My Workout Routine (REQUESTED)

A workout routine should be about balance.

Going through mine below, you'll see there's one thing that I currently am not doing enough of.

You should aim for a good mix of:

Strength/Weights: Read this post on Why I Love Strength Training HERE

Cardio/Endurance: Read this post on How To Add Variation To Your Cardio Training HERE

Stretch/Flexibility: Read this post on Vinyasa Flow Yoga HERE

What's also important in a workout routine is variation and progression. A session shouldn't be easy - you should always challenge yourself to see results. 

Including variety and progress is different depending on what form of training you're doing:

•  If it's a yoga session, you should always ease into your poses/stretches (each session, challenge yourself by slowly going deeper/further than before, using your breathing for assistance) and not force your body into positions to avoid injury.
• A strength session is completely different, nothing should be easy or relaxing. You keep challenging yourself by increasing resistance/weight, when you get comfortable. Same for a cardio/endurance session. 

My Current* Routine

*'Current' because it's not set in stone. I can, and will, change it anytime. I plan to cut down my spin classes to two per week.

MONDAY - Rest

TUESDAY
Morning: Fitter London Kettlebells for Strength & Bodyweight Conditioning*
Strength Session 1 & Endurance
This is one of my two favourite classes of the week. I'm naturally strong so of course I love strength training. My endurance and core strength, which aren't so great, have required a lot of work and slowly improved over timeI'm a Fitter London instructor but I don't teach this class and I happily attend it every week - love it! This class is great for building your strength through weights and bodyweight, and also your endurance as we sometimes have some long cycles with little rest.
Afternoon: Spin
Cardio/Endurance Session 1
I'm a spin instructor and I teach this class on the bike. All three spin classes in my routine are my classes so of course they're highly effective ;)

WEDNESDAY
Morning: Fitter London Spin
Cardio/Endurance Session 2

THURSDAY
Evening: Spin 
Cardio/Endurance Session 3

FRIDAY - Rest

SATURDAY

Midday: Fitter London Kettlebells for Strength Size & A Sixpack
Strength Session 2
This class is more strength focused , compared to Tuesday, with hardly any cardio drills. The most cardio drills we've done in this class are kettlebell swings (with heavy bells!). Don't be alarmed by the name, I haven't built any size - I'm a woman! But I'm definitely stronger and my faint fourpack is thankful for this class.

SUNDAY - Rest

Although my routine looks the same each week, no session is ever the same (variation!). The Fitter London classes are always different and the same goes for my spin classes - to keep everyone challenged. I aim to push myself harder than the week before for gradual progress.

As you can see, I'm missing a VERY important component of my workout routine - Strength/Flexibility! Although I warm up (& mobilise my joints) before workouts and cool down (& stretch) after, it's important that I dedicate 30 minutes to an hour twice a week to focus on flexibility and stretching.  This can easily be covered by a yoga class or a session on my own.

Writing this post has reminded and inspired me - I have to get back into my Sunday yogaish routine and I will be checking in on Instagram from this weekend. I'll also try to attend yoga classes when I can. 

What's your workout schedule like? Share in the comments section and let me know if you have any questions.

It's Been A Long Week - My Personal Clean Eating Challenge & More

It's been a busy week and I have two unfinished blog posts - I started them earlier this week!

So, until I have the time to finish the blog posts and videos, I decided to share my week in pictures :)

Some of these pictures are on my instagram --> @Adura_O

TODAY IS DAY SIX AND I FEEL GREAT!

"Why *nineteen*?", I hear you ask? Because I'm nineteen (hahahahahaha!), *sigh*

Seriously, I usually eat clean (no processed foods at all), and of course healthy food, Monday - Friday and relax a little during the weekend. A couple of weeks back, after noticing my treat days get worse each passing week, I decided to have 2 whole weeks #clean - it worked! I felt great and it helped get me back to where I used to be - Treat days that had a maximum of two treats instead of multiple, random treats here and there.

Then a couple of treats happened last weekend. A cupcake and a cookie from @vickii373, and some (okay, okay!) a bar of dark chocolate. Not too crazy but enough to alarm me. So I'm adding another week (5 days) to that challenge and making it 19 days of clean eating.

On Day 20, I will not go crazy with treats and inhale tubs of ice cream because that'd defeat the purpose! It's just another kick up my backside to get back on track with clean eating.

My goals are:

- To appreciate every mouthful of every meal

- To keep cooking (and eating) deliciously, healthy meals

and

- To look (my skin, my body) and feel (energy levels, digestion) better.

Feel free to join me :)

If you don't know, I make body & hair butters and face oils.

I've decided to add a little more structure to when I make them - every 4-6 weeks, depending on demand.

I spent most of Thursday making them and this was between a 7am class at the gym and a 6pm spin class. I was so happy when I was done!

