Joanne the Coach

Review: Pretty bargainous sports shoes

I recently wrote about my gym challenge over here on Spikes & Heels. I've done over 600 gym sessions now and my enthusiasm is still fresh for it. Alas, the same cannot be said for my shoes.

In fact, I've had the same gym shoes for over 10 years now. Since I mainly do BodyPump and BodyCombat, it's all indoors so your shoes don't take the pounding they might if you were running outdoors. Even so, my shoes were fraying at the toes and definitely in need of a refresh.

And then, in an act of serendipity that almost never happens, I got offered a pair of sports shoes to review from the aptly named Sports Shoes dot com.

Now, the first thing you need to know about this Sports Shoes site is that they don't just sell sports shoes. That would be too obvious. You can get the whole kit, from sports bras to shin splint sports supports (try saying that when you're out of puff).

But sports shoes they certainly do have - lots and lots of sports shoes. Too much, almost. I started off in the running department and found there were 229 pairs in my size alone. I found it a bit overwhelming. So I narrowed the search down to Nike (cos that's what my previous sports shoes were, and they turned out pretty well).

From there I applied my usual fashion manifesto: If the White Stripes were to reform and needed me to go on tour with them, what would I wear?

So that led me to these red devils, or to give them their full title, Nike Lady Lunarglide+ 3 Running Shoes. RRP £84.99, currently reduced by 20% to £67.45 (I wasn't paying, but I didn't want to take the piss).

They turned up a couple of days later, and were more pinky red in the flesh than they look in the site photo. The laces and the cushioning at the back of the shoe are virtually luminous pink. What will The White Stripes think? I wondered. When we go on tour, I mean. I guess I'll deal with that when it arises.

They're incredibly lightweight but supportive, and will take the Nike+ sensor for people who like boasting on Facebook about how far they've just run.

 Every time I wear them, I get compliments, from people I have been sharing gym classes with for years who've never actually spoken to me before. Who knew that new sports shoes were as much of a social lubricant as white wine?

And - get this - the first time I wore these shoes to the gym, another fellow gym-goer ACTUALLY PUT HER OWN SHOES IN THE BIN. Really. I am not making that up. These are super-handsome shoes. I like them so much I dyed my legs to match the gym floor.

What I like about SportsShoes.com is that, as well as an enormous choice of products, there're some great technical tips and advice videos to help you choose the right shoes. Plus my inner stingy person likes the fact that there are lots of discounts on big brands (not just the left over stuff that no one wants), and you can pick up some great bargains without having to wait for the sale. Might just get another pair, and not wait 10 years this time.

Tried and tested: How to really go to the gym 3 times a week

As 2011 was year four of my gym challenge (in which I aim to go to the gym 150 times a year AKA 3ish times a week), it marked my 600th gym trip.

But hey, who's counting? I certainly frickin' am.

So pulling together what I've learned, for anyone who's joining a gym and is aiming for the '3 times a week' schtick to stick, here's what I've learned:

1. Join the gym that's closest to you
   That's the one you'll go to. The slightly crappy gym you pass on the way home from work always trumps the one with better facilities that's a 10 minute drive in the opposite direction. The easier your gym is to get to, the more likely you are to go to it.
2. Spend the first month trying out all the classes
   Even the ones that sound a bit rubbish that you don't think you'll like or sound too hard. Do them all at least once. Do the ones you like twice. Don't worry about being the worst in the class - every class will have beginners in it, no matter what the time of year. And none of the regulars are judging you, unless you're wearing really bad harem pants, in which case you brought it on yourself.
3. Go 4 times a week
   Look, I didn't promise it was easy. There will be months when you'll be away, busy or simply can't be arsed. So to make your over all average 3 times a week, you need to aim for more than that as often as possible. From last year's stats, I had 4 months with less than 12 gym visits, 3 of 12 exactly (4 weeks, 3 times each) and 5 months where I went more than 12 times. It all evens out in the end.
4. Write it down
   Keep a diary where you note down all the exercise you're doing, and review it regularly.
   Otherwise I can guarantee you'll be kidding yourself about how much you do, and telling yourself you go around 3 times a week, when you only really went twice last month.
5. Accept that you will never get fit
   Fit isn't something you 'get' and then stop and feel pleased with yourself when you've got it. It's a journey, not a destination. A lifelong journey at that. If deep down you hate your gym time and can't face doing it for the rest of your life, find another fitness journey to travel on. If you're doing it right, it should be enjoyable, not a chore. Otherwise, what's the point?

