two packets of celery, oranges, grapefruits, and I forgot the most essential item of all, the one that I needed the most; bloody handwash.

Anyhow I started with a vegetable juice of three carrots, two sticks of celery, and a red pepper. It was delicious and filled me up for about ten minutes. By this time I was craving white bread with lurpak and I usually hate white bread, always stick to the healthier rye breads or seeded loafs.

About an hour or so later I had a fruit juice made with four satsumas, a pink grapefruit, and one lemon. This was delicious and seemed to stave off the hunger. Throughout the night I had no other juices only drank hot water with lemon juice.

I slept for England last night and woke up full of energy and feeling no hunger, which was weird. I cleaned up and watered my plants without any energy in my body yet I was full of it. I then made my vegetable juice. Even now after my vegetable juice, the hunger has gone. I’m going to keep this up for 5-6 days as any longer than 7 days can be dangerous because the heart muscle can break down as well as other muscles.

The positives of juice fasting is that is cleanses the body and fills it with live enzymes. It can help mental health and cure depression, enlivens spirituality, fast weight loss because the body does not have to digest anything. My farts from the sprouts I ate last week have gone and my stomach was as flat as a pancake this morning. Usually when it’s that flat I am desperately hungry but I’m not craving any food. I’m not going to keep this juice fast up for longer than 5-6 days though because I love food.

So far I’ve not been emotional, which is what can happen during a juice fast.  Because I am not adding toxins to my body, I do feel full of energy and beans. I might even get a gym workout in as I just feel like I want to jump up and do something. Weird feeling. You’d have to try it for yourself.

That’s just me. I decide to do something and I go through with it. I have never ever done a detox in my life. I tried the high protein diet once but I had the shits from it so that’s not recommended. This juice fast is very different and differs from the water only detox, which can take a lot longer to shed the toxins. Add a juice fast to the picture and you have a very different story because you’re filling your body with a multitude of vitamins/minerals and live enzymes. I’ll keep you updated tomorrow!

If you’re new to exercise or want to increase your fitness in an easy way by getting fresh air and walking with friends then rambling may be the sport for you. Rambling is very similar to hiking, although poles are usually used with hiking for the steep hills. Rambling is perfect for people of all ages and is walking on country paths. Working out in fresh air vs. the gym has many benefits.

• Combats Depression – Fresh air clears the mind and helps those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and it also helps sufferers of depression. Natural daylight also provides the skin with Vitamin D, which is wonderful for boosting the nervous system and banishing negative thoughts. Vitamin D also helps the body to absorb calcium, so it helps joint health and prevents age related diseases like osteoarthritis and brittle bone disease.

• Regular rambling will increase fitness –  The heart will grow larger and the resting heart rate will be a lot slower  (a good sign of fitness).

• Weight loss – Rambling will increase the metabolism if performed regularly. As we grow older, the body naturally needs less calories and muscle tissue breaks down therefore reducing the body’s basal metabolic rate. A good way to increase the metabolic rate over the long term is to participate in weight bearing exercises, such as rambling. The changes may be slight but you will definitely feel better in yourself.

• Protect your joints – It is important when you undertake any form of exercise to protect the leg joints so make sure that you buy a good pair of walking boots that have a good grip but are also light so that you can carry on with the sport for hours.

A few things to consider with rambling is the countryside codes.  Some areas may be private so be well aware.

Exercise is very important to heart and joint health. Weight bearing exercises, such as walking, skipping, and jogging strengthen the leg joints and help to prevent age degenerative diseases like osteoporosis (brittle bone disease). It is important to train at least every two days to give the body time to rest. It is during the rest periods that muscles grow bigger and stronger. Regular weight training is important to heighten the metabolism, and lean muscle tissue is sexy, but how can people avoid overworking their joints during exercise?

I am not stating that exercising every day is wrong. Some people like to train the upper half of their body one day and work on their lower half the next. That is perfectly fine, but working the entire body out every day can really put a strain on the joints. An excellent supplement to take to help cartilage repair is Glucosamine. It is a well known supplement that keeps the joints supple, and millions of people take it because it is safe and very useful for training and people of all ages can feel its benefits, even those who suffer from joint problems.

The muscles need energy in the form of glucose, and Glucosamine provides this. The body already produces Glucosamine in an adequate quantity to repair and maintain cartilage, but if you participate in hard exercise, it is always useful to take a supplement. There are two varieties available, Glucosamine Sulphate and Glucosamine Hydrochloride. Glucosamine Sulphate is more easily absorbed in the intestine by up to 98% in some arthritis sufferers.

Glucosamine is also an effective supplement to take to prevent arthritis, and millions of people worldwide suffer with this. Even in arthritis sufferers, especially those who suffer from osteoarthritis, Glucosamine can help to relieve inflammation. Studies have also shown that Glucosamine is more effective than mainstream anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Ibuprofen.

Weight problems can stem through late nights, even insomnia. During 11.00 – 1.00 pm the body produces collagen for the skin so it is the ideal time to put regenerative creams on the skin. What is also important is the exact time you go to bed. After 1.00 pm, the body produces ghelin (the hunger hormone). During sleep, obviously this hormone is satisfied and does not need to come out to play.

Midnight snacking is simply too much ghelin secretion, which causes a person to overeat. This can lead to weight gain. Try getting into a regular pattern of going to bed around 11.00 – 12.00pm and your body will slim during sleep, the body is able to maintain health, boost collagen, burn calories at rest, and the body will wake up refreshed, with plumper skin, the brain is revitalised, and the body will  be hungry and crave breakfast, another slimmers secret.

Foods to help you sleep are those rich in carbohydrates, hot milk, lettuce. Avoid overstimulation like too much TV, computer games, or loud music. Have a warm bath, burn candles and incense, and use relaxing aromatherapy oils to aid sleep. Lavender oil is perfect.

Aint’ it strange that you can never really notice weight loss in yourself until someone else spots it. A couple of weeks ago a person I hadn’t seen in years told me I had lost weight. The same day, a girl at the gym asked me if I had lost weight. Of course, I have been doing my usual weight training and skipping workouts and much less spinning. It’s so strange. Then I weighed myself at weekend and found that I had put half a stone on.

So perhaps I’ve added a lot of muscle tissue, which obviously weighs more than fat, although I have a fairly athletic build, but I don’t think I have added seven pounds of muscle. That is way too much.

Anyhow, I need something quick to get me fit and I’m now attending boxing training twice a week, body pump once a week and body combat once a week. That’s enough for me. I’m already aching after my gym session last night and boxing training tonight.

If you’re serious about conditioning your body, I would highly recommend boxing training. The hour and a half session started off with skipping. I used a weighted rope, which makes it a little harder but tones the shoulders nicely. Then there were sprints on the spot, high jumps, press-ups, burpees, star jumps, and sit-ups. Then it was out into the nippy air for a mile and half job followed by tiring two minute heavy bag punches non-stop. Sit ups and press-ups followed, then knees up throwing shots at the bag thirty seconds, heavy blows for half a minute, and alternate punches for a final thirty seconds. Two sets of these were performed.

Finally the last twenty minutes contained some seriously hard body weight training, some of which I coudn’t do (throw your body off the floor press-ups) but at least I tried but almost splatted my nose on the carpet. More tough sit-ups followed and then it was a stretch and warm down.

I am not sure what attracts me to hard training such as this but I know that the pain is worth it in fitness and the positive changes it gives to the body. Even my punching power has gained in strength and I am able to keep my guard up. I have big respect for boxers. I struggled throwing punches for just two minutes, let alone twelve rounds of three minutes.

The Breath of Fire is an advanced meditation technique that has many benefits. If you already practice basic meditation, this one will be weird to try but will give you a wonderful feeling of calmness internally.

