Category: Gear

The JogBlog Guide To Gear and Gadgety Gifts

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IT’S CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS.

Just kidding, come back, I have things to show you! Pretty things! Please?

You’re still here, hurrah. Good, because below are a few things you might want to put on your list for Santa, or buy for yourself.

 College Custom Sports Clothing

College Custom Sport Clothing

Embrace your inner (or not so inner) narcissist with customised clothing. College Custom are a Brighton-based company that designs and creates custom made hoodies and sports-wear for schools, colleges, and universities; as well as sports teams and societies. Luckily, they’ll customise sportswear for bloggers too, as you can see from my fab bag. Nice, innit?

As well as looking great, as you can see, it’s made by Nike but what you can’t see because of the crappy lighting conditions what with it being November and that, is its functionality.

This is a large bag – ignore what it says on the College Custom website about it being 14cm long – it’s approximately 18″ x 9″ x 10″, which means you can fit a ton of stuff in it to take to the gym.

As well as the spacious main compartment, it’s got a zipped front pocket and in that zipped front pocket are two more zipped pockets, and a clippy thing for, um, clipping things onto. There’s also a zipped shoe pocket on the side into which you can put shoes and/or sweaty gym kit to stop your shopping getting minging if you nip into the supermarket on your way home.

I can’t fault College Custom’s service. After I chose my bag, they sent my logo off to their design team and then sent me back a pdf with a mock up of my bag with the logo in yellow, red, and white. I liked the yellow one but couldn’t quite decide between that and the white one. I showed the mock-up to Shaun and he said the yellow one was best.

But, because I’m indecisive I asked if I could be a pain in the arse and see another mock-up showing the bag in pink and purple, and they were happy to oblige. Then I still couldn’t decide and apologised once again for being a pain in the arse and asked if I could see it in orange and a new mock-up was sent to me without even a hint that I was being a pain in the arse (which I totally was).

And as you can see from the photo, I went for yellow. Yes, the first colour I looked at. Yes, the colour I liked first. Yes, the colour Shaun liked. Yes, the colour in which I got the bag that I’m very happy with. I’m sorry yellow for doubting you. Yes, I am a div.

If you’d like a bag – or other sports apparel – like mine (you don’t have to get JogBlog printed on it but if you want to give me free advertising, I’m not going to complain), visit the College Custom website to obtain a quote.

Epson Pulsense Heart Rate Monitor

Epson Pulsense Heart Rate Monitor

There’s so many heart rate monitors around, aren’t there? And they all do the same sort of thing don’t they? They all measure heart rate, anyway.

The Epson Pulsense Heart Rate Monitor is, yes, yet another heart rate monitor but unlike other heart rate monitors I’ve owned in the past, I’ve actually been using this one.

The reason I’ve been using the Pulsense and not others I have is because it’s so easy to use. For a start it doesn’t have a chest strap or an armband; it has a sensor on the underside and you simply wear it as a watch.

 

Epson Pulsense Heart Rate Monitor

Sensor means there’s no need for a chest strap

As well as measuring your heart rate, the Pulsense also acts as a normal watch and it’s small and comfortable enough to wear all day, which is just as well as it counts your steps too. It looks so nice, one of the instructors at the gym stopped me and asked me about it.

You might be able to pair it bluetoothly with your phone. I couldn’t, as I’ve only got an iPhone 4 and no recent apps seem to support the iPhone 4 because it’s obviously so antiquated and should be consigned to history along with the Nokia 3210.

You can look at all the pretty graphs and stuff online though.

Epson Pulsense Heart Rate MonitorEpson Pulsense Heart Rate MonitorEpson Pulsense Heart Rate MonitorAnd you thought Epson only made printers, eh?

For more information on the Epson Pulsense Heart Rate Monitor, visit the Epson website.

Miiego AL3 Freedom Wireless Headphones

Miiego AL3 Freedom Wireless Headphones

One thing my stoneage iPhone 4 can connect to is the Miiego AL3 Freedom Wireless Headphones. I don’t know how many times my headphone wires have been ripped from my ears when I’ve been on the rowing machine but it’s more than once. It’s probably more like fifty, and each time it’s a) bloody annoying; and b) embarrassing, because when it happens it makes me jump and everyone turns and stares at me (they don’t really).

