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Posts tagged 'london'

MEDITATION – THE BOOST ON-THE-GO!

14/08/2017

Life is stressful but I’ve long believed it’s possible to steal back a little bit of balanced calm, and often at some of the most unexpected times throughout the day. There are several ways to give oneself a physical and mental healthy nudge to keep going… one of my favorites is meditation. Everyone’s daily pressures differ, and mine come in the form of juggling personal training clients, meetings pertaining to this blog, and a few other projects I have on the go. For me, seeking a moment of tranquility to escape the relentless chaos is best served through a moment of meditation on the go; I even practice on the tube between stations, because there’s no bad place for it. Read the full post to see some of my top reasons for taking some time to include this discipline in your day too.

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5 ACTIVEWEAR DISCOVERIES AT PURE LONDON!

08/08/2017

Being a devout follower of Activewear trends (it’s been my daily ‘uniform’ for over a decade as a personal trainer), I relished the opportunity to visit PURE London a few weeks back. It’s the monster-scale Fashion Industry ‘trade show’ at London’s cavernous Olympia which, amongst other genres, showcases a tonne of new sportswear that’s about to hit the market! I sifted through over 700 brands, and this, my dear reader, is a quick and easy-to-digest roundup showcasing what I thought were the top 5 discoveries – these are brands to keep your eyes on over the next few months! Click MORE to see them all… (more…)

GYMBOX ‘GIVE IT A SPIN’ CLASS WITH METHOD!

10/05/2017

I wanted to share a recent visit to Gymbox Farringdon, where I was invited to hit up the method laundry Challenge for their “Give it a Spin” class! It’s a purpose-built Spin Cycle class, crafted by method (a planet-friendly household brand which massively appeals to my inner eco-warrior) using a series of fragrances which motivate you to work out even harder! Now, there are countless mega-gyms, niche studios and pop-up classes proliferating all around London, and I’m always thrilled to try new ones and share them here. This class, at this gym, did not disappoint! If you haven’t been to this Gymbox, it’s well worth a visit; it’s unlike any other gym in that it feels as if you’ve entered an underground rave. With a DJ in a cage blasting forth tech house upon the cavernous gym floor, exercise revelers are propelled by the energy, and therefore they really go for it. That in turn, is hugely motivating. There’s no need to wait for any of the squat racks or benches because there are so many of them all over the place. There’s a huge section of monkey bars, pull-up bars – it’s literally an adult’s playground! Click MORE to see all about the class, to enter my competition to win AN ENTIRE YEAR’S free laundry detergent plus a Monreal gym bag, and to discover the delicious scents!

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WELLNESS CITY BREAK TO BATH!

03/03/2017

Last weekend, I voyaged westward to Bath for a distinctly British wellness escape. For years, I’d sampled the Instagram candy that was geotagged from this beautiful Georgian city, once revered by the Romans as the only hot springs in the UK – but this was my first IRL trip. VisitBath asked me to pop down for a weekend to experience the wellbeing benefits of this UNESCO World Heritage site for myself, so I jumped at the chance! What I found was an intoxicating blend of fresh air, relaxing proportions, historic significance, aesthetically arresting architecture, and a pace of life so wholly different to London (yet just 1hr 20 mins away on the Paddington flyer) that it was hard not to cut loose the stresses of the working week! Click more to see the key highlights of what I unearthed!

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5 POST-RUN STRETCHES!

28/02/2017

Stretching your lower body after a run isn’t just ‘nice-to-do’, it’s essential. You claim an array of benefits including the reduction of tightness in your largest muscle groups, alleviation of potential pains (including DOMS and the dreaded knee pain), the correction of muscular imbalances and even the improvement of actual running technique! Of course stretching after other forms of training (e.g. weight training) is also beneficial, so this post is by no means exclusive to running! The menu for available stretches is a broad buffet indeed, but in this post I wanted to showcase a specific few you might not have seen before, using a tennis ball or indeed a ‘physio ball’ like the one in my pictures. These therapeutic little spheres come in different shapes, sizes, and densities, and much like the foam-roller they enable a sort of self-massage. It’s a simple, cheap and hugely effective way to hone in on your specific needs, anywhere, anytime on the go, or at home. Dressed head-to-toe in Saucony, I went out for a 6k run around the basin city of Bath on a recent blog trip (full review coming soon!) and then dispatched this 5-stretch routine upon my return! Click MORE to get the full routine and give it a try yourself – all you need is a tennis ball! (more…)