It is a used in Kundalini Yoga. This breath of fire meditation technique is best performed in the lotus position rather than lay down. Sit up straight, hands in a comfortable position. Close the mouth and breathe rapidly out through the nose. It should sound like fast sniffing. Make sure that when you sniff your diaphragm raises and falls but it should do this involuntary so you will not have to think about it. The fitter you are the more snuffs you will able to do in one minute. I wasn’t taught to put the tongue out beforehand like shown on the video but could be worth a try. Try to build up to three minutes.

Practice makes perfect so if you feel weird, just do it alone and practice.

Here’s the Breath of Fire in action.

Advanced Meditation Technique – Breath of Fire

The benefits of this Breath of Fire Advanced Meditation Technique:

• Calms and strengthens the nervous system tremendously. When we are nervous we turn to nicotine, unhealthy foods, feel lethargic, try the Breath of Fire Advanced Meditation Technique instead.
• Can lengthen the life.
• Generates good chi energy flow in the body
• Helps the body to detoxify quickly and much more effectively than other detoxifying methods.
• Strengthens lung capacity
• Improves the digestive system

Contra-indications to Breath of Fire:

• Do avoid if you suffer with vertigo or dizziness.
• Avoid during menstruation
• Avoid if you suffer with hypertension (high blood pressure), epilepsy, heart disease, or have suffered a stroke. Those with ulcers – be cautious.

What is important to remember when you are undertaking any exercise or weight loss programme is that if you perform weight training, you WILL put on weight. If you’re obsessed with weighing yourself, this isn’t going to help you one bit and can lead you off the right path onto the wrong.

Instead, get rid of the scales and let your clothes tell the truth. I always know when I’ve lost weight because my clothes are loose. The scales always show me at the same weight or more but I do a lot of weight training.

The reason I state this is because muscle does weigh more than fat, so obviously if you are doing regular weight training the muscle gain will show up on the scale. This can make some people panic but remember muscle is your best friend and will help to burn off the fat over the long term. It may not be overnight but you will certainly look leaner if you keep up weight training.

Another myth that most people worry about with weight training is that they will bulk up to look like Arnie. Even if you start with light weights and perform 20-30 reps, you will start to build muscle. To burn serious fat, try to increase the weights every week. The more weight you can squat or press, the more leaner your muscles will become. Avoid pyramid training which use heavy weights and you’ll be fine. I would highly recommend Body Pump. It is tough but work on building your mental strength to perform weight training.

Even today I weighed myself and I usually never do. Twelve stone. I am lean but I perform a boxing training, body pump, spinning, and skipping over the week so my metabolism is high. Another great thing you must know about weight training is that it will burn still be burning off fat for up to 48 hours afterward. Cardio may burn it for up to 2-3 hours afterward so how cool would it be to burn fat through the night.

Remember to eat lots of protein to fuel the additional muscle.

I hate bras and underwear and avoid them at all times.  Because I hate bras so much I have my own little discipline programme that I undertake every day – 20-30 pressups. This has always kept my breasts toned and full, even when I do the pen test.

Pressups are wonderful and tone the surrounding breasts tissue wonderfully. I first started getting into pressups when I started attending boxing training  in 2003. Performed regularly, pressups will help to make your breasts appear fuller. Breasts do not contain muscle so you must strengthen its surrounding tissue. Please do not waste your money on expensive breast toning creams. Why do people think that these work anyway? They are ridiculously expensive, probably contains some seaweed or firming extract, and will not work over the long term. The best way to tone the breasts is through exercise.

I would highly recommend pressups. Obviously, the more challenging the pressups the better the workout. As well as toning the chest area, pressups will also tone the triceps, back, and abdomen. Pressups are wonderful and so verstatile. Beginners can perform effective pressups on their knees.

Other much easier exercises to tone the chest are is to press the hands together in a prayer position and clench the chest area or try the bench press. This is a wonderful exercise for both men and women. The pen test is a test to find out if your breasts are toned or saggy. Simply hold one arm over your head, place the pen under the breast. If it drops, your breasts are pert. If it stays, your breasts are starting to sag slightly. I would highly recommend toning the breasts with pressups. They are free and can be performed anywhere, even against the wall while you are waiting for the kettle to boil.

I have not worn a bra for years and years. I really do loathe them for some reason. My breasts have remained the same because I like to put in the effort through exercise.

It’s now my third day off dairy and I feel less bloated, am going to the toilet a lot less, and my stomach is flatter. Apparently, there is this thought that milk is good for people but cow’s milk was made for a cow not a human.

I have changed to Soya Milk, Rice Milk, and Almond Milk. The only thing I can state about these milks is that they are expensive, taste nothing like normal milk, and they’re watery. I suppose it’s a taste I will gradually get used to. The sad fact with drinking coffee with these alternative milks is that I don’t want to drink coffee too much. I’ve had three cups today. On milk I would have been on my eighth or ninth cup now. That could be a good thing.

I am going to have cheese once a week though. There is no way in the world I can give up cheese. I will allow it on my cheat day.

Dairy free diets can improve the body’s digestion and prevent mucus building up in the body. Milk or dairy products can also cause allergies and these can be tiresome for those who suffer.

Whether I can keep this up I do not know. I do miss a cup of coffee with sterilized milk so badly but if it’s helping my body then it’s worth it. So I can’t really say I’m on a dairy free diet if I have cheese once a week but that is my choice. Before deciding to opt for dairy free I was having cheese almost every day, just a little bit but it is full of saturated fat and calorific too.

Two people have stated they thought I had lost weight. Whether it’s this simple change or whether I have added muscle and shed fat I do not know, but it’s put me on a buzz.

We all have beautiful killer abs inside us. It is only because fat covers the muscles that we do not see them. It is pretty simple. Lose weight and  improve muscle tone equals weight loss. What many people seem to think is that starvation diets will help them to lose weight or thousands of crunches will burn off fat around the stomach. This is a myth!

In order to shed weight and show off those killer abs, it is important to carry out both aerobic and anaerobic training. Aerobic training may be cycling, walking, rowing, skipping, running etc. Anaerobic training can take advantage of body weight training ie. sit-ups, pressups etc, weighted machines like the leg press and chest press, or free weight training, which involves using the core muscles and specific weights to tone areas of the body. Free weight training is a lot more effective than weighted machines but this kind of training may cause an injury if the exercises are not performed correctly.

Remember that muscle tissue does weigh more than fat so if your weight increases slightly and you have made no changes to the diet, this may be because you have gained muscle tissue. This is good because, over time, it will get rid of fat and shrink the cells. Although your weight may stay the same your body will look leaner because the body is burning many more calories per day and at rest.

If you are serious about getting killer abs, both weight training and aerobic exercise is extremely important. Women need to get their body fat percentage down to around 12-15% for sexy muscle tissue to be visible. Men need to lower it to 8-12%.

Obviously, do it the right way without any silly diets. It is important to eat a lot of protein when you are undertaking weight training to repair the microscopic tears to the muscle tissue. Also have a rest day every two days. Weight training performed regularly will increase the metabolism for up to 48 hours afterward.

What many fad diets do not allow are treats for achievements. Following a healthy diet six days out of seven is an achievement. It is tough to watch whatever you eat all week. To know exactly what you put into your body it is important to keep a food diary. Coffee, tea, alcohol, those few Quality Street…everything counts.

We may not count regular drinking with meals as ‘drinking’ because it is not binge drinking as society wants us to believe. Too much alcohol in the system can cause weight problems. When alcohol is consumed, it converts to instant and usable sugar in the body. If the alcohol is burnt off, for example dancing, great but if it is not it will be stored as fat. Alcohol is also high in calories. Per pint expect to consume over 200 calories. A large glass of wine is over 100. Spirits are the least calorific but when doubles and triples are ordered, the calories are going up. Try to give up alcohol altogether of if you do have a glass of water between each drink to care for the liver and take Milk Thistle, a liver detoxifier.

