by Mollie Millington | Apr 18, 2021 | exercise, quickie
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime. Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- ~3 min jog/run until you start to sweat a little
1 min each leg- 1 legged squat (sit back as if you have twisted your ankle and are sitting into a seat)
1 min- Push/press ups against wall or sturdy counter top
1 min- Stand in door frame and push hands out to side trying to make a letter T
1 min- Prisoner squats- stand with fingertips on ears. Squat down and jump up as high as you can, keeping hands on ears.
1 min- Triceps dips on sturdy (non-rolling!) chair or bench. To make more challenging, extend one leg for each dip. Alternate legs. Only use arms to push yourself up and down.
1 min- Pretend to hit speed bag just above your head while hopping back and forth on both feet. Get that heart rate up!
1 min each leg- Golf ball swings – Stand on 2 feet. Try to touch floor or pick up a ball by standing on one foot and bringing other leg up behind you. (Imagine you are picking a golf ball out of a hole)
1 min- Lateral raise- bring arms up to shoulder height then return to sides. To make more challenging, hold a tin of soup or a bottle of water in each hand.
by Mollie Millington | Apr 5, 2021 | product review, water sports
Even though I miss the four proper seasons I grew up with, the lack of snow in London means you can still play outside in the winter. Whether it is running, cycling, swimming, or paddleboarding, if you can brave the wet and cold, you can get outside. The pandemic put a wrench in things this winter, but lockdown regulations are finally lifting. Open water swimming is allowed, we can meet in groups of six for a run or cycle, and we can go a little bit farther from home now (but not too far).
Winter water sports are a bit more complicated because you want to stay warm (and dry) as much as possible. This means you need to pack a few extra bits to make it more enjoyable. Here are a few things I have found to be very useful to help me stay warm (and happy). Let me know in the comment below if you would add anything.
During
Lifestraw GO water bottle* (freshwater only) – Even though it it cold and you might not be sweating, you need to stay hydrated. The Lifestraw filters will remove up to 99% of the nasties in the water. You don’t need to carry extra water with you. It is only able to work with fresh water though, not salt.
Swimming booties and gloves (optional) – My feet and hands always get cold. Walking into the water to mount my board and small splashes will keep getting my feet wet, so I recommend wearing neoprene boots or socks. I used my open water swimming socks, however these are not durable enough for rough terrain. Your hands might also get wet, so neoprene gloves might be important. If you wear gloves, make sure you have a grip texture on them so keep your hands on the paddle.
Neoprene clothes – What you wear on the board will depend on the weather, if you tend to feel hot or cold, if you think you will fall in the water, how long will you be paddling for, etc. I like the Mountain Warehouse women’s full wetsuit*. The knees are reinforced and there is a small pocket for key. The pattern is a contour design with different thickness fabrics on different parts of the body.
Some people prefer to wear neoprene trousers instead and a warm top with a breathable waterproof jacket. It might be trial and error the first few times you go out in colder weather. If you don’t wear a wetsuit, go for layers to help regulate your body temperatures.
Waterproof bag – The Aquapac Debbie waterproof bag* is perfect for a wallet, keys, and anything else you want to keep dry. You can wear it around your waist or as a crossbody bag. I fell in the water wearing it once and can assure you that everything stayed dry. You just need to ensure you close it properly. It is also great at keeping items sand-free.
Warm hat (optional) – Much like the clothes you are wearing, a warm hat might help you stay warm or make you overheat.
After
Changing robe – I am so lucky that James surprised me a Red Paddle changing robe for my birthday in February. For those not in the know, it is a large fleece lined jacket that you can change under. Not only will it keep you warm on land, but it will also give a warm and discreet place to change out of wet clothes.
Towel – You never know when/if you will fall in, so keep a towel on hand. At least you can dry off your feet or board with it.
Dry clothes to change in – Again, you never know what will happen, to you or someone you have met on the water. Keep a dry set of clothes handy. Hyperthermia is no joke.
Reusable coffee cup and flask of hot drink (optional) – Something to warm you up right away might be a big comfort when you get back to shore.
Hot water bottle (optional) – This might not be necessary if you don’t feel the cold much or if the sun is shining. Depending on how long your journey is to get home or if you have a car, you might find the water bottle too heavy to carry around.
