You Animal!

I want to motivate people to think outside the box about their fitness.

Most people are turned off from starting a fitness program because they think they have to go to a gym. When I think of gyms, I think of  dreadmills and endless mind numbing reps on machines that have no idea about the contours of my body. All this to the beat of music I grew out of in my teens and in the company of people who are entirely absorbed in their own image or desperately trying not to be noticed. Yes, there are exceptions out there, but they are few and far between. My favorite gym is everywhere, and it’s free. We are animals after all and we should be moving and interacting with the natural world to stay in prime condition. We should be strong, agile and flexible.  The modern lifestyle severely restricts our movement patterns, not to mention what it does to the mind and spirit.

I want to help people move their body in such away that they free their minds

You don’t have to give up climbing trees just because you grew up. Do you remember being a kid and going outside to play with your mates. No agenda or plan. The only rule: general avoidance of acting  sensible or staying clean. So, please don’t think of me as just a PT. Think of me also as a friend knocking on your door and asking you if you want to come outside and play!

Happy Wraps!

Hummus, Spinach and Sprouts in a Buckwheat, Spinach and Beet Root Wrap

First of all, yes, I do love spinach! When I was a naughty smoker, I used to get mighty stressed out when I was nearing the end of the pack. Now, I get that same feeling when my bag of spinach is almost gone. I’m also very fond of hummus, and today was really craving a wrap, but didn’t want the standard wheat version, so this is what I came up with. 

Second of all, I must apologize for not giving exact ingredients. Unfortunately, I’m not a cookbook cook.

Ingredients:

VERY large handful of spinach (half for wraps/half for filling)

Pureed and cooked beetrooot (couple tbsp or more if you dare)

about a cup of soy or other milk

1-2 tbsp of hummus

choice of sprouts or other vivacious veg

Blend (using high speed or normal blender/processor) together half the spinach, beet root and some of the milk, just to get it going. Slowly, keep adding milk until you have the same consistency of single cream, or a little thicker. If you’ve ever made crepes, you get the idea. You’ll want to cook these in a non stick frying pan. Coat the pan with a little oil between each wrap. When you put the batter in, twirl the pan around to spread the batter thin. Don’t even think about turning until the top surface stops looking “wet” and bubbles are forming over middle of wrap, but if you get anxious, you can start creeping up the edges as they dry. Keep making wraps until you’ve used up all the batter. Leave on a plate and cover with cling film. It will keep for a couple days in fridge

All that’s left to do now, is fill up with your favorite fillings!!

Happy New Year

I did initially tell myself that this year I’d storm through the holiday season like a ninja warrior on steroids. Then the dreaded lurgy pirated what I thought was my infallible immune system. I didn’t let myself get too depressed about it, especially as i looked around to see a rather dire landscape of normally healthy and fit friends and family lying in heaps of moaning helpless despair. Yes, it’s been that bad. Some have even started to blame others for starting this particular strain of cold, as if it’s been designed in a amateur basement laboratory, but that’s probably just the lemsip talking.

Anyway, two weeks on and I’ve crawled through Christmas, which has meant “traditional” eating and drinking on top of a flagging immune system. The combination of the two has pretty much floored me and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, much less myself (what was I thinking)

It’s New Years Eve tomorrow and I can’t wait to sit down to a giant bowl of greenery, a mug of ginger tea and generous helping of fresh resolutions. I’m stabbing this lurgy in the heart and roaring victory.

Happy New Year and hope you kick some butt out there!

Training….Obsession??

I think it’s safe to say that it is winter now, and with it I’ve decided to revamp my training regime. First of all, I should probably stop calling it a regime. Because, it has none of the oppressive conotations implicate with such a word. Let’s call it, My Way of Life, because , as I’ve been told,  it’s maybe a little bit consuming. But,  there are far worse things to be obssessed about. I especially love when people question this Obsession as they themselves are completely unaware of their own, because they are classed as another normal modern day western traditions. For example, I bet most people have spent more time shopping for cheap imported crap than I have in training this week.

Anyway, I wanted to write about my “Way of Life”, and got on the soap box….now getting off.