What I believe is everything in moderation. I love cheese and onion pie, I could eat it for breakfast, dinner, and tea but I would also feel stodgy and lethargic and I hate to feel like that. However, on my cheat day after I have followed a very healthy diet for six days of the week, I can look forward to my pie.

What I have also learnt about cheat days is that when the body consumes healthy foods for six days of the week, the metabolism eventually starts to slow down because the body does not have to get rid of as much waste. Having a cheat day not only boosts the body’s metabolism productively but also can help you to lose weight. Causing this spike by having just one cheat day a week is an effective way to eat what you love and ALSO lose weight.

Get off the silly fad diets or points system. They are getting all the money because you usually have to buy the foods that go with a diet. It is YOU and only you who can make a change. First a healthy body starts with a healthy mindset. Get rid of the negativity and focus on others to make you slim and you can achieve anything.

Body brushing is fantastic and an excellent way to shift the pounds. When foods and drinks are consumed every day, toxins start to build up. A great way to reduce toxins in the body and help the lymph drainage system is to body brush. Just 2-5 minutes of body brushing before every shower or bath every day can help to shift a couple of pounds a week.

Swedish Remedial Massage is also an effective way to flush toxins out of the system. All types of massage use strokes that focus on draining fluids out of the lymphatic system. Unfortunately, there is no pump that will perform this miraculous task, this is why drinking warm water with lemon juice, massage, and body brushing is so important.

Other ways to rid the body of toxins is via the diet and drinking a lot of clear, natural fluids. Body wraps are effective but can be expensive. If you wish to get rid of cellulite or boost a sluggish system, body brushing will certainly help you on your weight loss journey.

Nuts contain a lot of fat, yes. You only need to look at the nutritional content for a packet of salted peanuts to find that out but, in moderation, they contain essential fatty acids, which help your body to shift the bad fats, that’s what we want isn’t it, to get rid of the excess fat.

Nuts are nutritious and protein packed. They will help with any muscle building programme. I always have a small plateful before gym sessions and it gives me enough energy to last a couple of hours. Try to steer clear from the salted varieties. Get an old biscuit tin and fill it with cashew nuts, almonds, peanuts (unsalted varieties), pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, sunflower seeds, pecan nuts, hazelnuts, and brazil nuts. Grab a handful or have a small plateful whenever you feel hunger strike. Guaranteed they will fill you up longer than white carbs and they’re supplying your body with essential fatty acids and omega 3. Nuts are so healthy.

For anyone on a weight reduction diet, nuts are really your best friend. You do not need to follow these silly weight watchers or eat less carbs diets, everything eaten in moderation, together with a good exercise programme will shift the fat for you. Do not spend large amounts of money on dietary supplements either because they can upset your body in various ways, ie. diarrhea or loose stools.

The sad fact that no-body wants to tell a dieter is that FATS are important. You should not reduce them from your diet, only the saturated fats but, monosaturated fats, contained in nuts and seeds are ESSENTIAL to weight loss. Seriously!

This tough workout is so effective. It gets the heart pumping, burns fat, and builds important lean muscle tissue. This short circuit has no rests, which keeps the heart pumping and burns calories.

Equipment required

• Stability ball
• Medicine ball
• Skipping rope
• Exercise mat

The workout

• Skip for 4-5 minutes to warm up the muscles.

• Perform thirty high jumps non-stop to work the heart. This requires mental strength to perform the exercise correctly. Try to jump to waist height. Motivate yourself with mantras.

• Grab your medicine ball and jump on the stability ball. Roll the ball over your abs and push the medicine ball over your head. Perform 20-30 non-stop.

• These are tough. Press-ups on a stability ball. Place your hands on the exercise mat, your feet on the stability ball. Steadily push down into press-up position without your legs falling off stability ball. Raise up and then pull your legs in to your chest slowly on the ball, then push out again. That’s one rep. Try to do 5-10. These are very tough but work effectively to tone the core muscles.

• Perform thirty squat thrusts to further kill the arm muscles after press-ups.

• Do 20-30 tricep dips on the stability ball. If you can hold your legs out straight for a harder burn or keep the knees bent for an effective exercise.

• To finish off, perform 20-30 squats. Place your hands behind your head and squat down so that your thighs are parallel with your feet. Keep the back straight and feel the burn in your thighs and buttocks.

How’s that for a short, intensive, fat burning, muscle building workout?

For beginners to meditation, it can be difficult to let go of the thoughts and relax with meditation. How is it possible to get into a meditative state easily with the tens of thousands of thoughts of both positive and negative swimming around?

Firstly, the way you breathe is important. Most of us do not breathe correctly in day to day life. This is when stress can occur. Shallow breathing (when the diaphragm is not utilized) does not take in enough oxygen to penetrate the body and can cause ailments. Even I do it too, but during meditation you can change all that by breathing correctly.

Make sure that you breathe in through your nose. Fill your stomach with air and then exhale through the mouth. The longer you can hold your breath the more calmer you will feel. Test yourself when you carry out the breathing by placing a hand on your stomach. If it expands you are breathing correctly. When most of us are in a nervous state or stressed, we often take a deep breath for assurance, imagine working on those breaths and reaching serenity.

There are a variety of breathing techniques to use during meditation. Once you start to breathe slowly and correctly, your mind will start to become clear and free of thoughts. This is the exact state you want to be in. Even meditating for just five minutes a day will help. Meditation will help you to feel calmer and gives you some time to get to know yourself, release your negativities, and take control of your mind.

There are some more advanced techniques which I will discuss in my next blog. I hope this blog has helped you to become calmer and appreciative of of helpful meditation really is.

Those expensive toning machines that promise to tone muscles by tensing and releasing them are available all over the world. They simply perform isometric exercises on the body, but these can be done easily without a machine. All you need to done is clench and release the muscles.

Obviously, weight training and cardiovascular exercise will get you toned faster but isometric training is still effective. Try to repeat the clench and release of muscle 5-10 times. This may take twenty minutes but it will help to tone the body. Those toning pads that are placed on the body simply clench the muscles through an electronic signal. These pads are usually added to the problem areas, such as buttocks, abdominals, thighs, arms. Isometric training requires work but it is free and effective. Clenching and releasing the muscles repetitively will then cause that body part to tone.

Isometric training can be useful for anyone who wants to lose weight or tone up before joining a gym. The body burns fat on a daily basis through the basal metabolic rate (BMR). The more lean muscle tissue that rests in the body the higher the metabolic rate will be. Isometric training is simple and can be performed anywhere. In the car while driving, queuing at a supermarket, watching TV, cooking, reading a book, anywhere.

Try out various techniques. Squeeze and hold for a couple of seconds before release or time yourself for thirty seconds and see how many reps you can perform.  Isometric training is simple and effective. Results may not be seen overnight but they will definitely be visible in a couple of weeks time.

I am not sure if you have tried the zone or high protein diet. I did once and I was extremely ill. I would never do something stupid as to stress my body out again. I eat regularly with healthy foods and I’ve never had a weight problem.

The media and celebrities promote these silly diets. There are diets for everything. Okay, I believe in the blood group diet because I am sure that some blood groups may struggle with digestion of some foods, and others will be fine. I will focus on blood group diets in my next blog.

So, are there any benefits to a high protein diet besides weight loss?

Positives of High Protein Diets

• You’ll lose weight…and fast. During high protein diets the body starts to produce ketones, which suppress the appetite, may cause nausea and causes water loss in the body through the lack of carbohydrates, which contain water.