image: ihasahotdog.com

 

Review & giveaway - Zumba Fitness 2 for Wii -COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Earlier this year I reviewed the first Zumba Fitness Wii game, and it went on to become an enormous chart topping best seller, shifting over 3 million copies. People are WILD about Zumba, and so, inevitably, a follow up has been released in the ubertoned shape of Zumba Fitness 2.

Priced around £25, it's only available on Wii. I was sent a copy to try out (and one to give away - see below for details), so I put on my finest Lycra and set forth on a fitness mission.

Basically, Zumba is shaking your ass aerobics. There's a bit of leaping from side to side involved, but mainly it's all about the rear guard action. So to play this game, you'll need room to do it- look around your living room and ask yourself: Can my bum shake big in this? If the answer is yes, then you can go to the Zumba party.

You can join in from any fitness level - if you're a bit out of puff, start by learning the moves or doing a single song routine only before you build up to a full class. For the more experienced Zumba-ites, there are routines from 20 to 60 minutes, or you can build your own routine by picking out your favourite tracks.

Your movements are tracked via a special belt (included in the pack) which lets you tuck the Wii controller next to your hip. But don't rely on this too much for accuracy - I was promoted to Zumba Legend after 3 songs, when I am really more of a Mince Pie Eating Legend, if truth be told.

One element I really liked about this release are the fact that the settings are much more fun this time - you're exercising everywhere from an LA nightclub to a Miami yacht. So much better than my sweat-smelly gym. It doesn't have fireworks either.

This release is great if you've eaten too many mince pies, get snowed in or simply prefer to exercise in the privacy of your own home. It's a shame it's not available for Xbox Kinect as it would be great for that format, but the word is that it may be available on Kinect next year. So for now, Nintendo Wii it is.

Here's an interesting peak into how Zumba Fitness 2 was made - plus, how serious are these game dudes? Lighten up guys and gals, it's meant to be a party. If you're saying something's exciting, no need to look like you've just been stabbed in the toe:

 

WIN A COPY OF ZUMBA FITNESS 2
I have one copy of Zumba Fitness 2 for Nintendo Wii to give away (UK residents only).

To enter - Leave a comment below telling me why you want it.

Entries close at midnight on Sunday 18th December, so hopefully the randomly-picked winner should get it in time to start their New Year fitness regime.

EXTRA ENTRIES
You can have an optional extra entry if you like this blog on Facebook - mention this when you leave a comment

You can find more competitions to enter at ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions and Loquax Competitions

WIN: Relax and revive competition - prizes worth £225 COMPETITION CLOSED

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED - DON'T LEAVE A COMMENT, IT WON'T BE COUNTED

I don't know about you, but it's been a tough old week and I'm feeling pooped already. Most of us don't relax as much as we should, so here's a competition with some very special prizes to help you (or someone you love) do just that. You'll be chilled to within an inch of your life with this lot.

The prizes:

First prize winner will get:

• MeMeMe Pure Indulgence gift set from Find Me A Gift, value £29.99. This gift box full of beauty treats gives you everything you'll need to recreate a spa at home. Contents include a gorgeously scented candle, aromatherapy oils, hand and nail cream, nail varnish and facial moisturiser.
• A voucher from Floatworks in London for a session in their fantastic floatation tanks, value £45. I've had a float in one of these and it's amazing, one of the most relaxing things you'll ever do.
• A £100 voucher from iExplore, the travel site that specialises in thrilling adventure holidays and experiences. They call it thrillaxing, where will it take you?