I usually eat this without a "bun" (in quotes because I obviously didn't use burger buns) but wanted to try something different today. I'd heard a lot about how Portobello mushrooms are good for this. So I pan fried them for a few minutes on either side before serving. Burgers were oven cooked (ingredients above).

This was a great post workout breakfast and I was stuffed!

PS I usually eat two turkey burgers (no bun) with a side of veggies.

My dinner on Friday - Courgette spaghetti (recipe in the Fitter Food book) stir fried in chopped chilli, curry and thyme. Served with my (successful) experiment of pork & plantain meatballs.

Buy the Fitter Food book here --> store.fitterlondon.co.uk/fitter-food-book-a-lifelong-recipe-for-success-price-includes-delivery-to-uk-only/

I was craving ice cream last night so this strawberry & banana milkshake was my treat :) (Remember: I'm doing my #CleanNineteen personal challenge).

I bought unsweetened Almond milk from Holland & Barrett, make sure you look at the list of ingredients when buying almond milk because I've some cr*ppy excuses for almond milk. There's a brand that is 2% almond, TWO PERCENT!!!!!

And this brings me today (blogging from my sofa exhausted). After a very intense Fitter London kettlebell class, I came home and had a very late lunch of: plantain and eggs both fried in about 4tbsps of fat from my homemade (beef) bone broth. I drained most of the oil (left about tbsp) before frying the eggs, I seasoned them with parsley, curry and chilli.

Thanks to Fitter London's Keris for suggesting the fat as I'd run out of coconut oil.

--

I've had a few requests for more natural skincare/haircare posts and also some workout posts. They're definitely coming :)

Happy Sunday!

I had a late, healthy breakfast and now I'm relaxing for a couple of hours :) 

Mackerel cooked in tomato puree and paprika. Eggs seasoned with salt and parsley. 1tbsp of juice from a lemon in the green tea.

Of course, I'm going to do a bit of work this afternoon... all from the comfort of my sofa ;)

Enjoy your Sunday!

Green Tea: Get Over The Taste & Reap The Benefits

I'll be honest, the first time I tried green tea, I wasn't interested in drinking it ever again. Its taste wasn't anything to write home about but like most things, it's an acquired taste. It didn't help that I was never really a tea person, I could do without tea for years so the properties of green tea played a huge part in my going back to it! The way it settled my stomach, which was an instant result, helped too!
Now it's part of my daily routine and I always have at least one cup daily.

You could start out by having it with a natural sweetener eg stevia or raw honey. And slowly wean yourself off the sweetener. Another way to enjoy green tea is making homemade iced green tea. Again, you have the option to use a natural sweetener but slowly reduce it.

Green tea is also great for the skin, read this --> http://www.blisstree.com/2011/07/21/beauty-shopping/drink-green-tea-for-younger-looking-skin/

For more on green tea, read:
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea
http://www.blisstree.com/2013/02/25/food/nutrition/green-tea-benefits/

Dinner & A Bug

The title's ridiculous right?! Read on and it'll be explained... I think! If not, let's blame it on me feeling a little under the weather ;)

Anyway I've been fighting some kind of bug/flu all day! I'm one for resting completely to recuperate but I had a 7am Fitter London Spin class which I taught off the bike so shouting and standing were the limit of my exertion. 

I listened to a friend's advice and had a long sleep until 1pm before trying to get some work done including writing up one short recipe and throwing together today's dinner. Then it was back to bed for a couple more hours.

I also increased my Vitamin C dosage, drank a lot of ginger/lemon tea, green tea and water.

I had an evening class (Fitter London Kettlebells) which was fun to teach as always, with more of standing and shouting at people (ha!).

Hot shower on returning home and served a massive portion for myself fresh & hot from my slow cooker. Yummy and so so warming!

Now it's time for a LONG sleep.

Quick & Healthy Recipe: Turkey and Kale Stir Fry

I love this recipe because it's so simple and can be modified in many ways. This was inspired by a turkey mince and green peas meal I put together a few weeks ago, on a Thursday night.

If you read my blog posts, you'll know I find it quite hard to eat a raw salad (no matter how good it is for me). I much prefer making green smoothies or stir fries using highly nutritious green leafy vegetables like spinach, collard/spring greens and kale.

I was at the supermarket last week and saw packs of kale calling my name so I bought one and decided to follow the same steps as the turkey mince/peas stir fry...

INGREDIENTS

- 400g turkey mince

- 200g kale

- 2-3 tbsp tomato puree

- 1/2 onion diced

- 1tbsp coconut oil
- Seasonings

- Salt to taste

1. Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Fry the onions until they start to brown.

2. Add the mince and start to cook in pan. Stirring in pan often to ensure it cooks evenly. 

3. Season as desired.

3. After it's been cooking for 5 minutes, add the tomato puree. Leave to simmer for a coupl eof minutes.

4. Add the (washed) kale, cover, turn down heat to medium and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Enjoy :)

• Sweet potatoes can be used instead of plantain. 
• Kale can be replaced with spinach, greens, peas, broccoli, etc