With active wear booming, i’m going to make it easier for you to understand… Ok, so if you follow me on insta ( @chlohodgkinson ) you may have seen me sorting out active wear wardrobe and the amount of messages I got about how many trainers I have was hilarious. I also get a lot of questions about which ones are best for what, so i’ve broken it down you guys and here are my top picks:
For Weightlifting:
For running:
For Gym Training sessions:
For Beyond The Gym:
A short month but certainly not short in thoughts…
No beer for a year? Could you?
Reckon you could take on the challenge of no alcohol for a year? Well, you can! With the support from oneyearnobeer.com. The sight gives you loads of information and regular tips to stay focused with the idea of giving up alcohol for 30/90 days and then to potentially carry it on for a year. At the moment they are offering their £5.99 E book on giving up alcohol for FREE. So if you’re to cocky for cocktails, you can take on the challenge!
Conquering the World 1 Top at a Time/
Worry no more about lack of motivation… this top will remind you & everyone else exactly what you’re capable off. You can get the limited Edition top now at Active in style… mine’s on order!
Organ Crushers/
AKA Waist trainers … Hoping they had been left in 2015 it’s clear they bloody haven’t. Celebs are still wearing them & they are still all over social media but will waist trainers ever stop? I was on the train and saw a girl wearing a waist trainer under her top, I couldn’t help but squirm … Her poor organs.
Spirulina/
Spirulina isn’t all the bad. Right, so a proper protein super food & apparently absolutely disgusting, but I’m not sure whether I’ve just destroyed all of my taste buds but I actually didn’t find it that bad! It’s high in protein and antioxidants & comes in powder form. I chuck it in my smoothie or take a shot it in the morning… an easy way to get more protein in your diet!
The NewyearNutri Guide/
Across social I have been showing this guide, but this NewYearNutri guide is perfect for tips, hints & motivation to help you on your Fitness Journey… I wrote in this guide too along with other bloggers.. see here.
Mind & Life/
Something leaving your life is only making space for new things & if it’s a person? Well then maybe they were just passing through & weren’t meant to stay.
Boasting 28% more support than a conventional bra, this sports bra has answered my HIIT dreams. Designed for running, this bra offers incredible support for impact exercise even for the smallest amongst us. It’s often thought that for small breasts, sports bras aren’t all the important but it is said that high impact exercise can stretch ligaments in the boobs causing them to ‘sag’ [Livestrong.com]… meaning even those A cups should pay attention to getting the right support.
So when I got sent through this sports bra from Decathlon I was super excited to put it to the test. I took it straight to the gym & put it through its paces rating it on support & comfort out of 10:
Treadmill: Support 10 / Comfort 10
Stair Master: Support 10 / Comfort 10
Training Abs: Support 10 / Comfort 10……
……I’m not even going to carry on with the rest because I think you get where I’m going with this. The cups fit perfectly, snug while still allowing room to move and breathe.
You’ll more often than not find me wearing black in the gym but I’m loving this pattern to add something different to your outfit…so not only is supporting & comforting, it also looks good too.
I’m also such a geek when it comes to technical fabrics in sportswear and this bra has some pretty cool technical features too..
– No Seam – stoping chaffing
– Moisture transfer – breathable materials & perforations inside the cups – no damp boobs for us
– Equarea Control fabric which actively reduces odours during & after running – I’m not sure this means you should skip the deodorant, though!
The bra comes in four colours & are currently at £19.99 available from Decathlon.com … I love this bra so much I’ve even ordered the green one! You can buy yours here … follow me on Instagram @chlohodgkinson and tag me in your Decathlon sports bra’s, I’d love to see how you’re rocking them, using the hashtag #yoursport also gives you the opportunity to feature on Decathlon’s Instagram page!
When I go out, I tend to not really dress up unless I have to. For a few around the town a pair of comfortable flats and a relatively nice outfit is sufficient for me, I’m not going to wear a new glam dress and heels around my local town because, well, I’d rather have a laugh. I also tend to be working before I go out so am I heck getting all glammed up.
Always being slightly nervous when it comes to off the shoulder tops, I’m not a huge fan as when I get comfortable in a situation I tend to forget what I look like… yes yes a recipe for disaster, I know… but the sleeves always rise up and I don’t notice and walk around looking like a complete numpty. Butttttt this one from New look I love, it can go with trends including the 60’s and monochrome… two of my faves.
Paired with Asos trousers and simple flats, I kept the monochrome look but added a rep lippy – L’Oreal Color Riche 461, for some colour popppppp and I’m a complete sucker for a red lippy… makes me feel like a girl when I’m probably not acting like one.
