This won’t come as a surprise to you but I sometimes get so carried away with my work that I wear myself out and am not present enough or leave sufficient time for myself or my loved ones, I’m not proud of this!
I am a work in progress, and continue to try to get the work life/balance right, yet this pandemic has led me to default to my less than optimal way of living where my laser like focus to please and provide for others often creates imbalance in my own life!
I add that I aim to be reliable, dependable and professional and I’m sure I can achieve this and make more time to live my life optimally.
We all have those flakey friends, family members and colleagues who due to lack of thought, preparation, self discipline or care let us down and leave the lions share of work, tasks and responsibilities to us, but it is up to us to say “no thanks” and bat it back to them rather than be a martyr, feel put upon, abandoned, resentful and stressed.
How we live our lives us up to us, personally I want to live mindfully, with purpose, kindness, doing good where I can and certainly no harm! This can be done when I/we are in a ‘resourceful state’ rather than being in overwhelm or feeling resentment. We/I can choose how we/I react to people, situations and events and thus our/my state of being indeed this is how I want to live!
As Michael Jackson said “I’m starting with the wo/man in the mirror”
Last night I was watching my dogs as they ran in and out of the trees whilst we took our evening walk, running fast, ears flapping, tongues hanging out just for the joy of it and because it feels good! They snooze belly up in the sun and slump in the shade when they get too hot; they listen to their bodies needs for food, water, rest and affection.
They don’t care if they haven’t done their hair, have gained a few pounds (or even if their breath smells, ha ha) nor do they care or even notice if we haven’t done our hair, got a little chubby or overdone the garlic. They aren’t bothered by fancy cars, as long as they can stick their head out the window and have their ears flap in the wind, they don’t care about fancy houses or expensive stuff. They can be happy living anywhere as long as they are with their human, they simply love to be helpful and loving.
I would like to be more Dog! (My cat Bonnie has an even more comfy life, where Staff wait on her every whim!)
Tour De France, Spoiler alert, for those who haven’t watched…
Steve’s Sunweb team were brilliant, achieving great accolades and praise from commentators, organisers and TDF fans, they also gained three stage wins and an award for most combative rider.
Steve can add these credentials to his CV and stable of Olympic and world champion athletes.
30 years of Fit Pro, the fitness industry’s longest standing worlds largest and most influential UK Fitness professionals organization over those years.
Obviously the dates don’t add up (as I’m only in my very late 30’s) but I’m thrilled to have been included in the celebrations of Fit Pro’s 30 year anniversary.
During those years I have written articles, appeared several times on the front cover and inside their magazine, I’ve delivered workshop tours and presented at all but two of their conventions. I have choreographed shows, created and presented instructor videos for Fit Pro members. The DYBO Divas and I did a ‘Flash mob” and Demo at the last two Fit Pro conventions, where we proudly told anyone who would listen that we performed near, the 02! Ok we were at the Excel centre but we were near, ha ha.
See the videos here, I appear later in this one
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=718120705408205&extid=u5ZHv6krK2ZmcL2o
And my words of congratulations
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=383095462689563&extid=EnBKGhNfQApLehK2
The week ahead
New choreography and content of course for all our classes, broadcast from our studio via Zoom into your homes so convenient, safe, social and with no traveling – great for the environment too.
I am yet to hear form All Hallows regarding a potential return for some classes but I will care for your health, fitness and fun quota via Zoom until we can dance in each others (socially distanced) company and beyond.
Members
Vimeo have updated their site so you have a few stages to go through to see our class videos.
The way to see the DYBO videos at the moment is – having logged out and back in again – to go your feed (‘My Feed’) and you’ll see the latest videos there. It’s not a perfect solution as you can’t easily browse just the DYBO videos but it does get you to the videos. Hopefully Vimeo will update things again in the coming weeks as we have raised this with them.
DYBO Live & Online – This week’s Classes are as follows:
Monday
6.30pm Boogie Fit (Beginners/Returners)
7.15pm The Middle Bit – Complimentary when attending BF or CD or £3.50
7.45pm Cardio Dance (Intermediate)
Tuesday
6.30pm HIIT (Simple & effective fitness training)
7.15pm Core Power – Complimentary when attending HIIT or DF or £3.50
7.45pm Dance Fit (Intermediate)
Wednesday
6.30pm Old Skool Step (All levels)
7.15pm Barre Fit (All levels)
Thursday
6.15pm Contemporary Stretch (All levels)
7.30pm Dance & Perspiration (Fitness with a Dance focus, more experienced)
Friday
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga (Relax, Restore and Reboot)
****** All the above classes change and vary weekly! *****
How to prepare your environment
- You need space to move 2 side steps, 4 walks forward, 4 backward. Move trip hazards and furniture as much as you can (get help, be careful!) to give you maximum space for upper and lower body movement. Roll up rugs or secure them so they don’t slip or cause you to trip.
