Smoothie Saturday: 18 May 2013

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Good mooooorning!! I hope you’re well! The weekend is here and it’s time for smoothies, woop!!

Today’s photo above is from the lovely Lizzy (@lizzypigs) who posted this bad boy on her Instagram and it looked (and tasted LUSH – her Twister Lolly juice!!) ingredients below.

Apples
Oranges
Spinach
Chia Seeds
Lime Juice
Ginger
Water

This week has been hectic, packing up a two bed and moving all on the same day has meant not much smoothie action the first half of the week which I missed dearly, but I’m back on it and feeling all the better.

My smoothie today is a wealth of green goodness, definitely helped my “do I have a cold or hayfever” dilemma. Jury is still out, but I feel much better. I’m off to run We Own The Night with Nike and Elle Magazine later, so look for the write up on that later this weekend.

Spinach
Kale
Broccoli
Strawberries
Golden Delicious apple
Celery
Pear nectar

I added liquid echinacea to boost my system and a dash of honey.

Love and light.

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Smoothie Saturday: 10 May 2013

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Good morning, I hope you’ve had a good week blending up some real beauties!

I have to say I don’t always get it right, and had a disaster with a juice I made this week adding too much. But this is part and parcel of finding what you like and don’t like which is why I don’t put quantities down. I also do not like celery or beetroot, but found with the right blend I made two different juices this week that I can drink without heaving. That’s always a bonus, right? One is highlighted this week, the other will be posted soon.

The photo above is from my good friend Josie. She is back on her bike now the Spring is a little kinder to us, my girl rode London to Brighton a while back so have been in awe of her for a long time. Very proud of her with her progress in the gym, she’s taking them on and it coming on really well already. Pow!

Her smoothie ingredients:

Strawberries
Spinach
Apples
Honey

I created the smoothie below quite thin so it’s probably more in the juice camp, but if you wanted to add plain yoghurt to thicken you might be onto a winner. As I said earlier, I do not like celery, but I’m not a fan of comfort zones and wanted to include a wider range of ingredients for you guys as well. It wasn’t as bad as I thought and despite tasting a little more celery than I would have liked, it was okay!! I am going to stick at it until I find the right quantity where I love it.

Let me know how you do!

Strawberries
Celery
Carrots
Spinach
Apple and Mango Juice
Honey
Rolled Oats (my substitute for yoghurt)

Love and light xx

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Smoothie Saturday: 04 May 2013

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This week’s beauty above is from the lovely Stoosh who’s falling in love with her blender (and like most of us disliking the washing up afterward.) She has thrown together a fruit sensation and although like me she hates banana, she has been brave enough to throw one into her juice and loved it. Go girl!

Banana
Strawberries
Kiwi
Orange Juice
Vanilla Extract
Nutmeg

Now onto my smoothie of the week. I was feeling the constant change with the weather earlier this week and the onset of hayfever was starting to take a hold, so I have been on a green smoothie drive. I know it’s a huge hurdle for a lot of people drinking green stuff, but I have to say that it has eradicated the onset of either hayfever or cold and I’m feeling much better. Not all that bad, eh? I added liquid echinacea in mine, grab some from your local health food shop if you can. My photo is below.

Spinach
Kale
Strawberries
Broccoli
Carrot
Ginger
Orange and Mango Juice
Rolled Oats

Drop me a line and key me know how you do, and if you have a recipe you’d like to share let me know and I will feature some on the blog.

Love and light x

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My Headstand Challenge

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A challenge was set a month ago to see whether I could teach myself to do a headstand in thirty days.
I wasn’t able to balance well at all, which I put down to recovery and though this would be a fun way to get that back and keep occupied. At the time I was happy to get to the point where I would be able to get into a headstand and remain there for thirty seconds or so. How did I do?

Well it is safe to say that my confidence has been boosted immensely and I have taken it even further with another goal of being able to perform an inversion whilst in a headstand and also in a forearm position. While its very early days with the secondary challenge and technique needs to definitely be fine tuned I’m am ecstatic with the progress I’ve made in such a short space of time.

It is so rewarding to set small challenges and be able to achieve them with a little hard work, I cannot wait to see how far I get with my new found love for all things upside down! I guess you’ll find out when I do just how far I can go. ;-)

(Above photo is the beginnings of a headstand inversion and below me working on ‘scorpion’ pose.)

