I Wish I Had A Pole In My Basement...

I started pole dancing! Haha, yeah you read that right. I decided to add some flavour to my otherwise drab engineering life, while getting a decent workout. Today was my first class and it was such fun! I'm not sure whether to write that it's not as easy as it looks or it's not as difficult as it looks. Let me explain; standing in front of the pole and doing a couple of twirls that look relatively sexy is okay, even trying to pull yourself up is okay. But actually lifting yourself up and spinning around with little to no momentum is much more difficult than it looks! Sasha, the instructor (not her real name) makes it looks so damn easy and fluid! I felt like a bit of a klutz sometimes but for a first timer I think I was okay! Can't wait till I'm at least intermediate, my best friend thinks this is Rihanna's negative influence on my life **singing, strippers going up and down that pole!** I beg to differ.. There's also so much focus on the core which I love! Stronger core = stronger body!

Haha, I feel like I've been obsessed with fitness lately! Ah well, it can't be a bad thing, can it? Oh side note, I'm almost through with my recovery week on Insanity. Next week marks the beginning of month 2 updates coming soon.

Can't wait till my next class (All the way next week! Womp womp. I wish I had a pole in my basement so I could practice again tomorrow! But I don't even have a basement hmmm) and also to see if I feel the burn in my arms when I wake up tomorrow morning. It would be the good type of burn, maybe I'd finally get some of that upper body strength I so desire and tone my arms as well. It's a 6 week course so I'd see if I've learnt any cool new tricks to show you in pictures by then! :) Hmmm, on second thought this could be the best thing I'm currently doing with my time, that way it wouldn't be a complete joke when I say "If this whole engineering thing doesn't work out I'm going to be a stripper!" Haha. I'm sure my parents wouldn't approve of this statement! Hopefully they don't see it. *adjusts halo*

Bye people,
Reni :) x

Body like Beyonce: Fit February Smoothie Challenge.

So last weekend Beyonce really kicked up a storm in the media! From her mind blowingly epic performance at the Super Bowl half-time show to the announcement of her world tour! She’s really caused a ruckus! If I was to begin writing about all the reasons why she is epic I don’t think I’d ever stop! She’s like, the epitome of ‘woman’ or something! Second only to my mother in my eyes! Lol. But seriously though, Beyonce is just one of those people that you either love to love or love to hate, but either way you still love her! And to all those Kelly and Michelle fans I just have a few things to say to you. 1. I love Kelly too but seriously, you cannot deny the force that is KING BEY! 2. May you never be a Michelle to anybody in this life! (Check out this awful but somehow hilarious website!).

Anyways, one thing I’ve always wanted from Beyonce is her gaddem body!

EPIC performance! <3 <3 <3

I don’t know how she does it! And while she may not be the best role model for healthy eating and all, her body is always in perfect form when she needs it to be! As I mentioned in my last post I fell off the Insanity and clean eating bandwagon but I’m picking myself right back up and continuing from where I left off! Even though the week has already started I’m going to try and come up with some meal prep ideas and the like to keep me from over eating and eating the wrong thing! One thing I’ve learnt so far is that it’s not only about the calories; it’s about where they come from. So eating 2000 calories of lean meat, complex carbs and ‘good’ fats is going to do a lot more for your body than just 1000 calories from sugary and salty snacks. To motivate myself further I’ve decided to start a challenge for the remainder of February. Welcome to my Fit February Smoothie challenge!

At least one smoothie a day, everyday for the rest of February. Smoothie are a great source of nutrients and contain a lot, if not all of our recommended 5-a-day while also being delicious! If anyone is anything like me you probably hate greens! I’m not sure if it has more to do with the colour or the taste but foods like spinach and kale just make me think “Ew, ew, ew, NAS-TAY!” but that’s why I’ve had to modify the challenge a little bit, at least 2 of the smoothies every week MUST contain some leafy greens for their added benefits of iron and other nutrients. Ugh, I’m regretting adding this clause already, lol.

My very first smoothie of the month is one of my favourites, Strawberry and Banana! I got the recipe as a workout reward ages ago when I used to use the Nike Training Club app. The recipe is below and although I didn’t have any pineapple at the time it still tasted yummy!

4 or 5 strawberries

Handful of raspberries

1 banana

3-4 fresh pineapple slices

4 oz orange juice

Ice cubes.

And the instruction is to throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth.

Couple of the ingredients I included today, forgot to take a picture before I actually made the smoothie!

Mmmmmm, nice cup of strawberry and banana smoothie after a cold and wet day!

P.S: If you don’t have a very powerful blender I would suggest crushing the ice first! (I use some freezer bags, a hammer and a couple of dishcloths lol.) Also if you don't like bananas another "thick" fruit like mangos can be used instead, just try out with different things.

Does anyone have any fun recipes I could try out? This might be the longest shortest month of the year ever!

Reni x