I’ve decided to consentrate on my running, swimming and general conditioning  more, and back off the cycling slightly. I know some might gasp….” No, not the bike, most important part, blah, blah, blah”, but , here’s why I must:

For 1, I know that I will back off it anyway, because it’s bitter cold, wet, windy, and generally miserable, so why set myself up for something I know I won’t do.

For 2, I can concentrate a little more on the other aspects of tri training. Including flexibility, conditioning and injury prevention. More details soon

For 3, why the heck not, it’s all an experiment, and I might change my mind, especially if I get lots of great winter cycling gear for Christmas, wink-wink

Will keep you posted on how it goes.

PS, almost forgot. I am now officially enrolled to take the Level 2 British Trialthlon Coaching Qualification. Very soon,  I might just have a better understanding about it all, and by “all” , I mean Triathlon.

I love my TRX

 

Almost every exercise you do on it conditions the core muscles. This is one of several mini circuits I do, but this one targets the core. I do this sequence 3 times  and ideally 3 times a week.

Quit when your form starts to go, which for me is about 10 seconds into the last exercise in sequence (plank)

Afterschool Snack

SUPER SALAD-so super the exact recipe is hidden in my memory (lost) but here’s what’s in it:

Cooked quinoa
Cooked black rice
Roasted sweet potato
Cooked lentils
Fresh bell peppers
Broad beans
Sautéed fennel and onions
Steamed chard
Some peas
And balsalmic vinaigrette

River Cottage Veg Everday

About a month ago I stumbled upon Hugh’s new cook book. I had to take a peek. Even though I’m a vegan now, I have always been a Hugh fan, so had a look for old times sake. Well, I could hardly believe it as as I flipped through the pages; each page a feast of colour and vegetable adoration. Needless to say, I bought the book, despite budget constraints. Many of the recipes are vegan, and the ones that aren’t, can easily be tweeked into a vegan dish. I have used it almost daily since I bought it. By far the best cook book in my kitchen!

Shortly after purchasing I found out about Hugh’s Veg Everyday TV series and his endeavor to become vegetarian for a summer. For reasons culinary to planetary, I am truly impressed and inspired.

He also has a whole chapter devoted to raw foods and juices….Awesome

Here’s a recipe from the book. Vegans only need to replace the butter for vegan alternate (non-hydrogenated).

Baby Beetroot Tarte Tatin
By HughFearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage Veg

Baby Beetroot Tarte Tatin

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 500g baby beetroot (no bigger than a
  golfball), scrubbed
• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black
  pepper

For
the rough puff pastry

• 400g plain flour
• 200g cold, unsalted butter, cut into
  small cubes
• Pinch of salt
• Iced water

For
the vinaigrette

• Green tops from a few spring onions,
  finely chopped
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 5 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a frying
   pan large enough for all the beetroot to sit snugly, add the beetroot and toss
   to coat in the oil and butter. Add the sugar and vinegar, season and taste,
   adjusting the vinegar and sugar if necessary.
2. Cover the pan with foil and place in
   an oven preheated to 190°C/gas mark 5 for approximately 30-40 minutes or until
   the beetroot are tender.
3. For the pastry, mix the flour with
   the salt and add the cubed butter. Add enough water to bring the mixture
   together into a fairly firm dough. On a floured surface shape the pastry into a
   rectangle. Roll out the pastry until it’s approximately 1cm thick. Fold the
   pastry into thirds, by taking the end furthest away from you towards you and
   then the end closest to you on top of that, you should again have a rectangle.
   Turn the pastry a quarter turn and repeat the rolling and folding a further
   five times. Wrap the pastry in cling film and rest in the fridge for 30
   minutes.
4. When the beetroot are cooked remove
   from the oven and arrange the beets neatly in the pan. Roll out the pastry and
   cut a circle a little larger than the pan. Carefully place the pastry over the
   beetroot tucking the excess pastry into the pan. Return to the oven and cook
   for 20-25 minutes until golden and puffed up.
5. Make the vinaigrette by placing all
   the ingredients in a clean jam jar and give it a good shake.
6. When the tart is ready remove from
   the oven and leave to rest for a few minutes.
7. To serve place a large plate over the
   pan and carefully, but quickly, turn upside down, remove the pan and pour over
   the vinaigrette.

