Bodyform Black Daily Fresh Liner - #Bodyformblacklinerchallenge*

*This post is in collaboration with BodyForm 

Say Hello to the Panty Liner that might just make going to the gym even better.

I was challenged by Bodyform to trail out the NEW and First EVER Black Liner (Why is this only just happening in 2017). They were designed to be discrete in whatever you wear to the gym that might be black leggings or them colourful bright leggings that you just loving running in. I was asked to do a challenge and trial these the next time I exercised. You can read how I get on below. 

Photos taken by Michael Teasdale

Exercise has always been a massive part of my life from such a young age. From 13 years old till I was 18 years old I was on a trampoline 5 days a week training. When I went to college I really got into gym classes and wanting to build my upper body strength (that didn't actually happen) and most recently I got a job that involves me cycling pretty much 24 hours a day. As you can tell exercise has always been a huge part of my life but so have periods.

Photo by Michael Teasdale

When I was younger my trampoline coach was a man and as you can imagine feminine hygiene and periods was not something I wanted to speak to him about but because trampolining was my sport at school and I lived in a leotard most of my life it became a  subject that had to be talked about. I was lucky and had a great female PE teacher who talked to me about everything I needed to know including telling me how empowering periods were.

Photos By Michael Teasdale

When it came to this taboo subject it was subject she was happy to discuss and help me fully understand. I find it strange that it isn't talked about more on the internet and in society but I do know a few ladies and brands that are pushing the boundaries and discussing periods more and more. 

When I was younger I was very keen on using liners when I was training but the one thing I hated was that they were always WHITE, lets just say a white panty liner and a black leotard was never a good look then let alone now. Even when I stopped trampolining I used liners in the gym and they still were white which didn't always look great with my gym wear.

I won't lie when it comes to exercising I alway wear black leggings but I'm adding more colour to my gym wardrobe so when I got a e-mail from BodyForm asking me to be part of the #BodyformBlackLinerChallenge I jumped at the chance because this sounded like something that I needed in my life and Bodyform have always been my go to liner.

Who are Bodyform?

Bodyform are one of the leading feminine protections brands and are focused on helping women feel comfortable and confident. They want women to be able to live life and have nothing hold them back. They offer a range of products including uniquely shaped liners that fit any type of body and are products that actively care for you. 

Why do I love Bodyform?

Bodyform has always been my go to products when it comes to periods and feminine hygiene. When I got older and started buying my own liners I went for the cheapest but learnt very quickly that wasn't the way to do it. Thats when I found out about BodyForm and their large range of products that can be fitted to any individual. It doesn't matter what age, flow, occasion and where you are in your cycle Bodyform will most likely have a product for you. 

What is the #BodyFormBlackLinerChallenge?

BodyForm challenged me to take on their NEW Bodyform Black Daily Fresh Liners which are designed especially designed for black underwear and black leggings. I decided to take on the challenge but try it out twice with two very different types of exercises.

First up was a fitness class at my local gym and lets say I was impressed I felt extremely comfortable and definitely found that they moved well with my body. With exercises ranging from squats to push ups and even a bit of running around the park I felt that I definitely gave these black liners a run for their money and I was extremely happy and comfortable which is always a bonus when your sweating your backside off.

My second test of these black liners was on one of my many bike rides. If you read my last post (here) you will know that recently I've been cycling around 50 miles a week and it pretty much my life. So I needed a product that would be suitable for this and thought that the black liner would fit that job well. Well lets say it really did, I regularly commute to work on my bike so that was the first try out of the day and I didn't know what to expect but to be honest it actually felt great. I arrived at work and felt fresh and because I've never cycled to work and felt comfortable with a liner on for the main reason being is that they didn't stay in place but these did a great job of staying secure throughout two rides that day. 

Both times I've tried these liners I would say that I have never felt so comfortable in myself when exercising with a liner but also they made me not scared to wear my lovely tight leggings to the gym or on many bike rides. 

Overall thoughts on the Bodyform Black Liners?

I would recommend these to anyone. I don't think you even have to use them just for exercising. Remember that gorgeous little black dress you have in your wardrobe that you hate wearing with liners? This is your answer. What about the uncomfortable liners you've been using for years but can't be bothered to switch? It's time to change and I would definitely recommend the Body Form Black Liners.

*All these opinion are my own. 

Triathlon is for everyone – My triathlon story

With the launch of This Girl Can happening in February, I wanted to find local women in the North East that empowered what This Girl can is all about and that is when I started talking to Michelle. Michelle to me empowers everything that This Girl Can is about. Below she is going to tell you about triathlon and about how she got involved in the sport. I hope you enjoyed this post.

I am a triathlete. It gave me a massive thrill and sense of achievement to be able to say that when I completed my first event in 2011.

A triathlon is made up of a swim, a cycle and a run. You do all three sports one after another, with no rest.

