Exercise Diary - Week 16

This was a pretty normal week for me in terms of exercise.

Monday: 10km cycling and 60min Body Pump

Tuesday: 60min Body Combat

Wednesday: -

Thursday: 60min Body Pump and 60 min Body Combat

Friday: 40min running

Saturday: -

Sunday: 70 min walking/running

Because of the Easter weekend, the gym was closed and I've not been able to attend my normal classes. But it has been such great weather here the last couple of days, +18C and sunny, that it has been fun working out outside.

How have you been working out this week? :)

Running

Finally I'm able to update!

While I was gone I found a new hobby: running. I want you to know that I have always hated running, even walking was boring in my opinion. I started to like walking a little bit more a couple years ago, but still it wasn't really my thing, let alone running. Even if I hated running, I was always jealous of those who liked it and made it look so easy.

So, a little less than two weeks ago I surprised myself. I was doing my usual walking round when a thought hit me, "why not try to run". Well, I shouldn't be talking about running, I would define my "running" more like slow jogging, but still it was faster than my walking! And to my great surprise, I made it all the way home.

Since the first "run" I have been out running a few times. I have learned that I'm able to run for much longer than I ever would have thought. And it gets easier after every time! Today I ran for the longest time so far, almost 30 minutes.

The feeling while running, and especially after, is amazing! All people who sport knows the feeling you get after a good exercise, but I've never got such a great feeling from any other exercise. You truly feel like a winner.

This was a little update after the long pause. I'll talk more about running probably tomorrow, when I'll write more about how you should start running and other tips. On Sunday I'll update with my first exercise diary and on Wednesday I'll write the first Les Mills review!

Hugs.

Hanna

A pause in updates for a while

Unfortunately my computer broke down last week and I haven't been able to update since then. This update is from my phone. I'll try to update a new post as soon as possible. I have many ideas for new posts and I'm disappointed that I can't do them right now.

I'm very glad for all new readers and followers, and the nice comments I've recieved!

Hopefully I'll be able to update very soon. Until then I hope you all have an amazing week!

-Hanna

The golf season has officially been opened

I hope you all have/had a great Friday. The weather here in Finland was fantastic, sunny and +10C! And this means that it's time to open the golf season. Today I wanted to talk about golf. I know that there are many people who aren't very keen on golf for different kind of reasons. You know the clichés: Old, rich men driving a golf car while smoking cigarets and talking business. I'll admit, I was one of those who had this type of image of golf too.

However, my opinion changed 180 degrees when I was introduced to golf by my mother's boyfriend and my grandparents about four years ago. I learned to know what golf really is about. It's not only a sport for rich, fat and old people. Actually the great thing about golf is, that everyone can play it no matter how old or what size you are. The other thing I like about golf is the social aspect. It's a great way to spend time with your family and friends or meet new people while doing something you all are passionated about.

The one cliché I don't agree at all with is "Golf isn't a sport". It's true that you might not get huge muscles or get your heart rate up to 200-something (exaggerating a bit) playing golf. But how about walking 7-8 km while dragging your golf bag after yourself up and down small hills. And on top of that you are trying to strike the ball, who knows how many times (especially when you are a beginner...). The first rounds can be pretty tough before you get used to the walking and the strikes requires quite a bit of energy.

I know golf might not be everyone's cup of tea, but what sport is? What I'm trying to say here is that don't judge something before you have tried it, and this goes for anything in life. I hope this text opened your eyes a little bit more when it comes to golf and maybe even got you interested.

Tomorrows activity plans are a Pace lesson at the gym and a small jogging round around the neighborhoods. I also planned to do a food diary tomorrow and show it for you guys here, so you will get to read about my food preferences.

Hugs

-Hanna

Fighting the flu and Nike Legacy Top

I have had a spring flu since last Friday and this is the first time in a week that I have been able to do some kind of a work out. Finally! Maybe I should have stayed in the bed one more day, but enough is enough. And because I obviously can't take it easy when it comes to anything called work out I decided to attend two classes at the gym. Yep, not so clever. I really recommend not to start anything intense right after you have suffered e.g. a flu - do as I say, not as I do.

So which classes did I go to? My favorites: Body Pump and Body Combat. I have really missed them, especially Combat. I was thinking while driving back home, that I should do a review of the different Les Mills programs. Maybe I'll do one every week... Leave a comment, if you like this idea.

There are two Les Mills classes at our gym that I have never tried: Body Attack and Body Step. I could go and test those classes and then write a review and my own opinion. That would be fun, wouldn't it! Then you would get a beginners opinion of the classes and who knows, maybe I'll find a new favorite class.

The other thing I wanted to talk about today was Nike's Legacy Tops. I bought my first one last week. I was looking for a black sport top and found the Nike one. Today was the first opportunity to try it in action and I really liked it. I will definitely buy more of them in other colors (maybe a pink one, really like that color!).

The fabric is very soft and the top was very comfortable on. It stayed where it was supposed to, not like the annoying tops that climbs upwards trough out the work out. I wore the same top in both classes and I didn't feel sweaty or cold during those two hours. And it also gets plus for the way it fits your body! You look much fitter wearing this.

This are from Nike's website:

-Dri-FIT fabric to wick sweat away and help keep you dry and comfortable

-Rib V-neck and armholes

-Screenprint at front

-Perforated design lines at centre back

-Flat-seam construction to help minimise chafing

-Fabric: Dri-FIT 88% polyester/12% elastane

-Machine wash

You can read more here.

Have a nice day where ever you are!

-Hanna

Starting Line

Oh, where to begin? Well, I got the inspiration to start this "lifestyle" blog from a forum. I gave some health and fitness advices to one member and she asked if I had a blog. And now, about 3 hours later I'm writing this.

You may be wondering what kind of a blog this is. The truth is, I'm not sure. This will be some kind of a lifestyle blog, that much I do know. I'll mostly write about fitness, health, a bit of my own life and so on. However, this is not a diet blog and I'll never encourage readers to try those "Lose 10 pounds in 2 days"- "diets". I write first and foremost to get people motivated and inspired to live a healthier lifestyle. But I'm not at all sure in which direction this whole thing is going. Sounds nice, huh? We all like adventures, don't we?

Yeah, and I should probably mention right from the beginning that English isn't my mother tongue, so I apologize if there are any misspellings or problems in understanding my rambling.

So who am I? Hello, my name is Hanna. I'm 18 and live in Finland. I'm still living with my family but hopefully I'll be moving out within this year. I'm not yet sure what or where I'm going to study, but teaching is my dream.

Why health and fitness? Well, I have always loved sports and most of my life I've been working out/sporting in some kind of a way. I played many sports when I was younger but nowadays I don't play in a team. My usual work out consist of gym and different fitness classes ( I'll talk about this more later), jogging/walking and other random activities, like swimming, playing football/tennis/ basketball etc.

One thing I want to make clear from the beginning is that I'm not a fit, slim, professional athlete. I know many of the bloggers who write about fitness and healthy lifestyle are attractive and in a very good shape. I'm not. I'll not go too deep into this topic now (maybe later), but as I said I wanted to make this clear. I actually think this will motivate other people who aren't very self-confident of their bodies and believe that only slim and well trained people should have a blog like this.

Another thing I want to point out is that I'm not a professional. I haven't studied fitness or healthy lifestyle, this is only my hobby. However, I have read many books, talked with actual professionals and doing sports for many years now and because of this I know quite a bit.

I hope you got at least a bit interested or motivated. If you have any questions or comments I'd love to hear them (also criticism).

I'll talk to you soon again!

-Hanna