So, wireless headphones are ‘yay’ for when I’m on the rowing machine. They’re also ‘yay’ for any other time you don’t want wires in the way when you’re listening to music. I wouldn’t advise wearing them on the train though, as there’s quite a bit of noise leakage and people who wear leaking headphones on the train need booting off the train at the next station, if not before.

The Miiego AL3 Freedom Wireless Headphones are easy to pair with your phone and easy to control using the buttons on the headphones themselves. They also come with a cute little carry case.

For more information on the Miiego wireless headphones, visit the Miiego website.

Chaffree Underwear
Chaffree underwear

Not the kind of undies for *that* sort of hot date

Chaffree Underwear is something you’ll probably want to buy for yourself, should you need it. That is, unless you don’t mind letting people know you’re a sweaty chub-rub sufferer.

Personally, I don’t suffer from chub-rub but I’m not going to pretend I don’t sweat when I go to the gym. If you’re not sweating at the gym, you’re either a) not putting enough effort in; or b) you’ve had all your sweat glands removed and if you fall under category b) you probably have some kind of medical condition that means you shouldn’t be in the gym in the first place.

Chaffree Underwear is seamless underwear that relieves chafing and sweating. These are Bridget Jones-esque big pants but, let’s face it, no one goes to the gym in sexy underwear, do they? Or do they? Wouldn’t that be taking a ‘hot’ date a bit far?

Chaffree underwear is available in women’s knickerboxers, women’s briefs (as pictured) and men’s boxers. For more information, visit the Chaffree website.

Cellulite Crusher Leggings

Cellulite Crusher leggings

Now here’s a weird thing. Leggings with 1200-1600 little wooden beads sewn into them to massage your thighs, improve your circulation and eliminate cellulite, while you’re working out.

You can wear them while cycling, running, walking, yoga, pilates or just doing the housework and while any physical activity happens, the pressure of the beads increases as your muscles contract against them.

They’re heavier than usual leggings but you don’t notice the heaviness once they’re on and they’re comfy and fit well. I did briefly (okay, for quite a long time) wonder if I looked stupid and if people would stare at me but I decided to be brave and wore them to the gym. No one stared at them or even gave them a second glance, so yay. They were slightly uncomfortable at first as I used the rowing machine but I soon stopped noticing them and I didn’t notice them at all in the spin class. In fact, I forgot I was wearing 1200 little wooden beads until I took the Cellulite Crushers off and saw my legs covered in little round indentations.

The washing instructions say to handwash only, but I’m not handwashing anything – let alone sweating gym kit – so I put them in the washing machine and they seem to have survived.

For more information, visit the Cellulite Crusher website.

I’ll be giving away a pair of Cellulite Crushers soon (and also a pair of (unworn, don’t panic) Chaffree knickers), so keep a look out for more news on that.

Thanks go to all the above companies for sending me their products to review. All opinions my own and honest, blah blah blah. 

 

 

Juneathon Day 25 – SKINS Running Tights Review

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As I said earlier this week, I’d planned to do this Saturday’s scheduled 7 miles today because I’d decided at the beginning of Juneathon to do a parkrun/spin challenge this Saturday instead of sticking diligently to my marathon training schedule.

I woke up feeling rested, the sun was shining, my new pink running shoes were waiting for me and I also had the added motivation of a pair of SKINS A400 ¾ running tights that had been sent to me to try out.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of SKINS but, in case you haven’t, SKINS make compression clothing using something called Dynamic Gradient Compression which apparently means you can workout for longer and have less muscle pain the next day. This works by controlling the pressure over the ITB and TFL muscle groups and I’m not going to pretend I know about this kind of thing (as far as I’m concerned, TFL stands for Transport for London), so if you want to read about the science behind SKINS, you can fill your boots with all the techy stuff here.

Upon opening the packaging – a fancy box inside a cardboard sleeve, which undoubtedly ups the price of these running tights, which aren’t cheap at £90 – the first thing I noticed about the SKINS were that they were tiny. Like teeny-tiny. Like teeny-weeny-teeny-tiny. Like DO I LOOK LIKE I’M THE SIZE OF CHERYL COLE tiny.

Skins A400 women's running tights

You can’t tell from the photo just how tiny they are; I should have put my cat next to them for scale.