You may know about it through the Brownlees, brothers Alistair and Jonny who are Olympic medal winners and World Champions for Team GB. They compete at the very highest elite level and push themselves to the limit, but triathlon isn't just a sport for the super fit. It's the fastest growing participation sport in the UK. Anyone can do it - even me.

My triathlon story starts back in 2008, when I began running as part of a bid to get fit and lose some weight. I hated it at first, and couldn't manage more than a few hundred metres without getting out of breath. My first milestone was to be able to run continuously for 20 minutes, and it took me a while of running and walking to work up to that. 

Somewhere along the way I started to enjoy it. Within a year, I went from being unable to run a mile without stopping, to running 13.1 of them on the Great North Run. It was an amazing transformation. I was fitter, slimmer, and more importantly had made a whole new group of friends through running, so I was happier too.

I loved the challenge. I found I enjoyed training for races and then running as fast as I could, chasing better times, and the feeling of the adrenaline rush when I crossed the finish line.

I worked with a personal trainer, Ian from Inspire Fitness who has helped me stay strong and avoid injuries. He did triathlons too, so I went along to watch him and some of my running friends race at the QE2 Park in Ashington. Just like the running community, I saw a bunch of friendly, enthusiastic people, doing something slightly crazy and challenging on a weekend. And I knew then that I had to give it a try.

I took lessons to improve my swimming, cleaned up my old bike and started training. In 2011, I took part in my first triathlon and I loved it so much, that I signed up for another one two weeks later. Since then, I've challenged myself to do triathlons that involve swimming in lakes and the sea, and done longer distance events.

Triathlon is an amazingly inclusive sport. Ordinary people like you and me can race on the same courses as the elites. I’ve swum, biked and run on the same route as the Brownlees in Leeds, and then stuck around afterwards to cheer them on. There’s not many sports that give you that kind of access and experience of being close up to the best.

There's nothing to beat triathlon for a feeling of satisfaction, for the sense of really having achieved something. And because it involves three sports, you get three times the adrenaline rush.

Anyone can give triathlon a go

I am nothing special. I am not particularly fast, or especially fit. I've found triathlon to be very friendly and I encourage anyone to give it a go.

Source

1) What if I can’t swim/I can only do breaststroke?

If you can’t swim, then it's a great skill to learn. It could save your life. Swimming is great exercise and yes, it can be hard to learn, but it’s well worth it.

Most people swim front crawl in a triathlon because it’s faster, but there's no rule to say you can't do breaststroke.

Source

2) I don’t have a road bike

Some people spend a huge amount of money on the latest go faster carbon fibre, streamlined machines that weigh less than a bag of sugar. But you don’t have to. I did my first triathlon on an ancient old mountain bike, that I could only just lift into the car. I do now have a lovely road bike, but any decent working cycle will do. You must have a helmet though - that's in the rules.

Source

3) It’s expensive

Like all sports there’s always a fancy bit of kit, gadget or gizmo that promises to shave seconds off your best time, but ryou only need a few basics of a bike, helmet, running shoes and something that you’re comfortable to wear to swim, bike and run in.

Bear in mind that you'll be getting straight out of the water and onto a bike, so you need to wear something that's comfortable and won't chafe. A pair of lightly padded bike shorts, or specific triathlon shorts is a good buy.

For open water swimming, you may need a wetsuit, but you can often hire these for a day, week or season.

Race entries can cost a bit more than a run, because there's a lot involved in making sure races are safe and well organised. You can get a discount on entries by joining a triathlon club that's affiliated to your National Triathlon organisation.

Here in the North East, VO2 Max Racing, who organise the very best triathlon events I've taken part in, will offer a free entry to one of their events if you volunteer to marshal at another.

Find out more about triathlon events and clubs in the UK:

Triathlon England

Triathlon Scotland

Welsh Triathlon

Triathlon Ireland

4) I’m too fat/too unfit/too old/ I’ll come last

If you feel fat and unfit, what better way to change that than to add some exercise to your lifestyle and start training? Having a goal or event to aim for is a great motivator to get out there. There are short distance triathlons, including novice or super sprint events that are easily achievable with a bit of training.

Don't worry about how you think you'll look. Everyone’s too focused on swim, bike, run to give it a second thought. And if you don’t fancy a tri suit, you can throw on a T-shirt and shorts before the bike.

There are often a great range of age categories at races and some will even award prizes for different age groups, so getting older doesn’t have to mean you’re at a disadvantage.

If you think you’ll be way behind the rest of the field, remember, the only person you’re really competing against is yourself. Even if you do find yourself the last to cross the line, I can guarantee you’ll get a bigger cheer that the speedy person who came through in first place.

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Michelle Nicol is a writer and triathlete. When she’s not swimming, cycling or running, you can find her at www.word-struck.com, and on twitter @I_am_wordstruck

Exercise, Why do we start?

