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My New Spring Running Music Playlist

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Hello!  Happy Sunday everyone, is it Sunday?

Hope you are all OK and looking after yourselves.  Gosh my second blog post in a week after an 18 month dry spell.  Actually it’s been nice getting to know my blog again and it’s a perfect excuse to take myself off and away from the other 4 (plus dog) inhabitants of this overcrowded house. As running seems to be my primary ‘go to’ exercise of choice, today I decided it was about time I put a new running music playlist together.

Back to Running

Like many people during this challenging time, I’ve taken up running (again) and joined the hordes of new or ‘lapsed’ runners that seem to be pounding the streets everywhere you look.  Yes there are days where I will stay indoors but I do need, at times, to get out for some fresh air, some exercise and to escape from the family.  I hasten to add that I am really valuing the time I’m having with the family but sometimes I do need my space, they need me out of their and I need to attempt to fight off possibility of all the extra weight gained as a consequence of constantly comfort eating!  3 teenagers, a husband working from home, a dog, temperamental WiFi connection are regular trigger points that get me reaching for junk.

Setting a Fitness Challenge

So back to running.  For me, like the Gym, running for me is a way to relieve stress, re-frame worries or stuff I’m anxious about or a time to switch off; concentrating solely on getting one foot in from of the other and getting a step closer to finishing.  Whilst Gyms remain closed I can still go out for a run.  So when we went into lockdown and were told we could go outdoors to exercise daily for one hour max I decided to challenge myself to run 3 times a week and that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 3 weeks.  Truth is I never look forward to going out for a run but once I’m out I think its only a small amount of time in the great scheme of things so best just get on with it.  Plus it’s free and time starts the minute I venture outside my front door. I tend to go out late so that there are less people around and it’s still light enough to run in my local park (which is something I am hugely grateful for at them moment).  I had one mad thought recently to train the dog to run with me but let’s just say that’s firmly been moth-balled for the time-being.

Prior to my break from this blog, I did rather love putting a music playlist together whether for running or the Gym and these were always really popular.  So I’ve decided to put together a new one.  It killed an afternoon, took my mine off eating the kids Easter Eggs and gave me a good excuse to spring clean my own music playlists (well I’ve spring-cleaned everything else out). Plus I signed up for the Apple Music 3 months free trial (and why not) so had more tunes to choose from.

Time for a New Running Playlist

Running Playlists are a great way to motivate you to push harder, run a little faster or a means of taking your mind off that steep hill you need to get past.

I would normally have a running list of about 15 songs but for me 10 is enough to get me through a 5 km run.

So here’s my new Spring Running Music Playlist:

 

All available to download.

  • Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
  • On Top of the World – Imagine Dragons
  • Instant History – Biffy Clyro
  • Bury It – CHVRCHES (ft. Hayley Williams)
  • Stupid Love – Lady Gaga
  • Irresistible – Fall Out Boy
  • All Goes Wrong – Chase & Status (ft. Tom Grennan)
  • Sucker Punch – Sigrid
  • Higher Love – Kygo & Whitney Houston
  • The Monster – Eminem (ft. Rhianna)

Hope you enjoy it!

For more running music playlists take a look at My Playlists page

Helen x

My May Goals for 2018

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May Goals

My May Goals

I haven’t published a blog since last October!  Can you believe it? I suppose work, family and life just took over as these things tend to have a habit of doing and I got out of the habit of posting articles. The towel nearly got thrown in a few weeks ago and the plug pulled but I thought back to when I started my blog, what I loved about it and concluded that all I did was fall out of the habit like we all can do with a lot of things.  So here goes, I’m starting things off with my May Goals ……..

  • Commit to posting some content onto this site on a more regular basis
  • Crack on with sorting the house out; this includes fun stuff like redecorating my bedroom and the rather expensive and boring stuff like rebuilding a porch and re-leading a bay.
  • Update my CV; we should all do this regardless of whether we are happy in our jobs or not!
  • Run at least two times a week with youngest son
  • Revamp my Gym workout for May; got stuck in a rut recently doing the same old thing so putting a stop to that right now!
  • Get baking again!
  • Make time for my lovely friends including those that I don’t see very often – you know who you are!
  • Look to change the look of my blog; maybe it’s time to makeover my website.
#blogshare My May Goals #motivation Click To Tweet

There all done!  It’s made me realise that I have let a lot of things in my personal life slide so this has been the perfect chance to reflect on things and pull my finger out when it comes to getting things done and making time to enjoy the things that I love doing!  Actually I’ve missed this.  Sitting down and taking the time to write this, being creative in my own way; so maybe I’ll not be throwing in the towel just yet!