This list might not have missed a few things depending on where you live. I encourage you to do more research and ask your local SUP club. Go Paddling is a wonderful resource for those in UK. Learn new skills by taking a paddling course through Paddles Up Training. Don’t let the weather keep you stuck at home. Preparation is key. Aim to keep warm and dry as best as you can.
Share your winter SUP essentials in the comments below!
Items marked with a * were graciously given me to review. All opinions are honest and my own.
by Mollie Millington | Mar 26, 2021 | life update
Hello there strangers. I can’t believe the first quarter of 2021 is nearly over. While time during lockdown seems to go slow, these last few months have flown by. Sorry I haven’t been around much. Hopefully, you have been keeping an eye on me over on Instagram and Facebook, which means you have seen that I am aiming to run 20 miles per week towards a Phoenix Running virtual ultra. I have to run 862 miles and so far I have completed 237. The race is Antarctica themed, so I have set myself a goal of finishing the miles by the end of 2021, or if I am sick or injured by the time I leave for my Antarctica cruise in February 2022.
I am getting ahead of myself. Let me give you a brief update month by month of 2021 so far.
January
At my day job, Covid has severely affecting staffing levels. We are lucky enough to be tested weekly but it also means there is a greater chance you will have someone test positive. We were hoping January would offer a reprieve but we were still haunted by high number of cases on the team. For me, it meant working more to cover people and falling behind on admin duties. Covid cannot be helped and we had been navigating this since the summer of 2020. Like many other people, we were hopeful for an end. But we didn’t have much luck.
My virtual training group (VTG) started in January and the group did amazing hitting their goals! We finished at the start of March and the participants requested for the program to run again asap. I am currently putting everything into place. We start again on Monday 6 April. Register here for early bird pricing offer of 63% off through the end of March.
I am proud to say I stuck to my goal of not eating cookie dough or drinking Jack Daniels from 4-31 January. I also hit my running goals of 18 miles/week in January and 20 miles/week for most of February. Sadly, I totally dropped the ball on my physio therapy twice a week goal. Which is ridiculous because all I want to do it run pain-free and faster. You’d think logic would be a good motivator!
My year began with a successful pitch to Stylist magazine Stronger Women online platform. I was commissioned to write an article about the Run Grateful movement and how women find gratitude helps them with their training and in daily life. It was wonderful to hear so many powerful stories. As soon as I hear the article is live, I will let you know.
Also starting in January, I became the (volunteer) president of my professional association. This is really what has taken my time away from blogging. There is so much I want to accomplish for my industry and not enough time in the day. January and February were spent frantically putting together the final pieces of a three day online workshop that my association co-hosted. I had never attended the workshop before, so didn’t know what to expect. My co-organizers were based in California which made check-ins a bit tough. All sides learned a lot but the event (which happened in the last week of February) was very well received, which was a relief.
Finally, I feel very fortunate to have received my Covid vaccination through my employer. They started a vaccine clinic and had spare doses available. I received my second dose two days ago and am looking forward to applying for a vaccine passport if it every becomes a thing in the UK.
Oh, and Maple turned one.
February
As I mentioned, much of the month was coaching my VTG and planning the conference (on top of work and running goals). Because I like to over-commit (it is a lifelong theme), I had also agreed to write a book chapter and perform a systematic review as extra curricular activities to work. I am passionate about the subject but found much of my spare time outside of work was spent on the conference (even my annual leave days). These, sadly, were pushed to the side.
It feels a bit weird to say I turned 42 in February. I keep forgetting how old I am! I don’t ‘feel’ 40 and I hope I don’t look it either. I neve wear make up or style my hair, so maybe I do! Only essential stores (those that sell groceries) were open in the UK so James cooked eggplant parmesan on my request as all restaurants were also shut. Our birthday tradition is that he takes me to the theatre for my birthday but again, none were open. We ended up doing on online Thai cooking class later in the week instead, which was very hard to keep up with, but the end result was delicious!