What intrigued me more than the Cheryl Cole-esque size was a label which said it mustn’t be removed. I have absolutely no idea why this label shouldn’t be removed. Any ideas?

Skins label

Why???????

I liked the smooth, shiny material but I had a bit of trouble pulling the tights up so the waistband wasn’t hugging my hips, but after my run, I read on the website that the ‘lower rise sits comfortably on hips’, which isn’t great for those of us with a bit of a belly. I prefer a higher waist on my running tights, otherwise I find they keep slipping down.

SKINS A400 women's running tights

So, now I was dressed in my new fancy running tights, it was time for my run.

SKINS A400 women's running tights

It didn’t start well. I spent the first mile tugging at one of my bra straps that had decided to be uncomfortable (I think it was irritating my sunburnt shoulder) and the SKINS running tights were the most uncomfortable things I had ever worn; they were too tight on my legs, the waistband kept slipping down and the bands at the bottom of the legs were threatening to cut the circulation off from my calves.

After the first mile though, my clothing stopped annoying me. My bra strap stopped irritating my sunburn and the SKINS got comfier. A lot comfier. Maybe they need breaking in or something but after a while they stopped being the most uncomfortable thing I’d ever worn and even the waistband stopped slipping down and decided to stay in place, and a waistband that doesn’t keep slipping down is really all I want from a pair of running tights.

So now I’d started going, I decided my goal for today’s run would be to run under 13 minute miles. I decided this when I kept stopping to walk because I thought it would spur me on to stop walking quite so much and, yay, it worked. Because the Dymchurch Marathon has a cut off of 6 hours, I reckoned if I can average 13 minute miles or under, I should make the cut off time but, according to Running Free Online, if I run the marathon like I ran today, I’m not going to make that cut off time. Dammit. Still, I have months and months to get fitter and faster.

marathon-estimate

Something that did make me smile, however, was the Great Kent Bike Ride pack that was waiting for me when I got back. It contained this year’s t-shirt that I’d ordered and IT’S BRIGHT FUCKING ORANGE.

Great Kent Bike Ride 2015 t-shirt

I love orange. I love orange so much that, many years ago, I thought about joining the Hare Krishnas when I saw them skipping down Oxford Street one day. I’m not sure if they were actually skipping but they looked so happy in their flowing orange robes, banging their tambourines, I wanted to join them and be happy and wear orange and bang tambourines down Oxford Street and stuff. But then I found out they didn’t eat garlic or onions and I thought fuck that.

Tomorrow is a rest day but, obviously, Juneathon doesn’t allow for proper rest days so I’ll go for a walk or something and I’ll also report back on whether the SKINS did their reduce DOMS thing or not. I can tell you this though; as I’m writing this post – 5 hours after returning from my run – my legs feel good. Maybe they do work after all.

Stats

Running: 7 miles
Pairs of posh new running tights: 1
Bright orange t-shirts: 1
Current thoughts of joining the Hare Krishnas: 0

 

 

Juneathon Day 20 – A Run And A Pair Of New Shoes

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DAMMIT, I thought, when I woke up. I’d had a sleepless night and when I woke up I thought I’d slept too late to make it on time to meet up with a group to go on a bike ride to the seaside. So I jumped out of bed to get on Facebook and hoped they’d see my ‘sorry I’m not going to make it on time’ message before they left, then I realised it was Saturday, not Sunday and I didn’t have to be anywhere. Duh.

But, I did have to run 6 miles and so I drank my tea and got into my running gear and attempted to run 6 miles. My ‘attempt’ turned into a bit of a stroll, listening to my music but at least I made it out the door.

When I got home, I decided because I’d ran 6 miles, my running shoes were probably worn out and therefore I needed a new pair. I pondered this out loud on Twitter and Twitter agreed with me:

And so I cycled off to the Designer Outlet and bought myself some pretty pink Asics Cumulus 15.

Asics Cumulus 15

These totally say ‘serious athlete in training’ eh?

I’m not entirely convinced they’re bright enough or pink enough though. What do you think?

Stats

Running: 6 miles
Cycling: 4 miles
Pairs of bright pink running shoes: 1

Juneathon Day 5: A Run! Yes, I Said A Run!