Love It!

Veganism and Raw Food

I am not a strict vegan are raw foodie by any stretch. It takes huge amounts of planning and effort to follow this kind of diet, however, this is the way I aim to eat the majority of the time. It may not be the way to go for everyone (it does tend to make you unpopular at dinner parties), but I really do believe that a lifestyle, which includes more plant-based nutrition, is going to experience a beneficial shift. That’s the selfish view. The self-less view is more controversial, and the one that usually turns people off going 100% Vegan or raw food. Most people don’t want to appear to be an extremist. The truth is, the more plant-based our diet, the less we are contributing to environmental demise and world hunger. I won’t go into details, but the facts are out there.
Let me explain first what vegans and raw-foodies are, for those who might be curious. A strict vegan will not eat, wear or in any way consume anything, which comes from animal or insect. There are several types of raw-foodies. First there are the carnivorous raw-foodies, who will eat meat, and then the vegetarian raw foodies, who might add raw dairy products and egg, then of course the vegan raw foodies who are entirely plant based. Strict raw foodies will never cook food above 115F and many don’t even cook food at all. The reason is that above this temperature, food loses most it’s nutritional quality, enzymes, and water content. The actual definitions of each diet really aren’t that important for the sake of this piece of writing. I myself do not follow any of these rules 100% of the time. I do however, as a guideline strive to follow a vegan raw food diet, and here’s why:

1-For athletes, there is a major bonus to not eating meat. Meat causes inflammation in the body, and inflammation hinders recovery. To be the best athlete you can be, a fast recovery is essential. Many endurance athletes and even some body builders are moving towards a plant-based diet.

2- Raw, plant based food is LOADED with phytonutrients (essential for life) as well as antioxidants, which help inhibit illness and disease.

3-The body cannot process a vast majority of food found in the average western diet. It either get’s stored or put in places it shouldn’t be, both causing some major problems. However, the body is very efficient at processing and using plant based foods and this most often leads to the body finding it’s ideal size without “dieting”

4-When I am at least 80% consuming vegan, whole, raw foods, I have more energy than a 5 year old, I can think clearer, and I have a sparkling attitude

5- Most of the conceptions we have about vegans being emaciated and under nourished is complete rubbish. For the most part, vegans and vegetarians have far fewer health concerns than those following the average western diet.

6- Last, but not least, I know that I am lessening my impact on a planet I dearly love

I’m certainly not advocating that anyone take up a similar diet. I think that what you eat is a very personal choice, but I do think that people need to start with putting a little thought into where their foods has come from and the effect it will have on their well-being, as well as the planet’s. This is a great first step.

The Good News

We actually have a lot of control over our life. Sometimes, we just pretend we don’t because it’s too scary to take responsibility and get off our butts. We moan about the fact that we’re getting old and achy, we have bad knees, life is boring, kids are unruly and etc, etc. We can decide to make changes for the better, and sometimes it ‘s only a small change, which can drastically alter our lives for the better. For example, we can decide to start going for a walk everyday, which might lead to losing some weight, which might lead to, healthier knees, which might lead to new perspective and a better attitude. We may even decide to take our kids with us and they might just get the crazies out a little if we let them climb some trees. We might even climb some trees ourselves and find that maybe it would be great to climb some mountains… It is truly exciting how limitless the world is!
We all know stories about people who have done miraculous things with great courage. People who, not only went against the odds, but kicked it’s a$$! For a good example check out the video I’ve posted about Team Hoyt (Visionaries/Pretty awesome). We are all capable of achieving amazing things. It’s in out spirit. The problem is that we often allow the everyday humdrum to numb us into inaction. Sometimes we wake up and realize that we are no longer free, or maybe we never were. We are the only one’s who can regain it. How do we do it? We start by taking responsibility for our own lives and fighting back the drudgery of modern living and regaining a sense of zest and vigor. We can make time for some reflection, take stock in our relationships and improve our interaction with the world around us. We might even be really brave and put our pathologies out on the line for a little fresh air and sunshine.
Maybe today it’s too big a step to take up marathon training, or even go for a walk, but there are always steps that can be made, even if they are only in our mind.