OOTD | Fitness on Toast

Posts tagged 'OOTD'

HAIR HEALTH & COLOUR MIRACLES!

15/04/2019

The training cycle is tough on the body, and with successive workouts-and-showers, nothing takes a much of a gruelling battering as the hair. As such, and in direct response to several curious, hair-conscious reader enquiries over the years of scribing fitnessontoast.com, this post is fully dedicated to hair health. I may be a highly qualified professional when it comes to training and the likes of sports massage, but I’m only an enthusiastic amateur on matters pertaining to the hair. As such, I’ve done the heavy lifting for you, and picked the brain of multi-award-winning superstar hair artist Siobhan ‘Shivvy’ Jones for all the choicest pro-tips. Shivvy is a L’Oréal Professionnel teacher & Guest Artist, hair stylist on X Factor, Next Top Model, and artist to the likes of Little Mix, as well as being the Owner and Creative Director of Rose & Wild Hair, her delightful new studio in Fulham where we shot these pics! Those are some of her professional credentials, but beyond that, she enjoys heavyweight repute for setting the tone on colour technique and trends in the fashion industry. If like me you wash your hair too frequently post-training, Shivvy’s insights will help you to find and get the perfect tone, products to use and much more! Read on… (more…)

HOW TO WEAR COMFY SPORTS LUXE!

28/01/2019

🚨 Fashion post alert! 🚨 I recently fell in love with this look I was sent from the new DKNY Sport collection. I was en route to an event at the Edition Hotel – a “sacred cacao ceremony” with meditative gong vibrations (more on vibrations and sound baths HERE) with some utterly glorious, crisp January London weather. My photographer and I managed to snap some impromptu pics in Fitzrovia. The oversized jacket is rendered in the most gorgeous inky velvet material which catches and plays with the light in a wonderfully intriguing way. Paired with subtly matching velvet leggings and my Adidas Superstars it’s the sort of sporty look I’d happily wear in or outside of the gym. Due to the oversized nature of the proportions, it’s also super comfy and all-enveloping, but the pluming nature adds more of a relaxed-yet-luxe sporty aesthetic. Whilst it was sunny it was uber cold, so I layered up, wearing a DKNY hoodie and the perfect polo underneath to keep my neck warm! I love an oversized jacket and this one I think is a classic – I’ll have it for years – paired with a pair of jeans, tight leather pants with sneakers, heels or boots. I’m trying to say that its versatile. I also love playing with proportions; wearing something super duper oversized on top always makes the legs look proportionately smaller which I love as a silhouette. Click MORE to see the rest of our shots and some shots from the choco-meditation ceremony! (more…)

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 ‘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…

(more…)

WELLNESS ESCAPE: GRAND HOTEL DU CAP FERRAT

02/10/2017

France has built many exquisite ‘Palace hotels’ over the past hundred years, but this article concerns the grande dame of them all; occupying the entire tip of the St-Jean Cap Ferrat peninsula, the Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat (henceforth GHCF) was amongst the first of its kind, and is *the* destination to experience French health and vitality along this gleaming stretch of the coast. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, it stands peerless as an enduring icon of quiet French sophistication, unchanged by the passage of time and yet overflowing with contemporary relevance; the very expression of both heritage and modernity. Inside its pristine white walls can be found the standards by which world-class hospitality should be measured, with the Four Seasons group who now operate this treasure having sympathetically continued its traditions with their unique brand of attention to detail. GHCF is also the most glamorous, most beautiful, and most immersive venue for a wellness escape on this rarefied stretch of the Côte D’Azur – and I don’t bestow that title lightly, as they’re up against competition that’s been bringing their A-game to the Riviera for decades. I’ve visited here for the past 5 years, and never do I leave this sanctuary feeling anything less than supremely recharged, emotionally contented and totally compelled to return. I booked in this year with the express intention of unveiling the wellbeing treasures of this timeless institution on FitnessOnToast.com. Click MORE to discover them all…

(more…)

MY TOP 8 HEALTHY PLACES TO EAT IN STOCKHOLM!

