polar ft4 heart rate monitor

POLAR FT4 HEART RATE MONITOR - £66.00

I'd been going to the gym for 3 months when I decided to take the plunge and buy myself a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor after seeing so many pictures of them dotted across Instagram and the fitness blogs I follow. The Polar FT4 measures your heart rate during exercise, and also calculates your calories which are displayed on the watch.

It's completely un-obtrustive to wear, and I don't even feel the chest strap (which is how your heart rate is measured) whilst I'm wearing it. The watch is small and lightweight, meaning it doesn't get in the way, but the screen is a good size and easy to read at a glance. I love that you can alternate the screen between displaying your heart rate, calories or work out time - I actually use the clock on it a lot to time intervals on the spin bike.

The big question everyone asks is if it works, and if it's an accurate gauge of calories burned. I done a lot of research before buying, and I also spoke to my personal trainer about it to get a professional opinion. The long story short is that although it won't be 100% accurate when it comes to counting calories burned (nothing ever is), it's pretty close as it uses a formula made up of your height, weight, age, sex and heart rate. It's definitely a whole lot more accurate than the equipment at the gym, and calorie counting aside, it's main purpose of tracking your heart rate gives a good indication of your, hopefully improving, fitness level.

One thing I am a bit dubious about is the fat burning zone. The watch uses another formula to work out a zone, which is between a certain heart rate range, where your body burns the most fat. The downside is that for me, whilst doing cardio, the 'fat burning zone' leaves me feeling like I'm barely working hard, and at the end of the session I've burned a lot less calories and barely broken a sweat. Again, after doing some research (my god, everything fitness related is so controversial!) and reading this article I personally think I will ignore the fat burning zone suggestion and stick to working as hard as I can!

I find that wearing my Polar FT4 really motivates me to push harder at the gym, and often find myself looking at it and seeing 745 calories burned, for example, and telling myself that I'm not getting off the bike until I've rounded that figure off to 800. I love setting myself mini goals for calorie burns to keep myself motivated on tougher days at the gym when I'd rather be elsewhere. And lets not forget the days where I've indulged a few treats - seeing the calories of that chocolate bar add up on my watch is such a good feeling!

If you're serious about fitness then I'd definitely recommend one of these - I definitely feel the difference in my mood and motivation levels if I forget to bring mine to the gym.

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social and cocktail

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love a good cocktail. Not your cheap "cocktail" jugs that pubs sell, but a well-mixed cocktail with good ingredients. My friend and I often joke that we should kidnap one of the bartenders from our favourite cocktail bar (Bath Street Palomino, for those wondering!) and bring them to our flat under strict instructions to make us cocktails all night.

With that in mind, try and imagine how excited I was when I received an email from Social and Cocktail, asking me if I would like to be one of the first to try their new Social and Cocktail event service. They'd be sending a professional cocktail bartender, a mobile bar, glassware, ingredients, ice, and serving cocktails to myself and 9 of my friends on a night of my choice.

I was shown a menu of delicious cocktails and asked to choose five to be served on the night - what a tough choice! I let my sweet tooth get the better of me and chose the Toblerone Martini, Raspberry Ripple, Pina Colada, Caipirinha and the Planters Punch. The service costs £25 per head for 5 cocktails - which is great value for money in my eyes, considering I had to brave the wind and rain in Glasgow last week, spent £7+ per cocktail and struggled to get a seat in the bar!

The night ran like clockwork, with our talented bartender Chris making sure our glasses were never empty. He was the right the balance of professional and fun, joining in with the conversation, and even letting me get behind the bar and have a shot at making my own Toblerone Martini after I declared my love for it for the hundredth time. Seriously, it was the best cocktail I've ever tasted. Chris stayed and served us delicious cocktails for around 3.5 hours, which was the perfect amount of time for us to get a bit tipsy before heading to the club. As part of the service, he even cleaned up before he left - meaning all we had to deal with in the morning was our hangovers!

If you ask me, this is a genius idea and I can see myself booking it again for a special occasion in the future. My flat is a pretty good place to host a party anyway, but the addition of Social and Cocktail really impressed my guests and made the night feel a lot more special!

Social and Cocktail are currently taking bookings in Glasgow and the surrounding area. Visit their website www.socialandcocktail.co.uk or call 0141 611 9131 to book.

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life lately #8

It's been two months since I last posted a little life update, and gathering together the photos for this made me realise how much I've fitted into the past few months! There has been plenty of cocktails (actually, maybe a little too many!), a random roadtrip to Darlington, lots of nice lunches and dinners - and some good old comfort food in the form of eggs and waffles too! - and a good amount of work in the gym.