• Protein rich foods fill you up for longer, supposedly (they didn’t for me, especially not with carbohydrates.

• May be useful to follow for a day but try not to follow long-term. The negatives of a high protein diet far outweigh the benefits / positives.

Negatives of High Protein Diets

• The body does not receive carbohydrates so therefore the body will suffer  with fatigue (tiredness).

• Vitamins and minerals must be consumed to add the nutrients that the body is not receiving.

• May cause diarrhea in some individuals due to the excess protein.

• Many protein rich foods like cheese contain a lot of saturated fat. We all know what happens when too much saturated fat is consumed don’t we…high blood pressure, heart disease etc. the list goes on.

• As well as feeling ill and tired, a high protein diet will cause  halitosis (bad breath).

I will admit to trying this stupid diet just to see if it worked. I was hungry all the time and desperately craved a nice crumpet with loads of butter. I lasted three days then had severe stomach cramps, nausea, and bad shits.

I would not recommend a high protein diet to anyone. Obviously, if you need to build muscle, increase your protein intake but make sure you have carbohydrates too for energy.

Weight gain can be caused by stress. What do most of us do when we feel stressed? Turn to smoking or junk food to release our feel good endorphins. Okay, chocolate tastes nice and, dark chocolate in moderation is extremely beneficial for heart health, but sugar is sugar and it causes the blood sugar levels to raise to give a feeling of happiness. It is the downside, however, that is the nasty bit.

This is when the body can feel sluggish and turn to more junk food to keep it on an even keel. One of the best ways to calm the mind and, therefore de-stress the body is through meditation. Many of us forget to breath properly. Correct breathing is a fantastic rejuvenator and can stop kill off stress in an instant.

I meditate a lot, usually at night and I use crystals to help me on my spiritual path. With meditation, it is important to focus on your breath and how you feel. Slowly, you will start to feel your mind calm. Meditation is also excellent for insomniacs.

If you feel stressed, do not start on painkillers or anti-depressants, try out meditation too. As well as a stress reducer it may also help you to lose weight. A positive mindset will make you feel good and may help you to make healthy lifestyle choices, such as changing the diet to include more fruit and vegetables.

Here are some easy ways to lose weight. I have never dieted in my life but have always managed to stay slim so I am going to let you in on my secrets.

• You do not need to calorie count – This can become obsessive. Calories are listed on every single supermarket item except fruits and vegetables, and we all know that they are the lowest calorie foods and also the healthiest.

• Start weight training – Weight training will NOT build up the muscles in the body, it only aims to make you look leaner overall. Now that is sexy! Adding just one pound of lean muscle tissue will boost your metabolism and burn an extra fifty calories per day. This may not seem like a lot but it accounts for over five pounds of weight loss per year. Build up the weights gradually but if you want best results I would advise doing body weight training, like press-ups, sit-ups, burpees etc, and carry out weight training with free weights. Always tense your stomach muscles throughout any exercise to work the core muscles.

• Eat regularly – I do not mean large meals but break up your meals from three to six smaller ones throughout the day. Just at least try it for a week. It will not cost more either because you are simply breaking up your normal routine and eating when your body feels hungry. When you start to eat regularly, the body has no option but to increase its thermogenic rate and burn calories. The body burns 10% of calories through thermogenesis, simply when the body has to break down food and digest it. If you eat more you can take advantage and burn more calories. Regular eating will soon keep your metabolic rate that high and you will feel hungry every three or so hours.

• Eat Butter – Believe it or not and with all the hype out there about these rich omega 3 spreads like Flora Pro-Active, Butter is good for you. It contains a good amount of Essential Fatty Acids and Omega 3, which help heart health. Remember, everything in moderation. I find that Lurpak is the best butter by far. This might put you off margarines and spreads for life. They are actually grey before colorants are added. Look at the natural colour of butter next to flora. When I found out that was enough for me to change to butter forever.

• Start Power Walking - A little faster than walking but not as fast as a jogger, Power Walking will shift fat stores big style. Expect to burn around 250 calories per mile, depending on your current weight. When the average jogger or walker burns 100-102 calories per mile, power walking can help to shift weight and FAST. How to practice? If you have a treadmill this is ideal or set yourself targets like your normal walking route minus ten minutes etc.

I’ll offer more weight loss tips later in the week but I hope these get you started on the right track.

After several weeks of not carrying out my short little workouts due to stresses at home, writers block, and pretty much feeling out of sorts with myself, I today finally set off to the gym with a mission in mind…to get sweaty in less than thirty minutes.

This workout took a little over 30 minutes including stretches afterward. It was tough, probably because I have not performed body weight training for a short while. When I pressed play on my iPod it was almost red (red when running out green when full battery power) and I hate working out with no music. Music is my motivator. Anyhow, weirdly the music stayed on. I had Eye of the Tiger, Heart’s on Fire, Creeps, bit of Bobby Brown, K Klass and a few other funky tunes and the best one of all, Take me to the Hospital by The Prodigy, my fav group.

This little workout can be performed at home or the gym.

Items required:

• Skipping rope
• Boxing gloves
• Punch bag
• Mat
• Medicine ball

The Workout

• First off, start with a little skipping for three minutes. Pick out a funky track and skip non stop. Finally finish with ten double unders if you can.

• If you’re at the gym and you have a punch bag to hand, put on your boxing gloves and perform jabs, uppercuts, and straight jabs at the punch bag. Remember to keep your guard up and when the arms are fatigued stay on the balls of your feet to keep the heart rate up. Time yourself for three minutes or a short song length. If you do not have a punch bag perform three minutes of shadow boxing. With the sit-ups, throw punches with every crunch.

• Grab your mat beside the punch bag and try your best to raise your body and punch the bag with every sit-up. After a minute or two the abs will start to ache heavily. Use a mantra to push yourself through the pain. Your abs will thank you for it with strength and burn off fat.

• Take a minute break. Grab your barbell or free weights and perform thirty weighted squats. Push the weight into the ankles and keep the back straight. Your back should not feel any strain, only your buttocks. Perform it in front of a mirror to view your posture.

• Thirty chest presses with 10-40 kg if you can.

• Grab your mat again and perform thirty press-ups on an incline to make it that little bit tougher, just like I love it.

• Straight into thirty squat thrusts.

• Grab a medicine ball and pick it up while in the squat position and use your arms to pull it slightly over your head. Keep the arms slightly bent and keep the back straight as you bring it back down and perform twenty.

• Using the medicine ball again start off in the middle and bring the medicine ball up to the right of your head, slightly using your torso to twist to the right but keep your body facing the front. Perform one on the right and then the left. Try to perform twenty on each side.

• Perform thirty high jumps non-stop.

• Use the medicine ball and holding your arms out slightly bring the medicine ball as fast as possible to your left hip and then swivel it to you right. Perform twenty on each side. Boxers usually work with a partner on this and throw it backwards after spinning it round and then picking it up from the right side to spin to the left again. This works the oblique and hip muscles.

• At this time, Hearts on Fire from Rocky came on so I had to skip to this motivating music. I skipped non-stop for four minutes and finished off with ten double unders.

• I grabbed the medicine ball and performed twenty side bends.

• Finished with twenty lunges on each leg holding the medicine ball straight to tire the arms. After the twenty I pulsed my legs for another ten lunges to kill my leg.

• Finally stretch out the legs and arms.

Drink plenty of fluid throughout. This workout uses body weight exercises, cardio, and works the entire body. Eat well afterward and rest for a day or two before another workout. Give the muscles time to grow stronger.