Five runners up will each get:

• A £10 voucher for Floatworks, which can be used as part payment towards a floatation tank session. You'll be glad you did.

Restrictions:

Open to UK entrants only. Prize vouchers can be used by you or passed on to anyone as a gift. Prizes will be posted out as soon as we have the winner's details and should be with you by Christmas (though we can't guarantee this).

How to enter:

Simply leave a comment below saying how you like to relax.

Leave your email address when you enter - this will not be used for marketing purposes or passed on to any 3rd parties, it's simply so I can find out your address for your prize if you win.

Extra entries:

You can have an extra entry by liking this blog on Facebook, or if you already like us. State in your comment if you're claiming an extra entry.

Closing date:

This competition closes at midnight on 21st November 2011. Winners will be chosen at random and contacted as soon as possible after this.

Thank you very much to competition supporters Find Me a Gift, Floatworks and iExplore.

Let's get relaxed!

 

image credit: jerine

 

 

 

Also listed at: ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

Loquax Competitions

Fit for life, that's the theory

So Charlie Brooker has come out.

As a runner.

From the tone of his confession, I think he would have been less embarrassed to have come out as a horse murderer, sperm stealer or Tory politician.

It sounds like he used the Couch to 5K program (or a version of it) which is particularly impressive given that although this program starts off very gently, it then ramps up considerably at around week 4. At least that's the point at which I've always had to abandon it.

This year I've had to get my head round the fact that at 42 I'm often the oldest person in my gym classes by quite some way. The flip side to this is that when the 20-somethings peg out and I keep going, it feels like a mini-victory. I think this must be why so many people around my age take up running or cycling- it's a gym class of one, where you are always the youngest and fittest.

This weekend A Child spat me a gobbet of pre-teen angst: You care more about going to the gym than you do about me! because I had the audacity to go to a Sunday afternoon BodyCombat class. Right now I'm going to lots of gym classes because my annual gym challenge is in its final phase and I need to do about 30 more classes to hit my target of 150 for the year. Easier said than done. So why bother?

• I would like to be healthy and alive for as long as possible 
• The older I get, the more of a challenge that is
• I want to show my children that activity isn't somthing that stops when the bell rings at the end of P.E. class
• It keeps me calm and (slightly) less likely to shout at people
• I get my best ideas when I'm exercising. (Admittedly, going to the gym tends to squeeze out the time to execute these ideas, but that'll all change once my campaign to legalise 30 hour days gets going).

So all in all I think I go to the gym because I care about my children, not instead of. Now, how can I get them to believe that?

 image credit: kevin dooley

Breakfast at Tiffany's it ain't

It has been all change at Coaching Towers since Daughter of Mine started at Hogwarts.

The mornings are the worst. Where breakfast used to be our one family meal of the day, now she has to be at Platform 9 3/4 so early, she's off and out before most of the house has woken up.

I have been getting up early too, to keep her company, and make sure she remembers her owl. And provide breakfast - either toast, cereal, or a banana lobbed at her head as she's leaving the house on running late days.

I was thinking about this recently when I went along to an event hosted by Kellogg's to talk about breakfast clubs, and why children do and don't eat breakfast. The statistics would make you shudder.

Research by Kellogg's claims that a quarter of girls at secondary school skip breakfast - citing lack of time or being on a diet as the reason. They found that £650 million per year is being spent by children on food on the way to school, 25% of that on crisps, chocolate and even burgers.  What kind of diet is that?

Daughter of Mine reports children queueing at the local bakery to buy cookies as soon as it opens at 8am. Others are chugging chocolate oranges and Lucozade on the way to school. At the moment it's not my child doing that, but I guess if she did there's not a lot I could do about it. Except make sure she has breakfast at home, stress the importance of healthy choices and trust that she'll make good ones.

However, Kellogg's are attempting to do something about it by making a donation for every box of Cornflakes sold, with the aim of giving a million children a breakfast. If your local school runs a breakfast club (or would like to), they can apply to Kellogg's for a grant of up to £450. The idea is to encourage more breakfast clubs to give children an alternative to eating nothing, or just rubbish.

