Fitness on Toast

VEGAN BEAN BURGERS!

03/04/2018

Sometimes I crave burgers, and last week, such a day befell me. However, I am pescatarian; cue the plants! I decided to whip up a batch of vegan burgers using basically whatever I had the fridge. In my favor – these burgers are one of the easiest recipes to make. Using beans (you can use chickpeas, kidney beans, butter beans etc) is ideal because they pack a proper payload of protein, are super cost-effective to make and can be produced in bulk to be frozen for another day! Click MORE for the simple instructions to have your own healthy burger day! (more…)

SPRING SKIING IN MEGEVE!

19/03/2018

I recently had the excellent fortune to visit a charismatic, cozy, alpine bolt-hole named Les Fermes de Marie, nestled within the charming cobblestoned town of Mègeve, high up in the mountains of the French Alps. If you fancy going on a little ‘last-minute spring skiing weekend’, then perhaps read on to discover a little of the magic behind this outstanding traditional mountain destination!

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VOLVO AT THE GROVE!

12/03/2018

I spent last weekend in the company of one of the greatest Swedish icons; no, not Björn Borg, ABBA, or the Chef from The Muppets – but Volvo! Throughout my childhood in Karlskrona (southern Sweden) literally everybody’s parents drove this marque, including mine. Our country has a reserved, understated national culture, and it’s a point of humor that the populace differentiates its individuality by buying the *newest* Volvo. Now though, the exquisite, silky and muscular aesthetics of this freshly-launched beauty, the XC40, make our old 1990s Swedish 240 estate look about as aerodynamic as a cube! Our weekend at The Grove was themed around the classically Swedish concept of Lagom (there’s no direct translation but perhaps conjure Goldilocks and her ‘just right’ porridge), and part of my role was to lead a group of fabulous lifestyle press around a 30-minute HIIT workout on the ‘wellbeing’ part of their experience. Click MORE to read my thoughts on this car, to see how we got on with lagom, and to get a little BTS from the event!

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SKI SMARTER…

04/03/2018

I recently hopped over for an alpine excursion to Andermatt, Switzerland and whilst there, I continued my investigations into the Apple Watch Series 3. I’ve taken detailed looks into its baby brothers’ capabilities on my blog before, both here and here; as a kale-munching millennial, I’m a technivore who craves machinery that’ll eliminate guesstimation and present me with solid, irrefutable data to track my fitness progress. Unlike swimming and running, however, skiing is the type of cardio which historically has been all but impossible to track with anything other than a vague approximation. But thanks to the GPS module and an integrated altimeter, that’s no longer the case… what I found was rich data that massively complemented and enhanced the fun of my slopeside accomplishments! Read more below…

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4 SUPERB PRE-RUN STRETCHES!

01/03/2018

There’s an asymmetric profile to the advantages of warming up before heading out on a run – it helps to materially decrease the risk of injury as by ignoring or rushing a warmup, you’re more likely to pull a muscle, tear a tendon, or tweak a joint. Also, I find that if I don’t warm up but rather go straight into a run, it’s simply harder to sustain the pace, and I’m more likely to burn out quicker. This, in turn, makes me feel demotivated and discouraged from running again; cue the spiral of unfavorable results! This post is a brief overview of my 4 favorite warm-up stretches which you might give a try next time you’re about to go for your run! (more…)

THE ‘RECOVERY’ TRIO…

26/02/2018

To me, sleep has long been ‘everything’, but others have been coming round to this stance, as already, sleep is emerging as quite the hot topic in 2018, with several national newspapers drilling down into its favourable effects our constitution; as health and well-being (quite rightly) occupies a growing mindshare of ‘the Zeitgeist’, it seems only natural that society will begin to challenge that age-old travesty of sacrificing sleep to ‘look committed’ to a cause. We may, in our machismo, think of it as a bank account that can be raided, as a currency which can be exchanged for kudos, or perhaps as an unproductive use of our 24 precious hours, but times – and attitudes – are unquestionably changing. Sleep is fast being seen as an indulgent luxury of which we should consume more, not time wasted but time well invested, and even perhaps as a currency to be spent of its own accord. The tide is beginning to turn, it’s no longer as socially unpalatable to prioritise one’s own recovery, to have an early night, or even (heaven forbid) two in a row! The nation has begun a long overdue conversation about this topic; recovery is on the agenda more than ever before, whether you’re into fitness or not. This post is in collaboration with Tempur, and highlights the so-called Holy Trinity of Recovery; Sleep, Stretching and Sports Massage! Click MORE to read on… (more…)

