All posts tagged: Fitness

If You’re a Frequent Traveler, Here’s Why You Should Do Yoga

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1. You Can Find Yoga Classes Everywhere It can be hard to keep fit when you’re travelling (check out my top tips here) but you can find drop in yoga classes everywhere. Unlike gyms which tend not to cater to people passing through a place, the vast majority of yoga classes are offered on a drop in basis, making them easily accessible to travelers. I’ve done yoga classes while passing through Oman, Bali, the UAE, Ireland, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Portugal! Seriously, everywhere. 2. Or You Can Bring Them With You All you need to do yoga is some space. Seriously, not even a mat (although I am a huge fan of my La Vie Boheme travel mat). Throw down a towel if you have one but really, you can do some simple yoga stretches anywhere whether it’s the back of an airplane or a hostel dorm room. And with so many free yoga tutorials available online, there really is no excuse. Yoga With Adriene is my absolute favourite and she even has some short …

May: This month, I was. . .

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Weekending in Berlin And I loved it. Check out my tips for the coolest spots in Mitte, Berlin’s busiest and most central district. Doing Yoga every damn day Well not quite. But about 4-5 days a week, which felt like A LOT! I’ve been upping my fitness game in general and to balance out all the cardio and HIIT, I’ve been adding 20 minutes of yoga to the end of every workout as well as doing an hour online class once a week. Finally, literally a year and a half after starting yoga, I am starting to see some proper progress with my flexibility! Turns out that whole ‘consistency is key’ thing is true. On my new La Vie Boheme Yoga mat BTW! I absolutely adore my Mandala travel mat from La Vie Boheme so I decided to get a second one! This time I went for the Najavo in white and I love it just as much! Also pictured is my copy of The Inner Fix , by Persia Lawson & Joey Bradford of Addictive Daughter which …

April: This Month I’m . . .

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Backyard Travelling So my wanderlust-induced whinging will finish soon as I’m off to Berlin next weekend! This month, I went on a couple of mini-adventures to Galway and the Burren with work. If you’re in Clare, I so highly recommend visiting Kilshanny House! Their signature dish, the Burren Béilíní is an amazing selection of fresh, local sustainable produce that is absolutely delicious! With lots of events happening- music, walks, talks, singers clubs etc- and an unbelievably warm welcome from Mary and Aidan, I really couldn’t recommend a stop here highly enough! Eating Clean-ish I had a few off weeks where I was still working out 4-5 times a week but not being very careful with my diet. Predictably, I ended up feeling a bit sluggish, bloated and all round not very attractive. It’s also a frustrating way of training, feeling yourself getting stronger but not seeing the results as there’s a layer of carb bloat surrounding your new gains! Small goals always help get back on track so I set myself 5 weeks to up my training …

The Best At Home Workouts

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Working out at home is really time and cost effective. If you’re a great self-motivater, there are so many resources online- free and paid for- so there really is no excuse for not building your own, fully fledged fitness routine at home! I started at home workouts because I was a student and money was tight but also because I was too intimidated to go to a gym when I first started working out. Then I got into a good routine, found some online workouts I loved and was just hooked. I do the odd class or gym session but in general, I work out at home 5-6 hours a week! But with so many online fitness videos/e-books out there, it can be hard to know where to start! So here are my favourites; the ones I return to again and again, the ones that are easy to follow and really work! Yoga Yoga With Adriene Adriene is an actress and yoga teacher from Austin, Texas. She posts completely free yoga videos on her amazing Youtube …

March: This Month I’m. . .

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Staying Local In January, I visited Belgium and Luxembourg and I have upcoming trips to Berlin and Portugal planned for May and June. But that leaves me with three full months of no travel in between! February and now March are nearly finished and I really am itching to get on a plane! But I’ve been trying to explore more of Ireland too with mini breaks to Lahinch, Limerick and Galway. Not quite as exciting but still. Obsessing over Zara Gymwear I’m a Zara obsessive anyway and now they do gymwear, my obsession is complete! As you would expect from Zara, their first activewear collection is full of hardworking basics and muted tones that fit really well. Even though I spend all my time online, I somehow missed the launch  and three days later, a number of the pieces were already sold out. However, to Zaras credit, they were restocked within a few days. To start with I got two pairs of running tights- in black and navy blue- which are super flattering, with a …