It's finally starting to feel like Winter (brrrrr!) and dare I say it... I'm already feeling more than little bit excited about Christmas! The nights have got darker, and I can't get enough of cosying up on the couch with a mug of Peanut Hottie, a big blanket and a few DVDs.

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do you want a personal trainer?

I've been having weekly sessions with my personal trainer, Lesley, for about 4 months now and it's something that a lot of people ask me about so I thought I'd share my experience and answer some of my most asked questions. I don't think a personal trainer is a must have for everyone, as some people can go it alone and get great results, but I personally didn't know where to start and felt like that I needed someone there to give me a push in the right direction and to bounce off of if my motivation is running low!

WHERE DID YOU FIND YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER?
My personal trainer works on behalf of my local gym, and was advertised on their website. There were a few different trainers to choose from, each with their own strengths and specialities depending on what your goals are. I like that my PT is part of my gym, as it means the equipment we use in our sessions is there for me to use when I'm working out on my own, and it has really helped make me feel comfortable in the gym. I've heard of a few personal trainers who work freelance with their own studios or converted garages, but don't have any experience with those.

HOW EXPENSIVE IS IT?
Prices will obviously vary for this but I pay £20 for a 45 minute session, and can also choose to buy a block of 10 sessions for £180. I pay my £30pm gym membership on top of this, so it does add up. I do 1 session a week, so it works out at around £110 per month including my membership (for gym, swimming, steam room and sauna, fitness classes) which some of you might think is a lot but it's something I enjoy so I don't mind! You can obviously have as little or as many sessions as you want but 1 per week (and 4 sessions on my own) works out well for me, gives good results, and is something that I can afford.

IS IT WORTH IT?
YES, 100% yes! I'm not going to say that you can't lose weight and get the body you want without the help of a PT, but I doubt I would be seeing progress as quickly as I am if it wasn't for Lesley. They know how to target certain areas of your body, which exercises are more effective, and don't get me started on how much it motivates me having someone to check in with. I also feel like a sponge when I'm training with Lesley, and I'm constantly learning new exercises which give me a wider range of things to do when I'm training on my own, and mixes things up instead of sticking to the usual bike, rowing machines and treadmill combo.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN A SESSION?
One of the things I like most is that every session is different, so I don't get bored and it keeps me on my toes! I enjoy rowing the most, so we usually start off on the rowing machine with some interval training (200m rowing sprints, 30 seconds slow rowing as a rest, and repeat), sometimes using the treadmill or spin bike afterwards, before moving on to some floor exercises. I do a lot of work using kettlebells and medicine balls, squats and lunges using weighted bags or dumbbells for resistance, pushing crates with weights on top up and down the length of the gym (torture!), press-ups, pull-ups and dreaded burpees. Lesley tends to work more than one muscle at once which I think it the key to giving me quicker results - try doing ab exercises on the floor, whilst holding 2 dumbbells in your hands, and a 3rd between your feet, it burns!

I'M SCARED ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT WILL BE, I'M NOT FIT!
I was scared on my first session too and sometimes I still get nervous about how hard I'll be pushed, but your PT will have a good idea of your fitness levels and although they will obviously push you so that you work hard (and see quick results!), it's nothing to be scared about. If something is too difficult and you're really struggling, it can be switched for a different exercise. Sometimes facing your fears is good though - when I was told I would be doing a set of 10 burpees (my most hated exercise, there's a video here - they're tough!) I felt like crying, and mid-way through I was ready to collapse, but I done them!

I hope that's answered some of the questions around personal training, although let me know if there's anything else you want to know! Hopefully I've even given some of you the push you needed to signing up for a few sessions. If it's not obvious, I really recommend getting some help from a PT - at least to kick start your training! The progress I'm seeing is amazing, and it's motivating me to keep on going!

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coastline

I found these photos from Summer on my memory card and couldn't help but share them. It feels like such a long time ago that sunsets had this gorgeous golden glow, and you'd be able to sit and watch them from the beach, with the last of your BBQ sizzling next to you. Now they've been replaced by lots of grey cloudy skies and rain hitting off the window panes - something I'm glad to watch from inside with a mug of tea in my hands!

I've always been more of a Winter person. I do love Summer for BBQs, trips to the beach and the longer days, but nothing beats the excitement of the first flakes of snow falling, the comfort of wrapping yourself up in a chunky scarf and filling the house with winter scents like cinnamon and spice.

Although saying that - give it a month or two until the cold really sets in and I'll be back to dreaming of warmer weather!

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