For those of you regular readers (basically my Nan & Grandad) it won’t be a surprise to hear I’ve set myself another challenge. I tend to set myself challenges to keep up my motivation, one of my most recent challenges has been to gain strength. I wanted to be able to lift more than I ever have been able to and I’m so proud of myself that I can honestly say, I’m lifting more than ever (with thanks to the best gym buddy, Ruth, for pushing me). Through hard work, sweat and a lot of painful morning afters, I kept pushing myself and slowly adding more and more weight in body pump.
Gaining strength has definitely played a huge part in how my body is now shaped. I’m musclier and more toned but also ‘bigger’, I look bigger and personally that’s something I didn’t want to gain… pardon the pun. Clothes are more difficult.. my waist is smaller, but my legs and bum are much bigger. This leads me on to my next challenge…
2 weeks till holiday and 3 weeks till a friend’s big birthday weekend, so 3 weeks to get smaller. I’m going to be upping the cardio more to slim me down and drop my weight training down to 1-2 a week instead of 5 which is what I have been doing recently. I’ll be back running now my shins have fully repaired, only taking it slow as I can’t afford to get injured again.
Diet wise, i’ll be upping the protein using PHD women’s protein, eggs and lean meat.
Cutting back the carbs, trying to only gain carbs from fresh fruit and veg.
Upping the veggies.
Drinking around 6L of water a day (my 2L bottle filled up three times, this is partly because i’m so active and drinking more water I have seen a huge improvement on my skin – but that’s for another blog post)
Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact i’ve managed to shape my body and love weight training and the burn you get from it, but getting in a bikini is my worse nightmare right now. I have less fat but when you look in the mirror and aren’t happy, that’s when you know you need to change, it’s not other peoples opinions but how you feel, everyone feels different and everyone’s bodies are different.
How incredible is this weather? How nice is it to sit in the sun all day now I’ve finished uni? I wouldn’t know. I have been non-stop working just to try and make up for the ridiculous amounts of money I spent on my mad few weeks. Do you know what’s worse? On my mad few weeks, I brought a £40 shirt dress. I shouldn’t have done and to make myself feel better I blame Kate [http://ubiquitoustounique.blogspot.co.uk] for telling me she likes it. You see I actually think this is my problem I’m so easily influenced when it comes to things like going out or buying clothes.
I just can’t say no. Anyway, I tend to avoid Urban Outfitters simply because if I go in I will buy something and 90% of the time I’m trying to save, but this once, being the silly fool I am, I went in and brought something and do I regret it? NOPE. It’s amazing and so bloody functional… I love an item I can wear with so many things – night out, on the beach, with jeans, winter/summer this shirt dress will remain in my wardrobe all year round that’s for sure.
Pairing with my vans and a simple jacket to keep it casual and cool but I would not hesitate to squeeze on a pair of massive heels and jewellery for a night out.
Or more to the point who is she? I’d be lying if I said to you I don’t constantly question myself about how and why I’ve changed in such a short time. This morning, while on my run I was trying to work out how to even start this blog and nothing seemed to fit right. I don’t want this post to be the same crap we always hear like ‘Oh my god I’m a new person’ because I’m not new, I’m still the same girl, but I guess, I am different? Oh, I don’t know but hopefully after reading this maybe you could find the answer for me?
Let me take you back 5 weeks ago. Uni deadlines in the horizon, gym constantly in the front of my mind, home from the buzz of London, blogging becoming a chore, my friends at home lurking in the distance and my uni friends more or less nonexistent with my dreams only remaining that of a dream. I guess you could kind of say I felt slightly lost. I wasn’t unhappy, but I got caught up in what I felt like I should be doing and trying to carry on life like it was before. I didn’t know I could do things alone and I certainly didn’t know I could be on my own and for a 19-year-old girl I hated that about myself.
So if I felt like that just a few weeks back how do I explain how I feel now? I’m content, wanting to work hard, wanting to blog, wanting to see friends, wanting to get in the gym and eat well instead of feeling like I had to. Maybe it’s the great friends I’ve made at uni or the fact my old friends and family constantly have my back? Who know’s all I can say is in such a short amount of time I’m a lot happier with myself.
So much has changed and I’m still not sure I’ve thought every decision through properly whether that’s going out most nights and destroying my kidneys or eating as much crap food as I can until my body is crying for the gym, but I had fun! What’s more, I’m finally leaving mummy and moving in with my favourite Bristolian to the land of Jenners (yes I will be singing the Wurzels every time they speak for a good 2 years and yes, it will still be funny every time I do it). When I move out there are certainly a few things I’ll be taking with me all from what I’ve learnt from my saint of a Stepdad that 100% has played a huge part in who I am today.
Maybe it’s the things I’ve learnt from him that have got me to be in such a good place? All these questions I’m trying to answer, but maybe I need to stop trying to work it out and keep chasing my dreams instead of sitting on them to find the answer.
But one thing is for certain… The girl that relied on someone’s company, a boyfriend and perfection, doesn’t need that anymore.