ACTIVE SKI ESCAPE TO COURCHEVEL

12/02/2018

Skiing is a grueling full-body aerobic workout, and regularly puts thousands of calories to good use every single day… However, in my younger days, I can only remember it as an uncomfortably awkward experience for the unfortunate, suffering mountain-goer. As a skier, you’d have to tolerate some serious unpleasantness to survive the week; the sweaty boots would imprison and crush your feet and always inflict shin splint, the skis weighed a ton, chairlifts were slow and unreliable, the clothes weren’t really weatherproof, the food was terrible, the chalet beds were paper-thin and yielded a pitifully un-restorative night’s sleep… and I shan’t touch upon the neon all-in-one “fashion” monstrosities! Thankfully, times have changed unrecognizably, for ’skiing’ has radically upped its game, and nowhere on the planet has this alpine art de vivre been more finely honed than Courchevel. I ventured to the warmth of Hotel Le Saint Roch in Courchevel 1850, to deliver the first Alpine Active Escape I’ve covered on this blog, and the refined experience I discovered there has transformed my understanding of pure joy on the pistes! Click MORE to see the full experience…

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THE ‘EVERYDAY’ MOVEMENT…

02/02/2018

Movement is everything to our species, both metaphorically and physically. Without it, we are static, listing, without direction, traveling to no destination other than our present. Embracing movement is chasing the future, which is almost exactly what being active represents to me. When I am training, I constantly keep in mind the goal of a stronger, more functionally capable body, both for years time and equally for 40 years time. Without movement, we would waste away, our bodies and souls would atrophy, but the struggle and the journey are what gives us the stories and purpose of existence. It’s a pretty fundamental recognition. In a world where we move less than ever in our sedentary lives, where it’s considered ‘normal’ to sit in front of a screen for up to 10 hours a day, only arising to use the restroom… remaining active and moving where possible is of utmost importance. This post is a collaboration with Matalan, as part of their Value of Movement campaign, which totally resonates with my entire ethos. Click MORE to see my top reasons & ways to get moving right now…

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AUSTRALIA pt 2: MY ‘SYDNEY TOP 10’

22/01/2018

Across the world, countless bloggers have majored on Australia as a destination; there’s also a ceaseless stream of toned and fashionable Australians who dominate a casual perusal of the Instagram ‘Explore’ screen as if the algorithm is calibrated to go overweight Aussie beauty! My experiences, however, are just that; my own, not ‘new’, but just from me. That said, I sure as hell did my research before arriving in Sydney, systematically surveying every single Australian I know, then distilling their collective output into a one-week, extensive plan of attack! Indeed, having done-and-dusted with my experience in the Great Barrier Reef, pursued my full Sydney scheme precisely as it was sketched out, it gives me great joy to recount and depict the choicest of experiences here to you dear reader, whether you’re just curious or are planning an adventurous ‘Active Escape’ of your own! This post makes up Part 2 of the Australia series – and I sense there will be countless more parts to follow upon my future return to that magnificent country! I discovered an outdoor-dwelling society, predisposed to health and fitness, blessed with supreme weather and a fresh fish-based diet, in a culturally diverse and well-invested city where inhabitants genuinely smile. In fact it’s so good, this could conceivably be ‘home’ one day! Click MORE to discover my Top 10 experiences in Sydney…

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TOP SIX HEALTHY LONDON FOOD JOINTS!

08/01/2018

Happy New Year, if I may still be permitted to say; but for those who chose to extend the festive break, today is the first working day of 2018, and thus, the most tragic day of the year. January statistically correlates with a high volume of re-joiners to the gym again, resolving to be more active and live healthier. Preach alert; the choice I made years ago was to be relatively healthy as an all-year-round lifestyle approach, (not a seasonal one), and it’s broadly been an enjoyable one at that! But for those taking up gym membership today and mobilizing those resolutions (quite literally), remember that so much ground is “made in the kitchen”. So, to help you not only eat healthily but also eat delicious and adventurous fare in 2018, here’s my top curated list of old and new healthy restaurant discoveries to check out around London. MORE… (more…)