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Smoothie Saturday

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Giver of nutrients and an easier way of getting your “five a day.” All hail the humble smoothie!

This is a much simpler way when you cant find the time in the mornings to prepare your usual breakfast or are a little scared of cooking as I know some of you are. And since you’re taking on your fruit and/or veg raw you’re not removing the essence of why you’re eating them in the first place!!

I will be posting a recipe every Saturday that you can use and share. I won’t put quantities in as its your choice and taste that’s key here. I may like more spinach in a particular recipe where you’d prefer more strawberries. So be adventurous!! And don’t forget to post your photos with #RARSmoothieSaturday and I can find and repost them.

Today’s photo (above) is from my Run Dem Crew mate @bitbeefy who’s just run London marathon again. He loves a good smoothie, and this is one he threw together with the contents of his fridge. May look strange to some, but I am assured it was delicious and it filled him up for a good while!!

Below is my recipe for this week’s smoothie:

Kale
Spinach
Kiwis
Strawberries
Natural yoghurt
Mango juice
Honey
Rolled oats
Fresh mint

Please let me know how you get on if you try it!! (Photo below.)

Love and light x

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Run Angel Run’s Guide to: Cheer Dem Crew

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Since I’ve decided to defer my London Marathon place until 2014 so that I can run it at 100%, it is only fair that I get out there on the streets with my running crew (Run Dem Crew) and cheer on my friends who are still running.

One if the rules we have at Run Dem Crew is “If you do not run, you must cheer” so I’m squeezing into my Black Milk catsuit and going to Mile 21 in official cheerleader duties.

As part of that, I’m going to be working my top 5 cheers in and still getting a little workout in. They are:

1. The Running Man

There’s nothing quite like doing the running man and shouting “run baby, run” to perk up your fellow runner who may need a boost. And you’re still (sort of) running. Score!

2. The Carlton Banks

It’s not unusual to find me bussing this move on the dance floor or at the side of a road race. Probably also very good for banishing bingo wings, too.

3. Stir the Pot

This legendary move will encourage the passing runners to run faster with the prospect of running towards their favourite meal post race.

4. The Robot.

Firm favourite on road sides all over the World and everyone from 9 to 99 can do it, making friends through cheering; one dance move at a time.

5. The Sprinkler

On a hot race, there’s nothing like water. And lots of it. Get the sprinkler going to cool down those tired and hot runners. The gift that keeps on giving.

Yogis vs Meatheads

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During my recovery I have been trying to stay active, I’ve never not kept fit and despite being limited to no weight bearing exercise, I wasn’t going to let that stop me exercising at all.

I have dabbled with yoga over the years and mainly utilised it to stay supple and aid in core strength, but have since relied on it a lot to aid in my comeback. So when I mentioned it to someone who is what you’d call a typical meathead guy that spends hours in the gym pumping iron and he scoffed that I “needed to work harder than that to get back to where I was before my operation”, I was a little (read that as a lot) offended.

I love bodyweight exercise as it means I’m not a slave to a monthly subscription, I can work it around the diary; as a parent that’s quite important, but on the other hand I do love a barbell squat and will be returning to the gym to take on a challenge I’ve set myself which you’ll find out about soon.

I do find that yoga is looked upon as not being ‘hardcore’ enough by a lot of people as the movements aren’t explosive/dynamic enough. I will tell you from first hand experience that this isn’t the case. In fact slow, controlled movements such as a slow mountain climbers (not the yoga term, but I’m not trying to be overly technical here) are far more beneficial than 100 sit-ups. Fact. Spending three minutes in a half split like I did yesterday afternoon during my Vinyasa Flow class was as painful as I’ve felt squatting deep with 80kg on my shoulders. Headstands aren’t to be sniffed at, either. The photo above is cool, no? You should see the outtake photos …

I totally understand that not everyone will enjoy every fitness discipline, but lets be clear here. Whilst it may not give you quick results like say dead lifting 100kg, yoga can build a strong body. Putting my bodyweight training aside, I know I could plank the heck out of the meathead friend based on the fact that yoga helped me get there, and I challenged him to a plank off.

Sadly he declined to take me up on the offer …

Why I’m standing on my head

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You may have seen me tweet or post Instagram photos as I work on getting my headstand game up recently and thought I was crazy, or wondered why I was going back to my roots of performing these in the playground.

