#112 in red shoes all the way through the central London

walking is healthy, but doing a walk for charity and good cause is amazing. On 17 June British Red Cross organized a massive 8 miles long Red Shoe walk to raise funds for their operations (yes, with a dress code – red shoes). As i am doing my big challenge – 56km Isle of Wight walk challenge this summer, this was a perfect chance of practicing. Walk started from the Tower of London and finished in the Batter sea park and was passing by all the key central London’s landmarks – London eye, big Ben, Southbank etc. Initially we thought this route will be easy (no hills, not many stairs, no bad roads), but guess what, on this route on Saturday the biggest challenge was – tourists! 🙂

Price: 10GBP donation;

Duration: about 1.5 hours;

Amazingness: how can you not like exercise + sightseeing + friends?

May 17, 2014

 

#105 Amsterdam – Utrecht – Amsterdam = 98km

What can you do with two good friends and a weekend in Holland?

Of course, you can rent bikes (12 EUR for 2 days only, by the way) and cycle from Amsterdam to Utrecht and back. Only 98km in 2 days!

It’s easy, fun and great exercise! 😉

well, the story was..

We pre-ordered our bikes at Mike Bike Tour before arriving in Amsterdam, and following a tourist guide book on cycling routes in the Netherlands we just got on our bikes on the Saturday morning and hoped it will all work out well. And it did, despite the fact that the last time i was cycling was about 2 years ago. Not only Amsterdam but all country is a paradise for cyclists. Cyclist roads, road signs are so easy to follow that we rarely lost our way. And, it’s easy to cycle as the country is pretty flat, but, with a nice lovely, somewhat romantic at times, countryside scenery, it is a really enjoyable journey. You can cycle along the highways, but we chose the little roads through little villages passing farms and going through parks and forests. We did 46km on the first day and felt so great (excluding few painful knees and bums).

The next morning one of us did not want to cycle again (!!), but the other two did not want to give up so easily therefore democracy won and the compromise was reached: we will cycle only to the little town not so far from Utrecht where we can have a coffee and then take a train to Amsterdam. We got there much sooner than we thought and the cycling through the parks/ semi-forests freshened up us that eventually we all three agreed that we can continue further. Not all the way to Amsterdam, but to the next bigger town, from where we can take the train to Amsterdam. We got there so fast and it was already a half way to Amsterdam, when we realized that actually we can do it and cycle all the way back to Amsterdam. And we did it.

It was actually hard at times and sometimes you ask why you are doing this. But, once you complete it, it feels so great! 98km sounds a lot, but it’s not an impossible distance. Limits are in our heads only.

A friend from Italy just told me that there is a nice cycling route from Naples to Bari. Only 323km. I am thinking about this… 🙂

Price: 12 EUR for renting the bikes + accommodation in Utrecht;

Duration: 2 days but actual cycling was maybe 5 hours a day, not more. We were taking quite few coffee and photo breaks. 🙂

Amazingness: feeling proud of what you can achieve and complete, testing our limits – that’s amazing!

May 6, 2014

 

#101 cycling around Amsterdam

For someone coming from London cycling means not only being brave, but being even reckless. On my first day i automatically bought a day travel card to get around the city (they have trams and metro there); however, i soon realized that renting a bike is not only cheaper, but it is also really safe. Cyclists here are treated as integral part of the city’s traffic system with their own cycling lanes, traffic lights and street signs. What can go wrong here with such a cycling-friendly infrastructure?

 

We used Mike’s Bike Tours company (look for this monkey in the picture on your left to find the entrance into their ‘office’) which seemed like never would run out of bikes. Very good prices and friendly service.

Price: 6 EUR a day;

Duration: cycle as much as you can and want and go as far as you want and can;

Amazingness: apart form walking, probably the best way to explore Amsterdam;

May 4, 2014.

 

#92 aqua spinning

With respect to physical exercise and fitness, yoga is my priority, however i like to experiment and try other/ new sport activities as well. The discovery of this week is aqua spinning offered by AquaFitPro: it is just like a normal spin class but in water. They say, it is probably one of the most effective calories’ burners ever. In a 45 min class you may burn up to 800kcal, which is a lot. Aqua spin is hard. Few times my eyes were stressfully looking around for a wall clock so see how soon the end of the class will be. But it was fun. And trainers know how to push you.

 

Price: from 10GBP per class;

Amazingness: it’s great; it definitely makes me want to do some more of aqua spin;

Duration: 45 min.

April 15, 2014

 

#90 feeling the spirit of London marathon

since I live in London, i have tried not to miss the London marathon which i find to be one of the most inspirational events i have ever attended or watched. You see hundreds and thousands of people testing their power of will, strength and stamina, motivations and determination to complete this challenge despite sweat and pain. Just from watching i get so much energy, inspiration and motivation to work on my own things because it makes me think – if so many other people can do, so can i. All you need is focus, determination and ‘yes, i can’ attitude.

Moreover, one of my colleagues ran this Marathon for the second time willing to beat herself 30 years ago. And – she did; she completed it 2 minutes faster than when she was in her 20s. it’s absolutely fantastic! She showed us the medal she got and all i could do is – make my reverence to her!

Price: zero for watching;

Amazingness: inspiration is amazing

Duration: it is very busy for about 4-5 hours;

April 13, 2014

 

#76 how insane is ‘Insanity’?