Everyone has their own reasons why they start something. When it comes to fitness some people find it harder than other to start. I work with young people, middle aged people and even the older generation who all at some point decided that they wanted to get into exercise for their own reasons. Some reasons are more serious than others but they all have one thing in common and that is that they took the first step and did something. Some people far really fit when they're younger and then life gets in the way and it isn’t the main priority of their life but then something clicks and it then because more of a priority.

This post is to show that everyone has their own reasons for starting and that it isn’t straight forward but if you keep trying you’ll get there eventually.

I thought I would start by telling you about how I got into exercise. I started doing sport at a young age I was involved in every sport at school but when I was at university I couldn’t handle juggling doing exercise, having a job and assignments. That was when I stopped doing exercise but unlike most students I lost a lot of weight and my confidence wasn’t what it used to be. I was so underweight that a lot of people got very concerned about my health. I decided that was when I needed to get back into exercise and found tennis. Tennis was my stress release and soon become the sport I would coach as my main sport. I wanted to get fit again because while at university I lost any fitness I had, I had signed up for the Great North Run in 2015 and started running and strength training at the gym. Now I’m slowly putting on weight and my fitness is definitely better.

Some people find the hardest part of getting involved in exercise is the starting point. I’ve run 2 beginners running programs for the past 6 months with over 20 people starting each one. Every one of them starts wanting to make to make it through the 10 weeks but for some that doesn’t happen but it doesn’t stop them trying again just like Shivani and Laura who I’ll talk about that later.

Most people have to try more than one type of exercise to find the one that’s best for them; Helen from Nelly's Cupcakes told me she wanted to get fit so she could keep up with her toddler and be a good/healthy role model for her which is a perfect reason to get fit. She first tried out Zumba which she did enjoy but because of class politics, she started to not enjoy it anymore and decided to try running. She started running and she started alone doing the Couch to 5K and a year later she is still going. If you’re like Helen and find that you’re not enjoying what you’re doing mix it up and try something new you never know you might fall in love with it.

Helen wasn’t the only person I spoke to that wanted to get fit because of their kids Pixie from Fashion Voyeur wanted to get fit because she has a severely autistic son and wanted to get fit so she could give him the best life but also so that she could handle anything that he threw at her. She first started with Barre but now does a large range of exercises including boxing and roller derby. Pixie went on to tell me that exercise has become a coping mechanism for her as for her ‘its pure escapism.’ Pixie has become to love exercise so much she became an This Girl Can ambassador in 2015 along with 100’s of other women across the country.

From talking to a people I work with a lot of them get involved in exercise because they want to lose weight. Shivani Malhorta from Cloud in a Teacup told me how she had always been an overweight adult and after trying to get fit on a number of occasions decided that last year was the year to get serious and started the gym in June. At first, she hated it but she kept going, she started off cycling, walking on a treadmill and doing a few minutes on a cross trainer, she started off really slow but she’s kept going and now she is doing HIIT workouts and weights. For her, it’s not about being skinny it about feeling healthy and strong. Shivani has lost 4.5 stone (give her a round applause because that’s amazing) in weight but she has seen a huge change in her body shape because of the exercise she is doing and that has given her a lot more confidence. 

Laura Dawson from Elle Blonde was another amazing lady that started off being a big lady and decided she wanted to change that, she took herself to the gym and for her, that was when it clicked. She lost 4 stones in a matter of months (I’ve seen her in person and she looks amazing) and that was where her healthy obsession began. Laura had horrendous depression two years ago and refused to go on medication and one night after a few too many drinks signed up to do the biggest half marathon in the North East. After training and running further, she discovered that her depression got better.

After I left university I really got into research about how exercise could have a good effect on people’s mental health. I know myself that when I feel low that going out and doing some sort of exercise I feel always feel good after.

So when Kayleigh Lindstedt from I Dream of Coco told me how she suffered from mild anxiety and she started running as a way to clear her head as well as keep herself fit. She has even signed up to do the Great North Run which is a half marathon (Good Luck Kayleigh). Holly Olivia Stephenson from Bisous, Holly Olivia (http://bisoushollyolivia.blogspot.co.uk/) was another lady that started exercising to help reduce anxiety and depression. Holly decided that she wanted to work on her upper body which now she doesn’t have to cover up in warmer weather and has helped to improve her confidence. Like many other people, she tried swimming, running and cycling but fell in love with body weight exercises and hula hooping.

When Andy Hooper from Here Come the Hoopers told me how he got involved in exercise because he wanted to use it as a way of socialising. Alan recruited the dads from his estate after his wife Catherine had decided to recruit the mams from the estate to do a couch to 5K together. After running for a few weeks Alan decided to do the Disneyland Half Marathon in September.

I’ve used these stories with a hope that these might inspire someone to want to exercise or keep some people already exercising motivated. Writing this post is making me want to go out and go for a run and I hope it has inspired you.

I hope you like this post I have. I have loved writing this and can’t thank the bloggers in this post enough for telling me their stories. If you like these types of post please leave me a comment below.

Why not tell me your reasons for getting involved in exercise?