29/08/2017

OK I’m Swedish! There, I’ve said it. Well, now you know my secret, I might as well let you in on some more; our capital city Stockholm boasts some totally outrageous places to eat, ranging from those with the Michelin ‘nod’, to cozy cafés and hipster juice bars. Swedes fiercely pride themselves on a little tradition called ‘fika’ which conventionally involves comfy sofas, a chinwag, and indulgent cakes & coffee. But there’s a tension in the air; ours is a nation of militant cake snobs, but we have also jumped firmly on the ‘health bandwagon’; a combo that doesn’t naturally coexist! Luckily dear reader, FitnessOnToast.com is here to help curate your next break in this most exceptional of cities! Click MORE to see my top 8 favourite healthy restaurants & cafes in Stockholm right now…

(more…)

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…)

BEHIND THE SCENES – HOW TO WRITE YOUR BOOK !!!

14/11/2016

Cards on the table; I wasn’t born an author, and despite these bloggish scribblings, the thought of writing a book hadn’t even occurred on a post-hypnotic, unconscious, or inebriated level! The journey to writing my book Fit In 3: The Scandi Plan [it’s out on dec 29th, it would mean the world if you pre-order a copy!] was a grueling marathon of soaring highs and gloomy lows, and certainly one of the most intense challenges of my life. I can confidently say that I’ve thrown everything at it, and left nothing on the table – the book is 100% of me! But if, like me, you’ve never seen this mysterious process from behind-the-scenes before, you might also have casually assumed that these tomes magically appear, fully-formed, on shop shelves one day, conjured by the book-fairy, never paying thought to the dozens of people’s time, attention, grind, detail, and professionalism that goes into it. But much like writing a blog [which to the reader, can look like one macaroon-punctuated holiday after the next, but requires relentless toil], a book is a gigantic effort employing dozens of world-class talents, all working to fold their very best work into this little, printed package on a shelf! This blog post lifts the lid on the whole hidden process, shows you exactly what I went through, and might give you some thoughts on how to go about your own book! If you’re curious, read on! If you doubt it, read on! If you hate it, perhaps read on anyway! And if you think it’s easy, think again ! Faya x (more…)

ADIDAS BY STELLA MCCARTNEY

05/11/2016

Back in 2004, the world was different; there was no social media or Kim Kardashian, no cold press juices or barre classes, and hardly anyone read blogs because almost nobody wrote them! Another astonishing absence was ‘activewear’; but in that year, for the first time a high fashion designer, Stella McCartney, announced her pioneering partnership with adidas. The belief was that ‘fitness’ and ‘fashion’ were more closely related than the world realised, and the combination would uniquely incorporate adidas’ technological, functional know-how with Stella’s beautiful and feminine silhouettes. 12 years on, we take for granted that women want stylish and functional sportswear – a trend coloured heavily by these early innovators! Yet adidas by Stella McCartney has always maintained a unique edgy aesthetic, whilst being high quality, and wonderfully distinctive. To me, it’s the perfect of example of a genuine partnership creating something that’s way more than just the sum of its parts. In LA this week, I was one of the lucky few who had the opportunity to interview the designer after her spectacular SS17 show which took place in West Hollywood. Click MORE to read about Stella’s view on ‘health’, ‘wellness’, the show, and how she goes about the design process! (more…)

CRAFTING THE FUTURE SNEAKER!

19/09/2016

One of the coolest parts of being an ambassador for adidas is enjoying the privilege to test out their unreleased experimental prototypes! OK, we’re not talking about piloting stealth fighter jets, but there is something outrageously compelling about new trainers / sneakers. To the uninitiated, the subculture that’s built up around sporty shoes is simply astonishing; collectors assemble multi-million dollar vaults of rare and cherished plimsolls, dedicated news websites compete to break news of ‘new crep drops’, and there’s even a stock exchange to make a market in trading sexy models! Well, this time, I got pretty lucky, as I was handed the keys to the future; the adidas Futurecraft 3D shoes (in triple-black!), printed from the ground up using powdered ‘recycled ocean plastic’. The above video is my review, which pays homage to the awesome Top Gear review of another iconic German brand’s ‘jewel in the crown’, the Porsche Carrera GT. Click more to read more of my thoughts about these beauties…