This is a wonderful quick meal that will feed up to four people. I like to use basmati rice rather than risotto rice. You can make it as spicy as ever or reduce the spices if you are not a fan of hot foods. I use the spices that go into a normal curry. The taste is extravagant and does not require salt.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of garamasala
• 1 teaspoon of tumeric
• 1 tablespoon of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili power or flakes
• 1 onion
• 7 mushrooms
• 1 red/yellow/green pepper
• Pack of back bacon (remove fat)
• Mug of basmati rice
• 2 vegetable or chicken stock cubes
• 2 mugs of boiling water

Method of cooking

• Add the oil to the pan and let it heat up.

• Cut the onion and add to the heated oil.

• Add the tumeric, garamasala, chilli, and cumin and coat the onions in the mixture.

• Cut up the mushrooms and peppers and add to the pan.

• Add a little water to the pan if the paste has already soaked up the oil.

• Cut up the bacon into strips and add to the pan.

• Measure the basmati rice and add to the pan. Crumble the stock cubes over the rice.

• Heat some water in the kettle and pour out two mugfuls of boiling water.

• Bring to the boil and then simmer for around 15-20 minutes, until the rice is cooked or has absorbed the water.

This is a quick healthy nutritious meal that contains three of the daily fruit and vegetables, adds healthy protein from the bacon, and supplies carbohydrates from the basmati rice. The spices boost the health of the immune system and boosts the metabolism slightly. You could add different vegetables. Others that work well in this recipe is celery, broccoli, and potatoes, or add them all for a healthier kick.

Short bursts of training is just as effective as a longer session. For example, thirty minutes of running can be broke up into three ten minute sessions throughout the day. Obviously, not everyone has the time to break up a workout, but this can work wonders for your metabolism.

You don’t even need to join a gym to work out your body just thirty minutes per day. Here’s an easy example of how to cram thirty minutes of effective training per day. Rather than take the car, walk 5-10 minute journey to the shops. Grab a skipping rope and skip for ten minutes in the afternoon non stop. Later in the afternoon, perform set a timer for ten minutes and perform squats, press-ups, jumping jacks, squat thrusts, and sit-ups until fatigue.

These short intensive workouts will boost the metabolism because the muscles are worked. When the muscles are worked repetitively, they grow back stronger. It is important to eat protein after working the muscles to ensure the small muscle tears are nourished and build in strength.

This short workout is perfect for those who hate exercising. By breaking the exercise up, it also boosts the metabolism, and therefore increases the appetite. This is when thermogenesis takes effect, the calorie burn that takes place when the body undergoes the absorption of nutrients. This accounts for ten percent of the daily calories in the diet.

Thirty percent of calories burnt per day are through activities, such as walking, washing up, brushing teeth, sleeping, all those basic activities we perform daily. Finally, sixty percent of the daily calories are burnt through the basal metabolic rate, which is the rate the body burns calories at rest. Increase this with weight training, and you’ll burn more calories. One pound of fat burns one calorie but one pound of muscle burns fifty calories, so muscle bulk is very important with weight loss and tone.

This is a tough little magic workout that fatigues the arms, works the pectoral muscles, abdominals, arms, back, buttocks, legs, and the heart through the cardiovascular workout and the skipping.

This workout will take around 25-30 minutes depending on how many breaks you take. It makes use of jump rope, plyometric training, and bodyweight training.

This can be performed anywhere, but somewhere like a laminate floor or gym based floor is best. Concrete is harsh on the joints, and grass will more than likely slow the speed of jump rope. Put a good album on which motivates you, and try a take at break when you reach 10 reps.

Items required

• Skipping rope
• Mat

The Workout

• Perform one minute of skipping. Time yourself. Just to the basic moves to warm up the body.

• Carry out fifteen press-up burpees. Jump down into a press-up, pull the feet in to a squat thrust, then finish with a high jump. That’s one rep. Try to perform fifteen without a break.

• One minute of skipping.

• Perform fourteen press-ups, fourteen squat thrusts, and fourteen jumping jacks.

• One minute of skipping.

• Perform thirteen press-up burpees.

• One minute of skipping.

• Perform twelve press-ups, twelve squat thrusts, and twelve jumping jacks.

• One minute of skipping.

• Perform eleven press-up burpees.

Take a break for about  one minute and lay flat out on the mat. Now it’s sit-up time. Use your abdominals to pull yourself up, and reach toward your knees. Perform fifteen reps, then fourteen, thirteen, twelve, then eleven.

• Back to the original workout. Perform ten press-ups, ten squat thrusts, and ten jumping jacks.

• One minute of skipping

• Perform nine press-up burpees.

• One minute of skipping.

• Perform eight press-ups, eight squat thrusts, and eight jumping jacks.

• One minute of skipping

• Perform seven press-up burpees.

• One minute of skipping

• Six press-ups, six squat thrusts, and six jumping jacks.

• Rest if you need to.

• One minute of skipping.

• Five press-ups burpees.

• One minute of skipping.

• Four press-ups, four squat thrusts, and four jumping jacks.

• One minute of skipping.

• Three press-up burpees.

• One minute of skipping

• Two press-ups, two squat thrusts, and two jumping jacks.

• One minute of skipping.

• One press-up burpee.

• One minute of skipping.

• Lie fully down on mat and perform ten down to one on the sit-ups. Use the abdominal muscles to pull yourself up and touch the knees. Remember to inhale as you go down and exhale as you perform the rep.

A quick intense workout that works the whole body but incorporate plyometric training, cardiovascular exercise, and bodyweight training. This torches a lot of calories in a short space of time, plus it will cause small tears in the muscles, which will then grow back stronger.

The skipping alone will burn around 150 calories. Performing the fifteen down to one of these exercises would be over in around ten to fifteen minutes, but adding the skipping in between lengthens it and challenges mental strength. Try out this workout just twice a week for four weeks to see benefits.

This workout only takes 35  minutes, but makes you buzz with health afterward. It includes my favourite exercise, jump rope, and weight training exercises performed with a medicine ball and free weights. It is a killer on the muscles. It is only three sets of twelve reps, but it’s enough to cause a burn and help build those powerful muscles.

Equipment required

• Medicine Ball
• Jump rope
• Stability ball
• 20-40kg barbells
• 1 dumbbell

The Workout

• Start off with a quick five minute skipping session to warm up the muscles of the legs. If you feel like pushing yourself, perform a couple of sets of double unders before the next stage of the workout.

• Sit on stability ball, grab medicine ball, and each time you raise the abdominals, push the medicine ball into the air. Perform twelve reps.

• Grab the medicine ball. Stand slightly wider than hip length and swing the medicine ball to the feet, bending the knees and then pull it over your head, gently stretching your back. Perform twelve reps.

• Keep a grip of the medicine ball and twist it quickly from side to side with a hip movement. Perform twelve on each side.

• Similar to exercise one. The legs are a little wider than hip distance. Medicine ball in the middle but instead of raising it over the head, gently turn the hips to the left as you lift the medicine ball firstly to the right. Push the ball down to the bottom and raise again, gently moving the hips and bringing the medicine ball to the left side of the head. Perform twelve on each side.

• Holding the medicine ball directly at chest height, perform 12 squats. Keep the back straight and push the buttocks out as far as they will go. Perform twelve reps.

• Keep the medicine ball at chest height and perform twelve lunges on one leg and twelve on the other.

• Grab the hand weight and perform twelve tricep dips on the right arm, and twelve on the other.

• Perform twelve side bends with the weight on each side.

• Finally, with the weighted barbell, maintain strength and perform twelve dead lifts. Keep the back straight and the legs slightly bent. When this exercise is performed correctly there should be a slight burn in the buttock area.

That’s one set. Perform two more sets with five minutes of skipping throughout. Remember to stretch the muscles afterward to help prevent stiffness and muscle injury.