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You know I said yesterday I might do a run today but don’t hold your breath? Well, after posting the link to yesterday’s walk on the Juneathon Facebook Page, fellow Juneathoner David Lewis berated me and said this was called JogBlog, not WalkTalk, and so I said okay, I’ll do a run tomorrow and so, DAMMIT, that meant I had to run today.

So, yeah, I ran. And not only did I run but, because I had a whole three or four hours of uninterrupted sleep at some point after 1am, my brain or body or whatever part of me is responsible for this type of thing, decided that 5am was a perfectly reasonable time for me to be wide awake, so I got up about 5:30am, left the house at 6:30am-ish and went for a run.

Anita Extreme Control Sports Bra

As I pondered what to wear, I remembered I had a new Anita Extreme Control Sports Bra to try out. This bra is great and I’m not sure what I like best about it – the way it does up easily like a normal bra (i.e. none of that twenty-three clips and straps and hooks malarky), the comfort and support, or that it comes in Black Grape colour, which isn’t to be confused with the indie dance rockers of the same name. Which is just as well, as I really don’t want Shaun Ryder anywhere near my tits.

As soon as I stepped outside the house and before I’d even taken my hand off the door handle, someone was pouring water on my head and I thought WHO THE FUCK IS POURING WATER ON MY HEAD? Then I realised it was probably raining and not someone pouring water on my head and I looked around and saw that, yes, indeed, it was raining all over the local neighbourhood and not just on my head.

Being a sane and rational person, I turned to go back inside but, although I still had my hand on the door handle, the door had shut and so I thought I’d be hard and go for a run anyway. Plus, although I’m no Michael Fish, I reckoned it was only going to be a shower anyway. But it turned out I am Michael Fish after all because it was only a shower. Get me and my weather forecasting skillz.

I was doing really well, running (I use the term loosely) without stopping to walk until I got to about 1.85 miles and thought I’d have a bit of a rest. But then I remembered I was marathon training training and a marathon is longer than 1.85 miles (my maths is rubbish and at the time I couldn’t work out just how much longer it is, which is probably just as well), so I carried on shuffling along in my own approximation of running and although before I’d left the house I’d planned to do 3 miles, it only turned out to be 2.6 miles, I’m happy with that. It’s a start, isn’t it?

Stats

Run:

Distance: 2.6 miles
Time: mind your own business (or look on Strava)
Pace: as above
Juneathons completed: 3/30

Daisy Print Running Tights? Oh Yes!

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On the way to the pub after the Ashford & District 10k a couple of weeks ago, Helen and I stopped to look in the window of Sports Direct (don’t ask me why this was more important than the pub. We must have been feeling athletic after our race or something) and I saw a jacket I had been eyeing up a few months ago had been reduced in price so we went in to have a look.

The jacket wasn’t the same jacket I thought it was but look what I found instead.

USA Pro daisy print running tights

Don’t cha wish your running tights were hot like these?

DAISY PRINT TIGHTS, BABY!!!! They were £17.99, which is more than I’d usually want to pay in Sports Direct, but… you know… daisies…

Flower print running tights

Stop looking at the mess behind me. Nosy.

I went for a run in them today and they’re thick and comfy but they don’t have a drawstring and they do slip down a bit, although not as much as some tights I’ve worn in the past so they’re okay to run in but may be better suited to the gym.

You can buy similar ones in Tesco for £14, although they’re a lot thinner. I was tempted to buy some when I saw them the other day but I’d already bought my SD ones but yesterday when I went into Tesco, I bought some fab bright pink and black ones which I’ll model for you another time.

I bought my daisy print tights in-store at Sports Direct, but here’s the link if you want to buy some online.

Isn’t great that we can get tights more interesting than plain black now?

 

There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing (or whatever the saying is)

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‘Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you’, sang Crowded House. This isn’t a sentiment I entirely agree with as, although, yes, it would be nice to bring back a bit of sun from your summer holiday, all those English people lazing about by the pool in Barbados in December won’t be best pleased if you rock up after your long haul flight from the UK with a bit of British cold wet winter weather, will they?

So, no. Don’t take the weather with you everywhere you go. Instead, dress for the weather you currently have. Take this morning, for example. Although the sky was clear and blue and, from the warmth of my centrally-heated room, the world outside my window could almost have been mistaken for summer, I knew it was going to be cold outside and I’d promised Facebook I’d go for a run (mostly to stop The Running Goth picking on me by calling me a slacker every three minutes) and so I needed to dress appropriately. Hello, thermal top from Blackspade.