#NoExcuses: Insta-obsession and staying mindful

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Sometime last Spring, fresh from a Bali yoga retreat and doing my best to stretch that post-holiday positivity into a daily mindfulness habit, I was watching Richard Quest on CNN. I have a strange affection for Richard Quest; I love his old school manner, his suits and how he makes global economics intelligble for the every person -the ‘every person’ in question being me, of course. Oh and I also love the fact he managed to bounce back from a very public fall from grace circa 2008 involving crystal meth and a sex toy in Central Park. Seriously. Anyway, Richard had fellow CNN anchor Anderson Cooper on to discuss a book for his ‘What I’m reading’ segment; Wherever you Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I liked the title and mentally filed it away . A few months later, on a rainy day back in Ireland, I spotted it in a bookshop and bought it.   Then I left it on my bedside locker for seven months before finally opening it. The title alone is …

February: This month I’m . .

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Being a boring git. I’m off booze and working from home. I couldn’t be more anti -social if I tried! Working out. A lot. Again, for reasons above. 4-5 sessions a week, lots of BBG, some yoga and the odd outdoor run when there’s a break in the rain. Right now, that’s not even once a week. My skipping rope has been getting a lot of use.   Rocking these. The good thing about being a boring git? It saves you money. Which you can then blow on trainers like these. 95 euro from Lifestyle Sports. Dreaming of Portugal. Specifically Bura Surfhouse in Lagos. To cope with the crap weather, I’m holiday planning for May. Lisbon has been high on my to-see list for a while so I decided I just had to go this year! While looking for somewhere beachy with yoga to combine a Lisbon city break with, I came across the very cool looking Bura Surhouse, a beachhouse/hostel/surfcamp with rooftop yoga and wine tastings. Sold. Planning my next pair of CVDs Custom Vintage …

#RetreatLife: Yoga in Bali & Cambodia

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I took up yoga a year ago, looking for a slightly gentler form of exercise to do on my ‘rest’ days. Some people get hooked on yoga; I didn’t get hooked exactly, more pissed off that I wasn’t very good at it. I wanted to improve so I developed a bit of a yoga habit quite quickly! Yoga is a great form of exercise for when you’re travelling; it’s easy to do solo with no equipment and there are also classes everywhere. Last year, I did yoga classes in 6 different countries! I also went on two yoga retreats; one in Bali in April and one in Cambodia in November. They were both quite different experiences. A yoga retreat is a great idea for a short break in its own right or as a break when you’re travelling long term. But each yoga retreat is different and you need to find one that suits you and what you’re looking for. This is my take on the two I experienced. Blooming Lotus Yoga, Ubud Bali I absolutely …

5 Top Tips for Keeping Fit on the Road

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  Travel: It’s good for the soul but not always for the waistline. If you’re travelling medium to long term, you need to figure out realistic ways of staying fit on the road. Here are my top tips! #1 Let it go (just a little) First things first: don’t stress about it too much. If you’re on an amazing travel adventure, that should be your primary focus! Travel is unpredictable and you need to accept this means you may not be at your absolute fittest. But the amazing experiences you’ll have along the way should more than compensate! You’re out of your normal routine, moving around constantly and you don’t always know where you’ll be so there’s no way you can plan to fit in five full workout sessions a week. You’re going to have to adjust and fit them in when you can, if you can.Try to relax about it and be content with keeping a base level of fitness, even if it’s not your personal best! #2 Location, Location, Location I found that when …

Plot Twist or F**k Up? Thanks, 2015!

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The only thing we know for sure is that things will always change. Nothing is permanent. And when we find ourselves in the middle of trauma, in the middle of crisis, even when you’ve hit rock bottom and you have no idea how on earth you’ll ever find the courage to climb back up, you are still okay. You are okay. Rachel Brathen, Yoga Girl I had a rough year. That doesn’t mean it was all bad of course; there were many amazing things. I traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Australia. I began practising yoga and after years of intermittent exercising, finally built up a proper fitness habit where I felt consistently healthy and fit. I even had visible abs for a small while early in the year (far too difficult to maintain but I’ll live off those few months forever!) I read good books, drank good wine, cooked good food for myself, for family and for friends. I danced and drank and ran on beaches and stayed in five star …