I love skipping, and if you’re new to my blogs, you’ll find that I use skipping in every one of my workouts. This workout only takes 20 minutes, but it’s very intensive and keeps the heart rate up. It can be performed anywhere too. You need only a skipping rope and a stop watch or if there’s a clock on the wall watch the hand.

The Workout

For each minute of skipping you will perform 10 double unders (the rope slips under the feet twice). Double unders are tough, and you have to make sure you jump high enough for the rope to slip under the feet twice before the feet land for another jump. Double unders boost the heart rate and are great for improving the fitness in a short period of time.

Try not to take any breaks throughout. As it’s a fairly long time to skip, experiment with your moves. Perhaps perform one minute of heel digs, another minute of jumping jacks, and another minute of hopping on one foot for thirty seconds. The twenty minutes of skipping is yours to play with as long as you add ten double unders for each minute.

I was in such a rush yesterday, so if you’ve got a skipping rope and some space, this short 10 minute workout can be performed anywhere. I truly wanted to take it up to 20 minutes to test my fitness, but even the 10 minutes was truly tough.

Okay, you require a timer for this. Blast some good tunes and time yourself. If you’ve got a wall clock with a head ticking round – this is best to watch. Skip for one minute but incorporate 10 double unders (you’ll have to jump pretty high to allow the rope to circulate under your feet twice. It may take some practice but persevere).

Double-unders are fantastic at working the heart, and they burn up to 28 calories per minutes. I can’t see running or cycling giving those odds. Although it would be tough to perform them for a whole minute, I timed myself yesterday, and each of the 10 double-unders takes about 6-7 seconds. It may not seem a lot of blasted calories, but with these kind of workouts, they are super intensive so continue to burn those calories long after. That doesn’t give you reason to blow it on beer or pizza though. Think of the hard work you have put your body under.

There are no breaks with this workout. Pure skipping for ten minutes, but for each minute, perform 10 double-unders.

By the end of the workout, you should have a slight sweat on. The faster you sweat, the fitter you are.

If you like this workout, and you’re ready for the 20 minute skipping workout – I’m going to try to incorporate 15 double-unders for each minute in that one.

This exercise invoves skipping (surely you must know I love this activity by now), body weight training and weight training. This workout I’ve named the Muscle Killer works the cardiovascular system and the anaerobic system. When working the heart, sure calories are burned during and a little after the workout, but it’s the tough muscle workouts that really shift the flab, and burn fat for up to 48 hours afterward. This workout takes about 45 minutes. Add some great motivating music and let’s get started.

Equipment required

• Skipping rope
• Mat
• 20kg weights (or more if you can)
• Stability Ball
• Medicine ball (6 – 10 kg)
• Bench

The Workout

• Skip for a song length or about 3-5 minutes. Really warm up those muscles.

• Lie on bench and grab your hand weights. Perform 20 chest presses. Remember to breathe out as you push the weight up.

• Grab your hand weight, increase it if you can, and perform 20 deadlifts, then pull barbell up to your chest to work those arms. That’s one rep. Perform 20. Keep the legs straight, do not bend the back. Use your arm muscles to pull the weight up. If you cannot perform 10 reps with your current weight, reduce the weight.

• Do not drop the weight if you can. Straight from the deadlifts, perform 20 weighted squats. Place the weight on your shoulders, legs a little wider than your waist and squat down. Squat down to where is comfortable then use those thigh muscles to push back up. Keep the back straight. When performing a squat, push your ass right back. You should be able to still spot your toes. Do 20 reps.

• Sit on stablility ball, grab your medicine ball and curl up. Perform 20. If you perform the crunch slowly it will work your abdominals harder.

• Lie on mat. Position your ankles on the stability ball, push your buttocks up so you are balancing on ball, hands on your chest, and pull the ball in with your thigh muscles. This is a killer. Perform 20.

• Now it’s time for press-ups on an incline. Position your feet on the bench, your hands on the mat and do 20 press-ups. On an incline, they’re tough, but try to work through the pain.

• Finally, this set finishes off with 5 really hard bastards. If you’re do not know what these are, here goes. Jump down into a squat, perform a press-up, spin your body round quickly so you’re lying on your back, then jump up and do a high jump. That’s one rep. This is a whole body toner.

• Now you’ve got to do the workout again. The second set perfom the skipping, then with each rep only perform 15, and 5 really hard bastards at the end. For the final set, perform 10 of each.

• Remember to stretch thoroughly afterward.

Rest for up to 3 days afterward, as muscles will be sore, and give them time to recover.

Even thought I’ve had quite a long break from my workouts, this was still intense and got the heart pumping. This workout incorporates three sets of skipping, press-ups, squat thrusts, weighted squats, bicep curls, sit-ups, shadow boxing, and turkish get up. This workout should take around 45-60 minutes.

Equipment required

• Skipping rope
• stability ball (optional)
• Boxing gloves (optional)
• hand weights

The Workout

• Perform 10 minutes of skipping to warm up, or about three song lengths. Try not to have a break in between. Skipping is great for building the calf muscles, tones the buttocks and thighs, and burns a shit lot of calories.

• Perform 20 tricep press-ups on an incline (to make it harder), or on the floor. With a tricep press-up, the hands are brought in to shoulder width. This press-up is harder but works the back of the arms, as well as the chest and back muscles.

• Grab your weights and perform 20 bicep curls on each arm. If you can, try to leave a gap in the time it takes for you to bring the weight down. This really works the muscles.

• Pick up a heavier weight, add them to your shoulders, or you can keep them in your hands, and perform 20 weighted squats. Keep your back straight throughout, and push your buttocks far back to really work those gluteal muscles. Remember to breathe throughout.

• Turkish get up: This is a very tough exercise, which is why I ask only that you perform 5 reps on each side. Lie down flat on the floor or a mat if you’re already sweaty, and grab a hand weight and raise it over your head. Push yourself up to standing position using your body weight but keep the weight held in the air at all times. This move works the whole body. By the fourth or fifth rep, you should really feel the burn. Perform five reps holding the weight in the air in the right hand, then carry on with the left side.

• 3-5 minutes shadow boxing or throwing punches at a punchbag. Throw jabs, upper cuts and straight punches. Try to stay on your toes to keep the heart rate up, and keep the hands held high.

• 20 weighted sit-ups on a stability ball. If you do not have a stability ball, perform 20 crunches with or without a weight. Weighted sit-ups build the muscles faster and strip off the fat.

• Finally, perform 20 squat thrusts. Fairly simple I know, but after this mini workout, this is a tough move.

Right folks, that’s one set. Try to perform another 3 more. This workout works on the cardiovascular and anaerobic systems. The weights help to burn off the fat and keep the metabolism high, and the skipping and boxing works the heart at a great rate. Expect to burn around 400 calories during this workout. You’ll burn more depending on the intensity.

I’m still here, I’ve not given up on fitness, it’s just I have been working hard on my Erotica website: http://www.girlwithadirtymind.com. Finally it’s up and running and I have my first volume available to purchase. I have also be marketing it and adding it to Amazon and Mobipocket.com, and various other retailers as a download.

I have been doing regular spinning classes but that’s about it. I cannot write about workouts I have not completed because that would be fraud and, besides, I love working out, it’s just there isn’t enough time in the day. Almost completed volume 2. I’m sure you will see many workouts on here next week, and recipes.

Thanks for your support!

Although not initially my workout, I had to write about this one. We performed it at circuit training last Friday, and I’m still aching now. This workout takes 40-45 minutes and will require mental strength as well as muscle strength. Push yourself through the pain and you will reap the benefits.

Equipment required:

• Stability ball
• Two dumbells 3-5 kg for lunges
• Barbell with 10-20 kg
• Exercise box
• Mat

The workout:

• Firstly, complete some stretches to warm up the body. If you can partner up with someone who can keep track on the time, it would benefit this workout.