- Plugging your device in to your TV with an HDMI cable is brilliant as it gives you a good picture of you (like a mirror) and me – as well as boosting the sound if you go through the TV/Hi-Fi sound system. If you can place your device under the TV, then even better.
- I know some of you are using your phones – try to plug in to a speaker system (even those little speakers we have when we go on holiday would help) so that you can hear better as you move back from the phone. Angie has tried Bluetooth earphones and it worked well.
- Ensure you have maximum access to your Wi-Fi in the house and as close to the router as is feasible. Take phones off the Wi-Fi system and pop them on to your 4/5G network or place on airplane mode, unless that’s what you are using to join us, obviously. Ask family to do the same for the duration of your class – keep them off the internet whilst you need the bandwidth. The more bandwidth you have, the better the picture and sound and the less likely you are to lose the feed. Your health is a priority at this time and I’m sure they can do something else for that short time!
- Ventilate your exercise space, have plenty of water and towels to hand, keep your exercise equipment close – if you need anything, let me know.
- Wear correct footwear for your activity – putting an old pair of socks over the toes and ball of your trainers will help reduce friction when exercising on carpet (if they are a really old pair, cutting the toes open and then just having them over the ball of the foot is even better). It’s up to you if you want to dance or train in bare feet but be careful if you don’t usually do this as it takes time for the muscles and connective tissue of the feet and rest of the body to adapt to barefoot training.
- Make your own gym equipment. Save laundry liquid or milk bottles – you can fill them with water or wet sand/rice etc. to add weight and make a dumbell/kettlebell. I recommend you make a few in differing weights and you have written on them so you know what they weigh and seal the caps with tape to prevent leakage. Get a heavy duty shopping bag and put weighty items in it, check they can’t fall out and you have a kettlebell alternative. Make your own hurdles, put cushions, pillows, boxes, books on the floor to jump over. Use household items as floor markers for circuit activities. The stairs and outdoor steps are great temporary steps/benches for cardio and upper body work. The garden is a great open space to make an assault course or if you can get a signal, take your class or PT session outside, but do make it safe.
Fees
£6.50 per class. Paid in advance please.
10 Class Voucher £55
Membership, unlimited classes, £50
(Valid first to last day of calendar month, paid on the first day of the month)
If things get so tight that you can’t afford it then please reach out to me, I want to keep you healthy and happy and help you through this tough time and trust that no-one will take advantage of me.
Bank details are UK Fitness Academy Ltd.
Sort Code 09-01-28, Acc No. 04284324
Please email me when you have made a payment and use your name and what it’s for as a reference.
eg. Jane Smith Class Voucher. As reference, I do have a Paypal account but it costs money to receive and move money.
Black Berry, Gut Friendly, Scones, great for taking to work/school (from wholesome delicious)
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup cold grass-fed butter or ghee
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds (+ more for garnish)
For the Glaze:
- 1/4 cup coconut butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp almond extract
- pinch of sea salt
Directions
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: almond flour, tapioca starch, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Make sure the ghee or butter is cold. If using butter, cut into small chunks. Add the butter or ghee to the dry mixture using a pastry knife or food processor. Cut or pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, coconut milk, and almond extract. Pour into the dry mixture and incorporate using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Continue to mix until no dry pockets remain. Now gently fold in the blackberries and almonds.
Transfer the dough to the fridge and let chill for at least 30 minutes (you can also freeze).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using another piece of parchment paper, place the dough on the paper. Using a rolling pin or your hands, roll the dough into a large circular disc. If it’s too sticky, use some tapioca starch and sprinkle on top.
Cut the dough into 8 equal wedges and place on the prepared baking sheet. place extra almonds into the wedges if desired. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown and fluffy.
Remove from oven and let cool.
To make the glaze.
Stir together the coconut butter, maple syrup, almond extract, and a pinch of salt. If too thick, add in 1 tbsp of water until you get a thinner glaze.
Drizzle on top of each scone and serve.
Have a fab week, remember I love to hear from you as well as see you face to face or on Zoom!
Helen x