Yes, I'm holding my stomach in

Yes, I’m holding my stomach in

This top is lightweight, comfy, warm, has a high neck (if you like that kind of thing – personally, I don’t like things round my neck so I undid the zip a bit) and, as you can see, is quite long and stays in place.

This isn't me, but you probably new that

This isn’t me, but you probably knew that

I also wore it out walking a couple of weeks ago (you can see a pic of the pretty countryside in which I walked here) underneath a body warmer and it kept me warm then, too.

I changed out of my slippers and put walking boots on, honest

I changed out of my slippers and put walking boots on, honest

I’d also wear it out cycling so, all in all, it’s a versatile top. If you would like a top like this, in the absence of anyone bringing back some winter sun to warm you up, the Blackspade Winter Thermal Sports Top is available from Amazon (this link takes you to one which is identical except there’s no zip on the neck).

And remember kids, ignore what Crowded House say and don’t take the weather with you – leave it where it is.

Let’s Talk About Pants, Baby

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This morning, I spent far too long trying to remember if I usually get a wedgie when I’m running or at the gym. Then I thought, ha, yes, I distinctly remember standing on a treadmill hoping no one could see me picking my knickers out of my bum. Whether or not this was a common occurrence, I couldn’t remember but, seeing as I haven’t been banned from the gym because of complaints about constant unwedgieing, I reckoned this probably wasn’t on the list of runner’s ailments such as, say, black toenails or that foot injury no one knows how to pronounce.

Still, there was a reason for my wedgie wondering and that was because I’d been sent a pair of pants known as Edgies.  They work on the premise of ‘Don’t get a wedgie with an Edgie’ (which isn’t actually their slogan but it certainly should be and if it appears on their website, remember where you heard it first and let me know so I can send them an invoice).

Edgie no wedgie pants

Look, Ma – no wedgie!

They work by having silicone banding round the edge of the legs. My first thought was I DON’T WANT TO WEAR RUBBER PANTS. I AM NEITHER A) INCONTINENT; NOR B) A GIMP but once on, you don’t feel them at all. In fact, Edgies are beautifully light and comfy.

You too can have a rubber band in your pants

You too can have a rubber band in your pants

We all know you don’t get clothes that are targeted towards *ahem* sportspeople without the word ‘wicking’ or ‘breathable’ appearing somewhere and the blurb for the Edgies was no different. I’d never thought about breathable pants before and not only because the phrase ‘wicker knickers’ sounds itchy but now I’ve tried these and without wanting to go into too much detail, after my run, I was perfectly fresh and dry ‘down there’ and I want to buy some more as I don’t want to go back to running in cotton knickers now. And yes, I know you’re wondering, and the answer is no, I didn’t get a wedgie. Thank you for asking.

Edgies come in a range of styles, which you can have a look at on their website.

Janathon stats

Pants in the post: 1
Wedgies: 0

Oh yeah, I ran 3.1 miles.

Be Seen and Be Safe In The Karrimor Running Reflekt Range

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Guess who stuck diligently to the first week of their half marathon training schedule last week? Yep, you got it – not me. I wasn’t a complete slacker though, as I did join my running group on Tuesday evening for their speedwork session, which involved running past the Outlet Centre’s food court approximately twenty-three times and I can tell you, the smell of chips frying didn’t get any less tempting the more times I ran past it. But at least I was only running past it and not through it, like the Ironman participants had to do in the summer, only to be rewarded for their efforts with a plastic cup of water and an energy gel when they ran – drooling and starving like an extra from The Walking Dead – through the exit.

I should probably admit, I only went to the session because, in an act fuelled foolishly not by wine for once, but by coming home energised and motivated after my local parkrun the Saturday before, I posted on Emily’s – our running group leader – Facebook page that I would be coming along on Tuesday and posting it publicly on her page so I couldn’t get out of it. She even offered me a lift, so there was definitely no getting out of it and now she says now she knows where I live, there will definitely be no slacking off in the future.