• You are going to perform 100 pressups. After every ten pressups, you get a ten second break. Try to alternate the pressups. Put your legs on an incline during 10 reps, or bring them into shoulder height and work your triceps. Remember to breathe through the workout. The 70-100 reps should be the toughest. Try to maintain good form throughout.

• Now it’s time to perform 50 lunges on each leg. Incline your leg, grab your weights and push down using your leg and buttock muscles, touch the floor with the weight and come back up. That’s one rep. Perform 10 on each leg, then have a 10 second break and repeat until you have performed 5 sets on each leg.

• Hop onto the stability ball and perform 10 crunches. Take a 10 second break each set. Try to alternate your crunches. Hold your arms high in the air to pull yourself up and add tension to the abs. Again, if you perform the crunches with good form, the last 70-100 should be a killer.

• Now it’s onto  a bent over row. Bend over, keeping your knees slightly bent and pull in your abs. Pull the barbell up to chest height. Perform 10 then rest for 10 seconds. Remember to breathe through the pain. Try to focus through the 10 reps. This one is tough but try to push yourself through the pain.

• It’s back to the 50 lunges on each leg. Set your leg on incline and perform 10 reps on each leg. Keep your back straight and drop down until your dumbells touch the floor then use your leg and buttock muscle to push yourself to the start. Perform 10 on each leg then take a 10 second break.

• Lie down on the mat, hold your arms out, balance your ankles on the stability ball and raise your hips. Pull the ball in as far as can with your hamstrings, then push out. Perform 10 while maintaining good form. Keep your hips raised at all times. Take a 10 second rest between each set. The last 70-100 should be a challenge.

• Finally, the last exercise is a weighted squat overhead raise. You will perform 100 but take a 10 second rest between every 10 reps. Keep your back straight and squat down with your weight, pull up to hip height then raise above head. That’s 1 rep.  Perform 10 and take a 10 second rest after each.

• Warm down with some gentle stretches. Do you see why it’s beneficial to partner with someone for this workout, not just to keep track of time but to motivate during those last 7-10 sets.

I freely admit that I didn’t get a tough workout in last week, besides spinning and body pump. Life is sometimes hectic, as it was for me last week.

Anyway, back to basics. Here is a shortish workout of around 30 minutes, but sweat, you hopefully wll.

Equipment required:

• An incline, perhaps a box or if training from home, a pouff
• Mat
• 7-10kg dumbells
• Skipping rope (I love my rope)
• Music (primarily for motivation – optional)
• Stability ball – optional

The Workout:

• Gently warm up the muscles by skipping lightly or marching on the spot. After five minutes of briskly skipping, jogging or marching, step up the workout and skip a little faster. Jump rope for a song length or around 5 minutes.

• Pick up the weights, minimum of 7kg and perform 10 one-legged deadlifts on each leg. Remember to only briefly bend the knee but bring the weight up thigh height, keeping the back straight. That’s one rep. Perform ten on each leg.

• Position your legs on the incline and perform 20 normal press-ups. Bring your abdominals in, keep your back straight and maintain your posture. It is harder on an incline, so remember to breathe.

• Position your arms on a table or chair and do 20 tricep dips. If you want to make it easier, bring your knees in, harder, keep your body straight. Your arms will be challenged, especially after performing twenty press-ups.

• Try not to have a break, but if you must, 1 minute minimum.

• Sit yourself comfortably on the stability ball, grab your weight, again a minimum of 7kg and slowly curl with the weight. This is a tough one. Breathe out on the tension held in the abs and in on the release. If you perform this exercise slowly it will really work those abdominal muscles.

• Pick up one dumbell and perform 8 one-legged squats on each. Try to bend down as low as you can. Focus on a spot on the floor so you don’t lose balance. This exercise works to build strong glutes.

• Grab your weights, position them in your hands or on your shoulders and perform 20 squats. Really push your buttocks out. Do not curl your back, pull your abdominal muscles in at all times. When you push back, you should be able to see your toes. If you can’t, it is likely you are positioning yourself too forwards and maybe hurting your back. Practice by looking in front of the mirror. Excuse my French, but you should be squatting like you’re ready for a number two.

• If that’s not exhaustive enough, you’ve two more rounds to go with this circuit.

• Perform the above twice, and if you’r really eager four or five times.

There are a lot of tough bodyweight exercises in this exercise and because the weights are fairly heavy, and there are a lot of core balancing exercises, such as the one-legged squat, weighted sit-up and incline press-up, this workout will really torch those calories. If I remember, after the first circuit, I was perspiring heavily.

Remember to eat a nutritious meal afterward such as a banana, peanut butter on toast or a healthy milkshake.

This is a great little workout that takes about 40 minutes. I trained to the new Prodigy Album, Invaders Must Die. It’s got some great, feisty tunes on, and it’s just the right length for a motivating workout. So what will you need today.

Items required

• Skipping rope
• 2 hand weights (choice of weight is yours)
• Mat
• Medicine Ball (optional)
• Stability Ball

The Workout

• Skip gently to warm the muscles up, then skip vigorously for about five minutes or a song length.

• Perform 20 sit ups with the medicine ball.  Stretch out on the mat, and bring the medicine ball over your head. Straighten your legs and as you bring your legs up, bring the ball up. Pull the ball back over your head and let your legs drop symetrically, but keep them off the floor. That’s 1 rep. Try to perform 20. Remember to breathe in as you drop your legs and bring the medicine ball down and breathe out as you perform the exercise. If you do not have the medicine ball, this exercise will still prove to be challenging. Try to keep your legs off the floor at all times.

• Balance on feet on a higher surface than the hands, and perform 20 press-ups.

• Back to skipping. Skip non-stop for 15 minutes or three song lengths.

• Perform the 20 sit-ups with the medicine ball or V sit-ups, keeping your legs off the floor, and your arms straight as you reach back.

• Grab your hand weights and perform 12 one legged deadlifts on the right leg, then the left. Bend your knees slightly but keep the back straight. You should feel the pull in your buttocks and hamstrings.

• Perform 20 bicep curls on each arm with the weight of your choice.

• Perform 20 upright rows with the weight of your choice.

• Sit on the stability ball and perform 20 chest presses. Remember to regain your balance. It is always harder performing exercises on the stability ball, and it doubly works your core.

• Again, on the stability ball, grab a weight or medicine ball. Point it toward the ceiling, holding it upright at all times and bring it to the left, then to the right. Do not drop the weight or medicine ball at any time. Do not look to the left or right, try to keep looking up at the ceiling. This exercise works your obliques. Perform 12 reps.

• Perform 20 high jumps, without rest.

• Perform 20 squat jumps, without rest.

• Skip finally for ten minutes. Your arms should be feeling the strain, as will your legs.

• Finally, stretch out your muscles, and eat some quality protein or have a shake.

I have not stuck to the same exercise with this workout. I’ve mixed things up. If you don’t want to do the 2nd set of sit-ups, perhaps mix it up with burpees instead. I’d rather do the sit-ups, burpees are tough, but it’s your workout. The skipping works all the muscles, and strengthens, the joints. There are plenty of bodyweight exercises. Keeping the heart rate up while fatiguing the muscles, helps to burn fat and keep the metabolism ticking over longer.

With the skipping, if you’re eager, after every song length, try to perform 10-20 double-unders to really boost that heart rate.

This is a tasty dish which can be served with either crusty bread, pasta or rice. Frying steak if very lean, and contains iron and protein to refuel those muscles after a tough workout. Brocolli is one of the cruciferous vegetables, and contains anti-cancer compounds, as well as great antioxidents. Red peppers contain good amounts of vitamin C, which help to disperse muscle fatigue, and peppers are tasty.

