Mid- Week Core

What better way to get over Wednesday than a little bit of core work. This will only take up 6 minutes of your day and repeated regularly will seriously improve your abs. Ideally you could complete this every week day because its just so short.

Keeping your stomach pulled in (and your core engaged) is vital to protect your back and will also increase the intensity (and effect) of the workout!

Core strength is really important for athletes, especially swimmers, but its just as important for regular, active people. Keeping your core strong improves your posture and can help you to avoid back problems as you get older.

A few years ago my dad was diagnosed with sciatica and both physios and doctors alike have advised him to work his core to help prevent further deterioration and help support his spine so it doesn't squash the nerves around it (ouch). After starting regular Pilates classes his condition has really improved.

Okay lecture over, now get that core moving and enjoy!

V x

5 Things To Bring To Uni

Disclaimer: Images are from various sources on Google Image Search and are in no way owned by me.

As it's that time of year again, I figured as a mature third year (hah!) I'd write a list of my top 5 uni essentials. These 5 items have helped me out in a variety of situations and, although they can all be bought on a student budget, make really great gifts for freshers heading off on their first year.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Easy recipe alert! These are so ridiculously easy and make a perfect week night meal with at least 3 of your 5 a day in. Sorry I'm going veggie again with this next recipe, usually I'd add some chorizo to add a bit of a Spanish feel but as I'm still at home stocking the cupboards isn't my priority so I'm having to be a little more creative with my ingredients. You can probably use regular bell peppers if you like, but I prefer these red Romano peppers as they are much easier to fill and having a larger area of rice ensures it gets nice and crispy in the oven.

This was a cute week night meal for Dad and I before we went off to the pool for training (or coaching)

Ingredients: (serves 2 greedy people)

Pre-lunch Speedy Workout!

As the swimming season is just around the corner I've started to ease myself back into it so pre-season doesn't completely kill me! This time of year I like to do things a little differently so instead of jumping back in to 9 pool sessions a week I try to mix things up with running, cycling and (when I'm feeling a bit tired) short workouts like this.

I first did this little beauty last week in the gym with my boyfriend but it is literally the simplest workout ever because you don't need ANY kit. 

Low Fat Vegetarian Pizza Recipe

Since I got back from Italy I have been desperate to try and create a healthy pizza and today (with my boyfriend off on holiday) I finally got the chance with this spur-of-the-moment lunchtime idea!

I had minimal ingredients (hence why this is a recipe for white pizza- no tomatoes!) and not much time so fussing around with yeast was out of the question. 

The combination of wholemeal and white flour helps lower the GI index of the pizza (in plain speak: it'll keep you fuller for longer). Adding sweet potato again adds nutrients whilst keeping the GI low and I used low fat cream cheese spread. 

Ingredients: (serves 2 for lunch or 1 hungry person for dinner)

Product Review: Cocio Chocolate Milk

I love this product for a few reasons but the best has to be the lack of ingredients (only 4 in total). I find a lot of low fat products are pumped up with extra sugar or tonnes of artificial ingredients. This apparently only has 1%

3 Things I Learnt In Italy

1) Italian driving is a little scary!
    Especially in rush hour. I guess being a Brit means I have an inherent, subconscious urge to find a queue to join and sit quietly to wait my turn while demonstrating my frustration at the traffic with