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. 

Goal Setting, is it a good thing?

Today I have a guest post from the lovely Clare from the blog Exercise and Mental Health. I got in touch with Clare and asked if she would like to do a  blog post about creating goals and how mental health can effect creating goals. 

Source

Most people set goals to some degree in everyday life whether it be to get a certain job, travel to a particular country or buy a house but when it comes to fitness should you do it too? My opinion is yes absolutely! Having a goal gives you something to aim for and keeps you on track. When you have down days, can’t be bothered or a ‘better offer’ than going to the gym comes along it can keep you focused. Thinking of how good you’ll feel when you hit that target weight or get into that special outfit is usually enough motivation for most people. 

But if you suffer from a mental health illness such as depression or anxiety can it still be as beneficial? Well now I think it becomes a little bit more cloudy, yes totally still set goals but generally be more aware that it may take you a little longer to reach them and the effect that can have. If you already experience anxiety and stress then setting a goal you may feel under more pressure and this can cause anxiety and stress if you already experience these, or even if you don’t. Everybody is different and there is by no way a one sizes fits all approach to anything and it all depends on the extent of your illness, the goal you set and the way you handle things. If you do set yourself a goal and then for whatever reason you don’t achieve it will that be detrimental and put back your recovery? You need to be aware of your illness and how you cope with different situations and if you have your illness under control, have a good support network around you and are confident you can make your goal then yes absolutely, go for it as the feeling of achieving it can be amazing, it can make you feel so good. Support is crucial, tell your friends and family your goals and plans and get them involved, take them to the gym or to a class, it will make it more fun and if it’s more fun you’re more likely to stick at it and succeed.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion but it does come from my own experience. I was diagnosed with depression four and half years ago although looking back I had struggled for a long time before that. It felt good and still does to actually have an answer for how I am and that I’m not alone and that in itself has given me a lot of strength and be able to look in the right places for help. I’m pretty lucky now to mostly have it under control, as anybody in a similar situation knows I feel I’m probably never going to be totally free of it but understanding it goes a very long way to helping. Along with that, I put most of my change of outlook down to the fact that I started to exercise, I’ve lost a lot of weight which increased my confidence. I have set a lot of goals along the way, some I’ve achieved some I haven’t. For the ones I haven’t yes it did knock me down and make me feel bad but as with almost everything those feelings are temporary and once I accepted that my mind can re-focus and set a new goal and make a plan on how to achieve it. That is also an important part, making a plan, you might say you have a goal to visit Australia for example but if you don’t plan to work hard, save ‘x’ amount of money etc you have no plan as to how you’re going to make it happen and therefore more likely to not reach your goal so the same can be said for fitness goals. As part of my training as a gym instructor and personal trainer, I’ve learned that you need to and need to encourage clients to set 

S.M.A.R.T goals.

S = specific goal, so instead of saying ‘I want to lose weight’ say ‘I want to lose 10lbs’

M = measurable, so for losing weight it’s measurable by checking your weight on a set of scales

A = achievable, so don’t say something like ‘I want to lose three stone by this time next week’, it’s very unlikely to happen therefore not achievable

R = relevant, something relevant to you, not your partner or your best mate.

T = time bound, set yourself a time limit to achieve your goal, again a realistic time limit, not too short but also not so long that you don’t really have the motivation to get to work on it.

So an example of an S.M.A.R.T goal would be ‘I’m going to run at least half the distance of this year’s Lincoln 10k’ that ticks all of the boxes.

I’ve set myself some goals, some probably without even realising it. The first one was to actually get moving and attend my first exercise class which was Zumba, I was scared, I took four friends with me and I loved it, gradually they stopped going and I made friends with other people that were there and everything started from there. Then I joined a gym but for a long time I didn’t really do anything then three years ago I set myself the goal of taking on a program called the ’12 week challenge’ it was three months of personal training and group sessions with a gym instructor. I was really doubtful I could do it, I knew the other people taking it on and they were all fitter than me. But from chats with some of them and my class instructor, I soon realised they felt the same and we all just needed to work together and focus on our own goals. Through that program, I lost 20lbs and my confidence skyrocketed and I the began to train as an instructor to help people the same way it and my instructor had helped me.

Last year I set myself the goal to take part in Cancer Research’s Pretty Muddy, not only did that involve running but climbing over obstacles and for someone that has always had trouble trusting her own body that was scary. In comparison to other obstacle courses, it’s small but it was huge to me. I did it and not only that I loved it and I can’t wait to take my friend round it this year. I’m setting myself a goal of getting round an obstacle course that’s bigger and harder.