As it was an evening run, it gave me the chance to try out the new Karrimor Running Reflekt range I’d been sent. As you’ve probably guessed from the name, it’s made with reflective material. On one of the billion tags that were attached to the jacket and tights, it said to take a photo with the flash to see the transformation. So I did. Here’s the jacket.

Karrimor Running Reflekt Jacket

Photo taken with flash

Karrimor Running Reflekt Jacket

Photo taken without flash

And here are the tights and jacket together, in a runner’s equivalent of double denim.

Karrimor Running Reflekt Tights

Photo taken with flash

Karrimor Running Reflekt Tights

Photo taken without flash

As you can see, these clothes really are reflective. When you’re outside and not taking photos of yourself in the mirror while being ignored by your cat, you can’t tell they’re reflective by looking down at them but my running group were impressed by how reflective they were and wanted to know where they could get some.

It’s not all about the reflectiveness though – this is decent kit. I’m really fussy about my running tights as ones that don’t stay up or are uncomfortable really get on my wick(ing fabric – ha!) These tights are great. They’re thick, long enough (they’re almost too long and I usually have the opposite problem and can’t get tights/trousers/leggings long enough), have zips on each ankle/calf, have a zipped pocket on the back and – most importantly for me – they stay in place and there’s no running along pulling your tights back up while simultaneously hoping you’re not giving yourself a wedgie in full view of any passing dog walkers. You’ve probably noticed they have a pink pattern on the ankles and this is going to annoy the pink haterz, but I like it.

I don’t usually wear a jacket while running as I get too hot, but as it was raining, I thought it might be a good idea and although it fit well and was comfy enough, I did get too hot but if you like running in jackets and want one that will help you not get run over, this is the jacket for you. Karrimor also do a reflective long-sleeved running top but I didn’t get sent one of those to try, boo.

The Karrimor Reflekt running tights are a bargainous £19.99 (honestly, they’re well worth this – I want to get some more as I haven’t got any other decent long running tights) and the jacket is £59.99. The range is available in men’s and women’s (unsurprisingly the men’s tights don’t have pink bits) from the Karrimor website.

Oh yeah, I ran five miles this morning to make up for the five miles I didn’t run on Saturday. I’m not sure how well I’m going to be sticking to my schedule the rest of the week as I’ve been invited to afternoon tea at the Houses of Parliament tomorrow for a running thing (just thought I’d sneak that in there) and I’m out all day on Thursday.

Just getting my excuses in early.

Review: Loxley Suspension Trainer

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Loxley Sports asked me if I wanted to try out their suspension trainer. I had no idea what a suspension trainer was but I looked on their website and saw it was yellow and as I like yellow I thought I’d give it a go.

A compact box arrived containing the main trainer straps, a door anchor, a strap extender, a door warning sign and a meshed bag.

loxley-inside-the-box

The first thing I noticed was the quality. This is a sturdy, well made piece of kit. Just the feel of it convinces you you’re not holding something cheap and flimsy. I’ve had a floppy pink plastic tube resistance training thing for a while now but that remains coiled up on the floor of the conservatory like a floppy pink thing; a simile for which I am far too ladylike to post on this blog.

It only takes a few seconds to put the suspension trainer together but then I had a dilemma. It can be used indoors by hooking over a door or locking over a beam/joist, etc. or it can be taken outside to be used on a tree (or maybe a football goalpost or something if you have no trees in your area). We don’t have many doors in this house and those that we do aren’t really in a position to enable comfortable training. I also wasn’t sure if any of the doors were strong enough for me to be pulling on but then wondered maybe if because you’re pulling the door towards you, maybe the door frame prevents any risk of the door falling off. But that’s sciency stuff and I don’t know any sciency stuff. Anyway, I decided on the bedroom door as that meant the whole landing would be behind me.

loxley-bedroom-door

As you can see, the straps are long. As you can also see, we have very low ceilings, so there wasn’t going to be any jumping up and down happening while doing the suspension training.

I eventually worked out how to shorten the straps and it was time to do some exercise. Unfortunately, the supplied leaflet, although it gives you five foundation exercises, it doesn’t actually tell you how to do them.

loxley-exercises

I had a look on Loxley Sports’ website and there aren’t any exercises on there, either. This is a massive oversight and I hope in the future they’ll provide some exercises on their website with an accompanying video.