Mushrooms contain B vitamins which help the nervous system, and actual prebiotics, which boost the levels of good bacteria in the gut. Onions are extremely nutritious and help to reduce the bad cholesterol levels, as well as boosting the good levels, kill off bacteria which can cause infections, reduce the diabetes risk and even reduce certain types of cancer. Overall, although this meal is fried, olive oil contains essential fatty acids (EFA’s) which actually help to burn off the bad saturated fats in the body.

Serves 2-4 people.

Ingredients:

• 200 g frying steak
• brocolli
• 1 onion
• 1/2 teaspoon cornflour
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 red pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 10 mushrooms

Method:

• Cut up the steak and add to a bowl. Make a marinade with the cornflour and soy sauce, then add the steak to the mixture and make sure each piece if evenly coated.
• Add the oil to the pan. Cut up the onion and fry gently.
• Cut up the pepper and the brocolli florets and add to the pan.
• Cut up the mushrooms, add to the pan with the other ingredients, and gently simmer
• Pour out the gently fried vegetables into a clean bowl, then add a little more oil and fry the steak rapidly on a high heat.
• Once the steak is cooked, add the vegetables back to the pan and fry further for 1-2 minutes.
• Serve immediately with either crusty bread, rice or pasta.

This workout should take approximately 45 minutes. As I always state in my workouts, get some great, motivating music on. It will push you further when you feel the strain.

Items Required

• Boxing gloves
• Skipping rope
• Stability Ball (optional)
• Medicine Ball 6kg or heavier (optional)

The Workout

• Perform some gentle skipping to warm up. Do around 3-4 minutes of skipping.

• Perform 3 minutes of straight punches/jabs/uppercuts to the boxing bag. If you don’t have a boxing bag or gloves, do some shadow boxing. Keep on your toes at all times to keep your heart rate up.

• Perform 3 minutes of medicine ball sit-ups on your stability ball. If you do not have a medicine ball handy or a stability ball, you can do a straight crunch. Place your hands behind your head and reach up, using your abs to pull yourself up. Carry on for three minutes or a song length of your choice.

• Take no break in between. Do that circuit 3 times, then rest for two minutes.

• Perform 10 double unders. Make sure the rope slips under your feet twice.  Aim to do 10 without stopping.

• Perform 10 chinnies. Bring your knees up to your chest and perform them fast.

• Perform 10 medicine ball sit-ups on stability ball.

• That’s 1 rep. Now perform 9 double unders, 9 chinnies and 9 sit-ups, then 8 double unders, 8 chinnies, 8 sit-ups etc, until you reach 1.

This workout will get you fit fast. Skipping is very high intensive, so you will find that you will perspire fast. Boxing is a great anerobic workout and trains your muscle endurance. Sit-ups are essential to building the core muscles. The stronger your core, the less injuries will be encountered.

As if the first half isn’t knackering enough, I added the double-unders, chinnies and sit-ups as a little extra to push the body to the limit. Our bodies love exertion, and although it’s tough and hurts, I always stick with the mantra “no pain.”

Stretch your muscles and eat some good quality protein afterward.

This workout takes about an hour. I needed to push myself big time, as not been to the gym for two weeks, well apart from spinning last Friday. Last week I was painting and decorating all week and the week earlier I had tonsilitis.

Anyway I’ve called it the above because afterward I have never felt so ravenous, so maybe keep a banana or apple with you to snack on afterward.

Items Required

• Skipping rope
• Training mat
• Weights
• Music (optional but motivating)

The Workout

• Skip for approximately five minutes to warm up the muscles.

• Stretch out the muscles equally, and hold for thirty seconds.

• Perform 15 chinnies – bring your knees as high as you can, jump back down and jump straight back up. Perform 15.

• Perform 15 jump squats. Jump up and position yourself in a squat position. Hold that move for 1 second and jump back up. Perform 15. This moves builds strong buttocks and leg muscles.

• Position yourself on the mat and perform 15 press-ups. Remember to breathe. Do not hold your breath at any time while performing these exercises as it only makes the workout tougher.

• 15 sit-ups. Keep your legs straight and bring your hands to your knees. Breathe out as you come up and inhale as you push yourself back down. Keep your shoulders off the floor at all times. This is a killer, but tones the lower abs.

• Perform 15 weighted squats. I have found that this move really pushes the body to the limit. The fatigue you have from the jump squats, pressups and then having to lift more weights and squat really pushes your body.

• Skip to a song length or for approximately 3-5 minutes. Skipping keeps the heart rate up and burns lots of calories.

• Perform the above 5 exercises but 14 of them. Do not leave a gap in between. Challenge your body.

• Skip for around 3-5 minutes.

• Perform the exercises, but just 13 of them.

• Take a drink whenever you need one.

• Skip for around 3-5 minutes again.

• Perform the bodyweight exercises, just 12 of them.

• Skip again for a song length or 3-5 minutes.

• Perform 11 of the bodyweight exercises with no break.

• Take a break for two minutes

• This is the toughie. Now perform the bodyweight exercises 10-1. Try not to take a break but if you are short of breath or need a drink, obviously take a short break.

• Get your breath back and stretch out each muscle and hold for approximately 30 seconds.

Just see how hungry you are after that workout.

These are quick to make, healthy, low fat and they’re a tasty meal after an intensive workout. If you love pizza, they are a healthier alternative.

Ingredients:

• 2 wholemeal pitta breads
• 1 red pepper
• 5-6 mushrooms
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 50 g cheese
• Chili flakes (optional but adds a kick)
• 2 slices of ham
• black pepper (optional)

Method:

• Pre-heat your grill.

• You can either make two thick pitta pizzas or cut them into half and make four healthy pitta pizzas. This way, if you get full off two or three, you can always heat up the last one for the next day.

• Place the pitta breads in a toaster and gently brown.

• Slice the pitta breads open (your choice).

• Add the tomato puree and spread evenly.

• Slice your mushrooms, red pepper and ham and place generously over each pitta bread.

• Add the cheese.

• Sprinkle the chilli flakes and black pepper, if you wish.

• Toast under the grill until the cheese starts to gently bubble.

Voila! A healthy meal that contains protein, carbohydrates and three of your portions of fruit and veg.

Mushrooms contain B vitamins which are great for your nerves and skin.

Red peppers contain the antioxident, vitamin C which helps to boost the immune system and heal the skin.

Cheese contains great amounts of protein. Cheese in moderation is fine and a great protein source.

Pitta bread, especially the wholemeal variety, contains fibre which keeps you fuller for longer. They are also crunchy and ideal to add ingredients too.

Tomato puree contains the lycopene rich tomato, which is also a great source of vitamin C.

Ham is low in fat, tasty and is a great source of protein, which helps to fuel the muscles after a workout and help them build back stronger. I always find that chillis add flavour to my meals, same with black pepper. They are great alternatives to salt, which are added pretty much to all convenience foods.

This meal is low fat, tasty and most of all, quick to make.

I’m afraid that I cannot do any new workouts for a couple of weeks as I have recently undergone laser eye surgery. The procedure went very well and I have better than 20/20 vision which is extrordinary, considering my previous prescription.

I have to steer clear from the gym for two weeks, incase any sweat gets in my eyes etc. Gosh, I can’t even wet my face for a fortnight, in case I get water in my eyes, which the experts say, contains bacteria which could cause an infection. I already look like I have vampire’s eyes, so I don’t want to cause any more swelling! lol

Anyway I’ll be back in a few weeks, with some even harder workouts. I miss the gym already. I’ll be posting some recipes in that section over the next couple of days, so look out for them. See you soon.