As you may or may not know, I had a major setback with my fitness and am still in recovery mode at present. I’m not able to train and whilst I’m now able to run, I have lost my running mojo which hasn’t been helped by my knee. So while pottering around, I saw a yogi posting some really cool forearm poses and decided I would work on getting to that stage again by first working on my balance while toning my arms, shoulders, back and lightly on my core. Balance is to me very important in general as it means body and mind work better together.

After a few days into what is going to a month long challenge, I decided to research the benefits of headstands when practiced properly. I discovered the following:

1. It is very good for the digestive system, the pituitary gland which is important in creating energy is stimulated whilst chilling upside down.

2. The lymphatic system is improved; lymph fluid is a major player in building the immune system.

3. Helps your brain! With the blood flowing towards the brain easier, it gives it stimulation when endorphins are released, enhances concentration as well reduce anxiety and stress.

4. Boosts cardiovascular and lung function.

5. Improves strength in the neck, shoulders, back and core region of the body.

I’m seven days in and I have to say it has been quite fun. When my mum isn’t shouting “boo!” Or “she fell over,” I am seeing improvements already. Will be nice to see how far I get by day thirty.

** update** to make sure you’re doing it correctly, best you give this link the once over

We Own The Night

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Last night I attended the launch of Nike’s event targeted at women called “We Own The Night”

On 18th May 2013, Nike in conjunction with Elle Magazine will be hosting a 10k for women in East London’s Victoria Park called which is designed primarily for women and of course running.

I will be following a six week training plan in the run up to the event, with NTC trainers giving advice on workouts, strength exercises and nutrition.

The night started off with some introductions followed by a quick photo shoot with the lovely Niran in Nike’s new shoe the Nike Free 5.0 and pieces from their S/S13 collection. (I now have my eye on the running tights and capris!) We then signed up to the event online and registered our Fuelbands so we can track our movement whilst training. Finally we were given a training plan with a notebook.

Having had a major setback to my fitness with an operation six weeks ago, this is a great opportunity to build that back up and have a little fun on the way. I’m lucky that I have always liked fitness, but I know a lot of women lose interest at secondary school and beyond. This event is perfect for women who do struggle sometimes as you will be with others thinking and feeling the same.

For more information on the event and details of where to sign up, please click here.

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#AbsLikeAngel – Week Two

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Well hello there!!

I have been more than chuffed with the great response from you all with this challenge, thank you all so much.

Am working on the video, due to some difficulties the vid won’t be available until next week, so I have listed a workout below and I will grab a willing victim tomorrow while I’m with my running crew for some photos to assist your workout and will edit this page accordingly.

Any questions, please ask!! Twitter/Instagram: @Angel_Deelight or drop the questions in the comments at the bottom of the page.

If you would like to do the Week One workout you can find it by clicking here. Love and Light. Angel xx

Superman Planks

Like the photo above, smiles are optional. Get into plank position (as always adopt good position with straight back and core engaged.) Lift left arm and right leg, extend and hold position ensuring arm and leg are straight in line with torso. Slowly return to plank and swap sides. Repeat for a minute, rest and do two more minute sets with thirty second recovery in between.

Sit-ups

Adopting good posture and using a chair to hold feet if necessary take your time and get as many sit-ups in within a minute. Core engaged and smile on face.

Side planks

Resting on forearm keeping body straight with core engaged, hold. Switch sides after thirty seconds.

Plank Rows

In plank position lift one arm and raise to chest and hold for a second whilst keeping back straight and engaging core. Swap sides and repeat for a minute.

Alternate Froggers

Adopting the plank position, bring right leg to the outside if the right hand. Bring back to plank position and repeat on the left. Three one minute sets with thirty second recovery in between. Maintain good posture throughout.

Sit-ups

Get as many as you can in a minute. Take care of your back and engaging your core whilst remembering to breathe.

Mountain Climbers

I know how much you loved these last week, as a reward you can go a little faster, but remember good form on these. Get into plank position and slowly bring knee to chest, repeat on other side. This is one repetition. Repeat for one minute.

Abdominal Hold

With your back straight and your abs engaged, hold in the position for a minute. Rest for thirty seconds and do this twice.