The first time i heard about Insanity was about half a year ago when one of my friends on Facebook was telling about it. He was doing a home version, every day for few months and could not believe himself that his round belly got gradually replaced with 6-pack kind of stomach. Then i got curious and watched some of the videos on YouTube like this one and it made me think – am i lazy, am i not hardworking enough and dont i have will power? Couldn’t i do this too?

And, just very recently i found out about Insanity trainer in London and with a special intro deal I decided to check it out how insane this ‘Insanity’ is.

Insanity class lasts only 30 minutes, but it’s incredibly insane, with lots of jumps, push-ups and squatting. For someone like me who isnt used to cardio exercises, this was a challenge, but i survived. And, knowing what one can achieve as a result of all this sweat and pain, it keeps you pushing yourself and prevents from giving up. Doing it every day (that’s what you are supposed to do for 60 days to see obvious and amazing results) requires massive will power, but that’s how we develop and improve ourselves mentally and physically. So, if you believe you have a strong will-power, try Insanity. That will tell you the truth.

Price: from what i see, normally this is more expensive than other fitness classes; much cheaper is to do home DVD version;

Amazingness: Insanity class as such isnt amazing, but the result it;

Duration: just 30 min. Just 30 min of suffering. every day.

April 1, 2014

 

#75 acting as a fitness geek

My innocent today’s plan to relax by attending the Be Fit London women’s health and fitness festival ended up being a day long fitness challenge:

• 5km brisk walk to the venue;
• Insanity class – ok, it’s official – it’s indeed insane!
• Sleek technique class – great semi-aerobics class which slightly reminded me of my childhood ballet classes;
• ‘Whipped’ by Equinox; – fast, comprehensive series of exercises training various groups of muscles and combining cardio and strength;
• contemporary yoga by David Olton – interesting combination of contemporary dance and yoga; amazing how natural it actually felt;
• 5km brisk walk back home.

In between these i tried rowing machine, took part in plank challenge, got inspired by Victoria Pendleton telling about what it takes to win Olympics and tested loads of healthy, delicious goodies. I am also hoping that i will win at least one freebie offered by the exhibitors in exchange of giving them my email address (particularly, i would not mind winning a free boot camp weekend).

There were so many other things i had to do today, but at the end of the day i must say – i have not felt so tired and inspired for a long time. It was all absolutely worth it.

Price: 18GBP – the entrance fee;

Amazingness: the most amazing thing is that after all this i still managed to walk all the way back home. It’s all in our heads, i guess.

Duration: 7 hours.

March 29, 2014

 

#68 walking up the 3rd longest escalator in the Western Europe

if you want to test your level of fitness, go to the Angel underground station and walk up to the escalator. By being the longest in London and the 3rd longest escalator in the Western Europe it will test you properly. But, it’s worth it. And, no cheating – stand on the left and keep walking. Dont look back.

 

Price: all you need is an Oyster card. And strong legs

Amazingness: it may make you feel tired and you may be breathless at the end, but it’s fun;

Duration: 30sec more or less.

March 18, 2014

 

#66 opening ‘boycott metro’ season

Today, just one week before the official start of the spring, when the weather is already warm enough and evenings are light enough, I opened the ‘boycott metro’ season or in other words – a season of work-to-home walking.

London is big. It is massive. At times people just give up going somewhere just because at the end they may spend more time traveling than doing the actual activity. But, last summer i discovered that my normal door-to-door journey to work, which takes about 40-45 minutes (some walking and tube with one change), equals 70 minutes of walking. Only 70 minutes! Ok, i lose about half an hour, but then i also avoid ‘tin of sardines’ moment on the tube (tin of sardines in summer is not really the most pleasant experience in the world). Soon this became my normal ‘mode of travel’ from work to home and since late autumn, when evenings got too dark and cold for this, i have been waiting for spring to re-start this walking again. Moreover, it made me also realize that in central London actually places are nearer than they seem to be. Metro map gives an impression that one station from the other is miles away, but often it may be just a 5-10 minutes walk.

This ‘boycott metro’ walking is a perfect combination of the need to get from A to B and exercising. My work-to-home 70minutes is not a leisure walk. It’s actually quite a brisk walk: 7.4km in 70 minutes, which is about 6.35km/h (or 3.94 miles/h). And it makes a nice mind-relaxing transition from work to home affairs. So, if you can, try this. If you live really miles away from your work, try to walk half of the journey. It will also help you to see your city through different lens and notice things and places which you did not know existed.

Price: power of will

Amazingness: it gives high ‘feels good’ feeling;

Duration: 70 minutes, but depends on the route.

17 March, 2014

 

#58 supporting fundraising challenges

A wave of generosity took over me today making me to give two donations in support of fundraising efforts for charitable causes. Two of my colleagues are doing amazing charity fundraising challenges in the coming months: one will be running London marathon in April, the other one will be climbing up the Kilimanjaro in June. Both of these challenges require training, preparation, mental and physical strength, massive ‘can-do’ attitude. Moreover, they both will be challenging and testing not only their own strength, but they will also be fundraising for charity and a good cause. They say, the more you give, the richer you are. But often the act of giving is more important than how much you have given.

This time it’s more like a symbolic giving to show my support, and after all, they both supported my fundraising initiative last September when i did a 50km in less than 8 hours walk challenge.

Giving and taking. Taking and giving.

Price: 15GBP + Gift aid;

Amazingness: it makes you feel good.

Duration: it’s all online so it’s a matter of minutes.

March 6, 2014