I used to be a member of the Kellogg's Family Health Panel, where we developed a toolkit to help children eat more healthily. I've seen at first hand how the company is committed to children's health, it's not just about flogging cereal. They say that this campaign is about "promoting the breakfast habit" as a good thing, rather than focusing on their brand in particular.

So that's what they're doing - what about the rest of us? Me, I'm getting up at 6.30am. Pass the Cornflakes.

image: Flickr, jcoterhals

Zumba Fitness for Nintendo Wii game review

Longterm readers will know that I do a yearly gym challenge, where I aim to go to the gym 150 times a year, and it always turns out to be a lot, lot harder than I expected. Since this is the fourth year of the gym challenge, I've racked up over 500 gym visits and unsurprisingly I'm ready for a change.

One class I've wanted to try for a while is Zumba, a dance-based aerobic workout set to Latin rhythms. I was even thinking about changing gyms to try it out. Turns out I don't even have to leave the house.

A new Zumba Fitness video game has just been released, and I was sent a copy of the Wii version to try out. It comes with a special belt to tuck your Wii controller into, so the game can track your movements - the idea is to move in rhythm with the onscreen instructor.

This ad gives you a taste of the moves and shows you how it works with the belt. Ignore the cheesy voiceover:

 

Do you want to see what a facial peel looks like?

Yesterday I went for a facial peel. I had a half price voucher, and a big face, so I figured it was a double bargain.

Personal grooming-wise, I am about as low maintenance as you can get without being a cadaver. And yet I still find all that stuff fascinating, and like to read BritishBeautyBlogger to see what the latest beauty releases are. Not that I intend to buy any of it, but you never know when you'll be in a pub quiz with a round on the latest colours to paint your toes.

I nearly didn't turn up for my face peel. In the week between making the appointment and showing up for it, the company sent me reminders in the shape of a letter in the post; an email; a text; and a phone call. Also they'd given me a little card with the details written down. Blimey guys, insecure much? If you were a boyfriend you'd be dumped for neediness.

The glycolic peel treatment consists of some kind of fruit acidy stuff which gets applied to your face, left for five minutes, then removed with bicarbonate of soda. Apparently glycolic acid can also be used for rust removal. And bicarb can be used to clean the sink. And you're rubbing that stuff in my face? Is that wise?

So this was me yesterday morning before I had the face peel:

 

 

And this was me about half an hour after the treatment:

 

So apart from a bit of pinkness and shine, there's not a whole lickety split of difference. I can feel a difference though. My face is much smoother, and I'm thinking of renting it out as a ski slope for ladybirds.

As a big fan of the John Woo film Face/Off, I was disappointed that no lasers were involved, nor did my normal face get swapped with that of an international villain. There was no smell of burning flesh, so I did not get to jump up shouting "Jesus Christ my face is on fire" like I was planning to. Still, not bad at all. Looking good for 65.

You can leave your hat on

I cannot stop watching this. Makes the time I got a bell stuck up my nose pale into insignificance.

 

 

Like Sean's hat, it was a tiny bell. The nurse got it out with her fingernail, so it all turned out well in the end.

 

You'll never guess what today is (warning: post contains Stupendous Thighs)

Apparently today, ie the last Thursday in February, is the day on which the great British public feels most motivated to exercise. However, the study from PayasUgym that gleaned this factoid gives no convincing reasons as to why that would be the case. This suggests that those surveyed answered "Yeah, well, whatever" in an attempt to get the surveyor off their back. Apparently "over a quarter of Brits cited cold weather and lack of daylight as the main factors preventing them from exercising" AKA they can't be arsed.

But in case it's true that today really is the motivational high peak of the year, I am off to BodyPump, which involves an hour of weightlifting set to music. Motivationally speaking, it's all downhill from here.

So this is the terrifying BodyPump. You too could have thighs like this:

 Is that motivating enough for you?