Dr. Weight Loss; or, How I Learned to Start Writing and Love the Pen

/ Kate O'C / Leave a comment

I have to admit, this post has no intention of cleverly satirizing the fad diet by drawing comparisons between burning belly fat and the Cold War… I’m just a massive nerd and have been wanting to crow-bar a blog post into Dr Strangelove’s title for some time. And now I have.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve lost about half a stone in weight (just over 3kgs, for those of you who deal in non-anachronistic units of measurement). I haven’t gone out of my way to do so – I haven’t gone on a calorie controlled diet, or gone mad in the exercise stakes, but I have started blogging. I am almost certain that there is a direct correlation between these facts.

Yes, I'm a nerd. No shame.

Yes, I’m a nerd. No shame.

Continue reading →

Workout review – Julia Buckley & Decathlon UK’s “kit-free circuit”

/ katieferg89 / 3 Comments

For those of you who don’t know what Decathlon is….HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK?! Probably since I was about 8, I have been to Decathlon at least once per holiday. That’s a lot considering that we have often gone to France multiple times a year….like a lot a lot. We are fairly epic Decathlon fans. They have been over in the UK for a while, and basically have EVERYTHING you could ever need for sport under one roof, both big brand names and some awesome quality (and value) own brand stuff. A typical trip will usually involve at least two new pairs of shorts, some jodhpurs, a few of their incredible workout vests (I think I have 8 in different colours for about €5 each), various bike bits, socks (always socks), some water bottles, random bits of sports nutrition… But I digress. Decathlon UK have teamed up with Julia Buckley to offer a quick and easy workout that can be done anywhere, with no equipment. Continue reading →

Foxtrot Oscar: When ‘Competitive’ becomes ‘Aggressive’

/ Kate O'C / 3 Comments

It’s confession time, chums. I played Touch Rugby with K-Ferg last night and did two things of note, neither of which involved scoring or assisting a try:

  1. Gave myself a touch of groin strain. Yum.
  2. Colossally overreacted to a man obstructing me by literally screaming “F**********CK YOOOOOOOOOU” in his face. Many eyebrows were raised.

I recently wrote a post (10 problems sporty girls will understand) where I stated that it annoys me when people, guys in particular, accuse me of being aggressive, when in fact I am just very competitive. My outburst last night however goes to prove that I can, on occasion, be quite aggressive, albeit contained to the sports pitch. But what I’m wondering is… why? Why does a competitive streak overflow from time-to-time and manifest itself as out-and-out aggression? Continue reading →

10 things to do now the days are longer

/ katieferg89 / Leave a comment

So, the clocks are back and I’m finding it easier and easier to get out of bed to go running in the morning……

But the motivation to spring out of bed and pound the pavements isn’t always everyone’s idea of fun, so we have put together a list that provides you with a multitude of activities, some of which involve being active and some which involve a very very loose link to being active….

(Realised a lot of these also rely on it actually being warm, which in the UK is very questionable)

1. Wear fewer clothes. Go running in a sports bra (!) GET SOME VITAMIN D. Buy some snazzy new sunglasses to hide your running face of pain. All these are now totally acceptable given its not 2 degrees and drizzly.

Continue reading →

Moving back in with your parents…

/ katieferg89 / 11 Comments

So, I’ve just moved back in with my parents for a currently unknown period of time – and it’s something I am TOTALLY fine with!  I get on pretty well with my family and we do a lot together, so I decided to put together a list of the pros and cons, particularly from a training, activity and nutrition point of view. 

So here goes! (PS mum I promise I will do my washing and unstack the dishwasher and not leave trainers in every room of the house…)

-1 no more cycling to work. Can’t really do this any more. No unfolded bikes on London Midland and there is NO WAY I am leaving my bike at Euston overnight (plus that would be a grim cycle right through central London). Therefore less automatic bike fitness, more frustration for me of having to take the tube (because it’s too hot and people WALK TOO FLIPPING SLOWLY) and also $$$$$

+1 much nicer cycling at the weekends without having to battle round the Wandsworth gyratory to get anywhere. Plus a new chain gang (well the old ones are back)

+1 onsite bike mechanic. Thanks Dad. Now when things break I don’t have to guess or try and fix it by Facetime.

Continue reading →

Cycling safely in London

/ katieferg89 / 13 Comments

As you will know, both myself and Kate are keen cycle commuters and have been for a while. We’ve already written some bits and pieces that can help you out but these mainly focused on clothing, sneaky ways of keeping your hair neat and not forgetting essential items….but something we didn’t touch on was the actual cycling part.

I constantly promote cycling to work left right and centre, and the first question I always get asked is ‘but isn’t it really dangerous to cycle in London?’ And my response? It can be dangerous if you make it dangerous. Yes, statistically there are more cycling accidents and deaths in London compared to some other European cities, but part of my point is that (shock horror) cyclists can be and (frequently are) to blame……

Continue reading →

The trials and tribulations of Bikram Yoga

/ katieferg89 / 2 Comments

So basically, I first tried Bikram this time last year because I had a stress fracture, was suuuuuuuper grumps at not being able to run the marathon or literally do any kind of impact work, and there was a good deal on at Hot Bikram Yoga for a 30 day intro membership (note, HBY is in the process of dividing up its studios, so keep an eye on them!) However, it actually led to a successful 30 day challenge, a lot of washing, the confidence to wear just a sports bra in public, the discovery of the French plait as a hair-saving device, sweat in my eyes, ruined mascara and the consumption of packets and packets of electrolyte tablets.

Continue reading →

Kate and Katie go on the Rebound – Class Review of Rebounce London

/ Kate O'C / 1 Comment

Last Wednesday Katie and I went rebounding. No, I don’t mean we hit the dating scene of SW11 hard… rather, we were invited by Missie Frank (dancer, choreographer and founder of Rebounce London) to try a new quirky, sweaty, bouncy exercise class. Being the intrepid explorers that we are, we duly signed up and ventured to Fitness First at Clapham Junction (I say ventured, one of us lives in Battersea and one in Balham so it wasn’t like we had far to go).

Both of us had trampolined before, and there is still a trampoline in the back garden at our respective childhood homes (though, admittedly they are mostly now only used by visiting younger cousins or for sunbathing), but Rebounce is something quite different – it’s fast, choreographed and done to the beat of a pumping playlist!

Continue reading →