We all need goals in in all aspects of life no matter how big or small and it might be something as simple as trying to leave the house and that in turn gives you the motivation to get out of bed each day. Or it might be that you want to run a marathon and that gives you the motivation to go out running in all weathers, turning down social events so you can train.

So go set yourself some goals, smash them and feel great about it and yourself, you deserve it.

If you have loved reading Clare's post then please go over and check out all her social media links which are below. I hope this post was some help and you get something out of reading the post. 

Clare's - Facebook / Twitter / Instagram  / blog

Extreme Air - Newcastle Trampoline Park

I’ve always been someone that’s been pretty active, doing any sport that my mam would let me do. It turned out that trampolining would be my  main sport around 5 years you can read more about that below. So you can imagine my face when I heard that there was going to be a brand new trampoline park opening just up the road from me I knew I had to find out more. Newcastle Trampoline Park opened up in October 2016 and one of the main things that drew me to the centre was their new Extreme Air class.

So like I said before my main sport throughout school was trampolining that was because when I was in school I was asked to join a trampoline team and I think that was where the jumping bug started. After 4 years of competing for the school team and then for a club the jumping bug had to be stopped after falling off and injuring my knee quite badly. 6 years after not going back on I knew that my knee could handle doing it again. The only thing was that I had grown too old to join a club so didn’t know what to do.

That was when luck hit me and my local sport became the new Newcastle Trampoline Park. I’m not going to lie, I was very excited for this trampoline park to open but when I heard through the grape vines that they were thinking of doing trampoline fitness classes I knew this was meant to be. When the park officially opened they put a call out on their facebook for people to try out their Air Extreme class.

Myself and my friend Shane decided we couldn’t miss this opportunity. We had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for but we knew we just couldn’t turn down the opportunity to try it out.

Main Trampoline area in the park.

We arrived at the trampoline park all ready to go, the centre itself has had a refurbishment since being taken over by North Country Leisure, it looked nothing like its old self and the trampoline park itself was bright and light. We arrived at reception to be greeted by the reception staff and they were all lovely. When we had booked over the phone, we got told that we would have to buy some of the trampoline parks socks which were £2. When you think about a number of times you could wear these socks £2 is nothing.

The next thing we had to do was sign a form which was like the terms and conditions of the parks. Along with the form we had to watch a 3 minute which was a basic briefing of what you couldn’t do in the park, this included all the safety aspects of jumping (you have to watch this every time you go to the park). I will say the noise it makes for a broken bone puts me off every doing something you shouldn’t. We also got to met our lovely instructor for the class called Millie.

Me trying to get some height while trying to look cool.

After all the safety talks and watching the video it was time for the class. I had no idea what to expect but let’s say I was a little excited at getting onto the trampolines.

Me doing a tuck jump

The class is a mix of your traditional boot camp/fitness and a trampoline class. Trampolining can be one hell of a cardio workout. When we started off the class with cardio I knew we would be working hard. We started off with the simple warm up with us doing the 3 simple trampoline moves, these are tucks, pike, and straddles. The warm up was also the time for everyone to get used to the trampolines and get used to the surrounding.

Me doing a full turn

 Then the real workout started, in trampolining the higher you bounce the hard it is on both your legs and core. We did a simple HITT session to start with us working out for 30 seconds, 10 seconds rest, 20-second exercise, 10 seconds rest and then 10 seconds exercise, 10 seconds rest. We did this for all 4 of the basic trampoline moves and I will tell you that I was sweating and my legs were burning.

We then went on to do a leg and abs workout. You might be thinking this is the simple part but when you think about doing squats and keeping your balance on a normal floor it can be pretty hard, so now imagine doing that on a trampoline, your legs and core are working overload.

Me having too much fun. 

After all that it was time for a cool down. The class works out about 45 minutes long and its full body workout. You definitely come away from the class sweating and expecting to be in pain the next day.

If you are looking for a workout that is something new and different this is definitely the class for you. I would recommend this class to anyone that is up for a challenge. The class run on both a Monday night between 7pm-8pm (with Millie) and Tuesday night between 8pm-9pm (with Emma). If your not a member of the park the class is £5, but if you become a park member you can get it for £3 and even better if you become a member of the gym you get it for free as it is part of the gym membership.

If you fancy booking on (there are only 13 spaces for each class so you have to be quick) you can book here or you can call the centre to book on.