A WELLNESS RETREAT AT CORINTHIA LONDON…

14/02/2017

London is arguably one of the world’s greatest cities, but living and working here, Londoners can become blind to its rare brilliance. Precious gems like Trafalgar Square, Parliament, The London Eye, The Mall (etc), are casually tarred with the ‘tourist’ brush, and avoided for fear of disrupting ‘the daily mission’. It’s a superfast-paced city in which to work and live… but it doesn’t have to be that way! In what is the first ever staycation Active Escape review to feature on FitnessOnToast.com, I recently spent 3 cosy days inside the walls of the palatial Corinthia Hotel London investigating something genuinely innovative; the Brain Power Experience. It’s been designed in conjunction with the hotel’s Neuroscientist in Residence, and was totally transformative for me! It worked, and conclusively proved the hypothesis that you can enjoy an exceptional and differentiated wellness break whilst at home in this frenetic city, emerging revived and fired up! Click more to see what your own restorative well-being program could involve… (more…)

HARRODS x FITNESS ON TOAST!

25/01/2017

I’ve written previously about how the high street is quickly transforming itself into an involving, curated experience with department stores leading the way; what was once a drab array of shopfronts shifting stacks of ‘inventory’ has been magically re-imagined into museums of retail, dusted with both technology and human intrigue, in equal measure. There are digital installations, interactive experiences, and products that can speak to consumers like never before; and without exception for decades, nobody has performed this ever-changing ‘theater of retail’ better than Harrods, the world-class epitome of both Britishness and Luxury. When they asked to me to help design their January campaign ‘Happy New You‘, I was overwhelmed. The trend I’d identified almost 4 years ago in this early blog post has gone full mainstream, and now I had the opportunity to style the 2017 Fitness Looks for Harrods on their 5th Floor Sports department! Click MORE to see what I came up with…

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“SHOULD I CUT FOODS?”

24/10/2016

The world of health and fitness is awash with myths to debunk, and one of the most frequent email questions I receive is about cutting foods; the sender has usually read somewhere that fat / carbs / protein are bad, and have therefore decided to leave them behind. This post is my first attempt at debunking some of those myths! I would never recommend cutting out any of the 3 macros, but to add weight to my view, I’m enlisting the help of a renowned specialist and friend, Leo Pemberton a BDA-registered practising Dietitian based in London’s Harley Street. He has worked within 3 large NHS trusts, several corporate healthcare providers, and has powered out 3 marathons (!). He operates at the top of his field, and is the right person to help lend some clarity to a dangerously confused topic, about which there’s a vast swathe of misinformation on the internet. Let’s set the record straight! (more…)

COMPETITION: WIN A HELLY HANSEN BUNDLE!

07/10/2016

It’s been almost a year since I embarked upon my grand sailing adventure with Helly Hansen. In Scandinavia, they’re a home-grown super-cool brand, which generates the same patriotic affection as Burberry might here in the UK, so it’s been a bit of a dream partnership for me! Our journey led us from the tropical waters of Barbados to the blustery shores of Cowes where we smashed it to earn a massively unexpected medal position. To celebrate, we’ve put together a Winter Starter Pack of super technical clothing kit & accessories, which one super lucky reader will win! Click MORE to see what’s in the bundle (which is worth over £650!!), and how to enter!

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UNLOCKING LONDON: BENEFITS OF CYCLING

05/08/2016

You might recently have spied a trail of breadcrumb-pictures on my Instagram where I’m riding London’s eponymous Santander Cycles, meandering my way around what I think are some of our wonderful capital city’s most picturesque parts; the gorgeous Little Venice area of Regent’s Canal, the Outer Circle in Regent’s Park, Primrose Hill… The Cycles are a ubiquitous and awesome fitness resource which anyone can use to see those parts of the city they’ve not visited before: I.e. go discover London for less than the cost of a green juice and get fit at the same time, it’s the perfect combo!!! For example – and it’s a bit of an unusual example – I recently attended a mind-blowing special spin class ABOVE the iconic landmark Tower Bridge, hosted by (and ON) Santander Cycles. The 80m glass walkway housed myself and 9 other lucky invitees as we Santander-cycled our way through an hour-long sweaty BOOM Cycle class whilst watching a deliciously romantic sunset over the Thames and St Pauls. (more…)