Still, youtube to the rescue! First of all, I found this girl doing some exercises that looked far too hardcore for me (she’s using a different make of suspension trainer but the one from Loxley Sports does the same thing).

Then I found this bloke who at first I thought looked a bit of a twat but actually, he’s okay and explains the exercises well and isn’t a twat at all.

Some of his exercises aren’t suitable for the hooking-the-suspension-trainer-over-the-door method though and are more suited to those exercising outside. So I found this one that shows some door-only exercises.

I then decided the conservatory door would be better because then I a) would be able to have the laptop next to me so I can follow the exercises; b) can have the back door open; and c) I can get my cat to do the exercising for me. After going through a few of the exercises, my arms were aching – the suspension trainer definitely gives you a decent workout. It’d probably give me an even more decent workout if I wasn’t scared of the door falling off and therefore not using all my resistance (which is the whole point of it, duh).

loxley-conservatory-door

 

If you watched the above videos, you’ll see that there are loads of exercises to be done with a suspension trainer. In fact, it made me sad to see I was limited by what I could do inside so I looked in the garden for a suitable tree and hurrah, I found the perfect branch and gave it a bit of a tug to see how strong it was.

branch

It seemed strong enough to hold my weight and I’ll have all the space I need, so now I just need to pluck up the courage to exercise with the risk of being seen by the neighbours. Hmm.

I’m impressed with the Loxley Suspension Trainer. It’s well made, easy to use and you get a decent workout from it. And from what I can see, at £44.95 it retails at a competitive price. Some training videos on the website would be an improvement though or, ideally, ship it with a training DVD.

Roosport Fitness Pouch

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Last week’s parkrun was a personal worst. It was all going so well, too. My first mile was ran at 10 minutes something and I was thinking, yeah, bitch, I’m going to own this run, I’m going to nail it, I’m badass and well, you get the picture – I was doing okay. Then I got a tickly cough and the tickly cough decided to stick around, as tickly coughs are wont to do. I kept stopping to cough and stopping to cough and then an old lady runner came trotting up behind me and stopped and asked if I was okay. I told her I was fine and she carried on running and then my cough stopped and I started running and I’d almost caught her up and then I had flashbacks of my first ever 10k when I fell over a football and a girl picked me up and shouted at the footballers for me and then near the end, I overtook her and I felt really bad and I’ve felt guilty ever since (I have such a huge guilt complex, I should really be Catholic except that would involve me being Catholic and I don’t want to be Catholic and not wanting to be Catholic kind of rules me out from becoming Catholic. I think.) Anyway, here was my chance to recoup my karma. Recouping karma with a cough, yeah! So, I did the decent thing and didn’t overtake the old lady runner and kept behind her and stayed keeping behind her even when she was far far away and out of view because obviously I didn’t want to risk catching her up and undoing all that karma I’d just recouped. And because I’d walked leisurely around the last two miles of parkrun recouping my karma, my time was appalling. So this week I had to redeem myself and go faster. And go faster I did. By about three minutes, hurrah.

roosport

On today’s parkrun, I had with me a handy little detachable pocket that had been sent to me. It’s a Roosport magnetic pocket and it’s really cool. And the magnet is a ‘Yeah Bitch! Magnets!’ kind of magnet.

You get your finger caught in the Roosport’s magnet and you will feel as much pain as if you got it slammed in a car door. But, assuming you’re not a masochistic clumsy bugger like me and can manage to operate a simple magnetic flap, you need a Roosport if you have no pockets in your running tights or you want to carry a phone but don’t want to look like a dick by wearing it on your arm.

It’s got a zipped pocket for keys, cards, etc., and an open pocket in which to store your phone (it would have been perfect for me to store the little camera I used to take out with me in case I came across a cow-based photo emergency). It’s even got a little hole in the side for your headphone wire to come through, which would be perfect for those who use their phone for apps while out on a run. The reason for the magnet is so it attaches to your running tights. Genius! As I mentioned, I wore mine today at the parkrun, using it to keep my keys and barcode in (it came in handy for the cycle up to the park too, to keep my iPod in) and it’s comfy to wear and you don’t even notice it’s there. I’m sure you’ve got the gist of it, but here’s a short video so you can see it in action.

You can buy the Roosport from their website at www.theroosport.com

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