 

Helen x

 

 

10 Healthy Habits for Autumn

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Healthy Habits

10 Healthy Habits for Autumn

I’ll admit it Autumn isn’t up there as one of my favourite times of the year.  Summer can seem more of a relaxed affair and with more daylight and sunshine my mood is generally in a happy place.  Then its BAAM! Back in to the routine of school and once past Halloween it’s that build up to Christmas.  Saying that I do like those first initial chilly mornings, the beauty of Autumn and having the kids back at school has it’s advantages, so ok maybe it’s not so bad?  For me when the nights start to draw in, the central heating goes on and my wardrobe switches to boots and sweaters it can be an excuse to start hibernating a little, switch to a stodgy diet and perhaps ease off on the running front.

Developing healthy habits will help to see you through the chillier weather, help to maintain a positive attitude and, fingers crossed, stave off potential weight gain.

Here are my 10 Healthy Habits for Autumn

  • If you must comfort eat make it healthy
  • Commit to a weekly Workout Schedule and log your progress
  • Revamp your running or training gear if you exercise outdoors
  • Stay hydrated; the colder weather is no excuse not to drink plenty of water
  • No Hibernating!  Stay Sociable!
  • Make one day a week a Family Day
  • Declutter
  • Unplug/Go Offline; even if it’s an hour before bedtime
  • Eat seasonal produce
  • Get outdoors more and take time to enjoy the beauty of Autumn
Days are shorter, there's a chill in the air, adopt #healthy habits for Autumn to help boost your mood and fitness. Click To Tweet
Let’s see how many I can stick so!  What are your health habits for Autumn?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit!

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motivational quote

Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit!

Motivational Quote

Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit! #fitness #motivation Click To Tweet

For more fitness and weightloss motivation, visit my motivational quotes page.

 

Why try a 30 day fitness challenge?

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fitness challenge

Why try a 30 day fitness challenge?

Have you ever tried doing a fitness challenge for 30 days?  This year I decided to make a new list of goals to achieve each month; one of these was to set a monthly fitness challenge.  I’ve become a little obsessed with monthly challenges recently, why?

  • 30 days is not a great deal of time to invest in a project if it doesn’t work out
  • Doing something for 30 days  can help to cement a good habit
  • A new challenge each month can keep up your motivation and results can be seen in a short space of time
  • It can help you develop a more open mind set to embrace change
  • You can get a lot done it 30 days; think of doing one each month then that’s a lot of goals you’ve achieved!

So apply this to fitness and you’ve got a great fitness plan for the whole year!

Try a new fitness challenge each month, smaller goals are easier to achieve and you will see results quicker! Click To Tweet

Stuck for inspiration?  Then check out my 5 favourite fitness challenges that I have taken from Pinterest.

30 Day Abs and Squats Challenge – this is actually my fitness challenge for February

30 Day Core Strength Challenge

30 Day Sleek Arms Challenge

30 Day Full Killer Body Workout

30 Day Burpee Challenge

Finally you needn’t just have to limit it to a monthly fitness challenge; it can be absolutely anything!

 

 

 

 

 

My February Goals

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monthly goals

My February Goals

Ok we’ve got through January, it’s noticeably lighter and spring is on it’s way!  January surprisingly didn’t drag as much for me as normal.  Ok so I still had no money, other friends were feeling the pinch so no socialising to get rid of the January blues.  Setting my own January Goals helped me to focus on things and be more pro-active about getting things done instead of mopping around the house.  I consciously made a plan and effort to achieve each of the goals that I set, 10 in total.  Some were easy, some were harder and took a while to complete.  It’s given me the motivation to carry on setting monthly goals and see what I’ve managed to achieved at the end of the year.

New month, new monthly goals. Getting things done one small step at a time #blogshare Click To Tweet

So here are my new monthly goals:

  1. New Fitness Challenge for the month – Abs and Squats Challenge
  2. Repost one of my very first workouts (ideal for a beginner), I’ve got loads so why not share?
  3. Freezer Meal Prep Session – check out these ideas that you can through into your Slow Cooker from livingrichwithcoupons.com and more ideas from smartschoolhouse.com
  4. Put together a meal plan for my children’s suppers and use it! I’m using a printable meal planner from shesaved.com found on Pinterest.
  5. Re-think my fitness goals and put a new plan of action in place
  6. Organise a cinema trip with my daughter and a couple of her mates to see ‘Sing!’
  7. De-clutter the Living Room (phase 2 of my whole house de-clutter)
  8. Go Sugar free for February, read this infographic if it all looks a little daunting!
  9. Revamp some of the images on my Busyfitmama blog
  10. Create a Photo Gallery for my Kitchen

Looking back to the goals I set for January (read my blog post My January Goals) I’ve noticed that they generally focus on fitness, health, blogging, family and my messy house!  I suppose it’s what I’m all about but here’s to hoping the messy house will be a goal I achieve sooner rather than later!

Do you set goals each month?  What are your February Goals?

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