At a time when everyone is three weeks into their January detox, I am still enjoying chocolate, crisps, bread and alcohol. Last week, I was in Milan for three days, which meant I ate carbs and drank wine all day, every day. I’ve had two special birthdays this month, which meant I had to drink cava and eat cake. The first week was a total disaster, trying to get rid of leftover turkey and stuffing, along with Crabtree & Evelyn shortbread biscuits (washed down with hot chocolate), while this past week has involved serious overdosing on Jaffa Cakes, Crème Eggs and paninis for lunch. This, coupled with a lack of exercise, has resulted in a lethargic body which craves more carbs but feels guilty after being so undisciplined and lazy.
So, it comes as little surprise that suddenly, my mind has changed direction and is now firmly in the health kick zone. Yesterday was the first day of my changed mind set, which involved a trip to Sainsbury’s to stock up on healthy foods (think sprouts, broccoli, salad, fish, blueberries, olives) after a much needed three mile run. Today, I’ve eaten small portions of health foods throughout the day and tonight I have 30 minutes of Pilates planned followed by 15 minutes hula hoop (it’s not fun – it’s weighted) and 15 minutes of AeroSkip, all of which can be done in the comfort of my own home! So, Pilates is a DVD, hula hoop I tend to do in the living room while watching car crash TV (or something with beautiful people to inspire me to keep hula-ing) and for AeroSkip, I head to the garden, much to the puppy’s amusement.
AeroSkip is basically just skipping, with a professional rope which is used by top athletes across the globe. Founded by a family in Edinburgh, the AeroSkip template was so good that it was bought by athletics companies who had discovered that AeroSkip was by far the best training skipping rope on the market. Reebok and Puma both paid to license out the design, which they reproduced under their own brand, moving production to China.
However, I use the Classic Pro Gold Speedrope in a bid to support local, independent retailers – the Speedrope is produced in Scotland. One of the packages comes with a music CD or DVD and you can even by a Professional Junior Speedrope to keep the kids healthy (and keeps them occupied while you exercise too!). Skipping is excellent cardio, so it’s a brilliant way to get your heart rate going and burn those calories, but without the embarrassment of struggling to breathe in public. As far as exercise goes, the Classic Pro GoldSpeedrope is a no-brainer.
Trying hard to AeroSkip!
Brilliant – go you! 🙂