March
One year since the UK went into lockdown. One year since we adopted Maple. One year since we travelled abroad. I haven’t had my haircut since 20 October 2020 (my next appointment is 5 May 2021). We haven’t been to the pub or out to eat since mid-December. I feel very fortunate that England had a united approach on regulations and appreciate it is easier to do when the country is about the size of Michigan. Seeing how the United States has responded to Covid has been frustrating. I need to remember that everyone is doing the best they can. Please stay safe people.
I welcomed a third personal training client this month who came to me from Duty to Care. This amazing charity offers free wellbeing support to anyone who works for the NHS. Now that we are one year into Covid, more and more people are registering for their services. I don’t know how NHS staff have remained resilient for so long. Please consider making a donation if you can.
Earlier this month, I auditioned for an indoor cycling company that offers online classes. Spinning will always be my first love. It is how I survived the stress of grad school and how I got started in the fitness industry. Due to the pandemic, I haven’t taught indoor cycling in a year and I miss it so much. Nothing makes me happier that moving to fun music. Stay tuned to find out if my application is successful. 🙂
This month, I also ran a virtual half marathon in the hopes of winning free entry to Tokyo Marathon in 2023. It is the longest distance I have done in one go so far this year and it was tough. I was hoping that my weekly miles would mean I would see a performance improvement. But sadly, this isn’t the case yet. My nutrition I am booked to go in October this year, but it looks like there are still too many variables in terms of the pandemic to allow for international travel. Decisions will need to be made closer to the time. Postponing to 2023 isn’t ideal either but I will hopefully be in Antarctica in 2022. #firstworldproblems, I know.
Another volunteer role I have taken on is the Runsome Running Mayor of Wanstead Flats. The Running Mayors Network is an initiative to champion the role of running in our cities & places. Running Mayors inspire more people to run local, everyday journeys. This is running as a form of active travel, as an alternative to jumping in the car, as well as for leisure and sport. I have lots of ideas for this and three boroughs to work with. There are 60 of us all together and everyone is passionate about this project. We have one year to get it all done and I know the results will be huge.
To end March, I have had the last week and a bit off to prevent loosing any annual leave. We put Maple in the kennel for a few days while we sanded and painted the main hallway. It was getting pretty dirty as it the hallway you have to travel in to get anywhere in the flat (this includes dogs, bikes, garden waste, and rubbish all passing through). It looks awesome but was a lot of work. I tend to like everything to be perfect and that is hard to achieve when the walls are not flat, or at 90 degrees to each other and the skirting board is also wonky. We did the best we could. The paint is meant to be easy to clean and we hope that is the case.
I still have a few more days off. The plan is hiring a virtual assistant to help update the blog a bit. I am also working on a few new blog posts about running shoes, merino wool, lockdown dates nights, and stress incontinence. What a sexy mix, eh?
Please leave a comment below and let me know how 2021 has been for you so far.
by Mollie Millington | Feb 28, 2021 | exercise, quickie
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime. Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- 1 min squats, 1 min jog, 1 min squats
1 min- Mountain climbers
1 min- Plank on elbows or palms
1 min- Push/press ups
1 min- Reverse curls- lift hips off ground
1 min- Scissor kicks- flutter legs 90 degrees while keeping arms in the air
1 min- Back hyperextensions on the ground
1 min- Plank
1 min- Mountain climbers
1 min- Crap tricep dips
1 min- Boat pose
by Mollie Millington | Feb 21, 2021 | exercise, quickie
To get fitter, you don’t need a gym membership or fancy equipment. Many exercises can be performed using your own body weight and things lying around the house (you won’t look at tins of soup or bottles of squash the same again). This is the premise of my quickie workouts. They are accessible for everyone to try at home.
Like all workouts, it is important to warm the body up at the start with some light cardiovascular exercise (not stretches without any other movement first). This helps prevent injury to your muscles and joints. A good warm up will leave you with a nice glow, indicating you are ready to get to work.
Here is the 56th quickie workout on my site. There are many more to come! It should take about 15 minutes. If you finish the list and feel ready for more, start back at the beginning or find another one from the site to complete. Don’t forget, my website offers a new quickie workout every Sunday, which can be used to mix-and-match for longer sessions. If you haven’t been active in a while, start with the basics such as the movements described below. Soon you will be ready for new challenges!
Note how the routine alternates muscle groups but keeps you active. Do the best you can for each minute. If you aren’t sure what the exercise is, look for a workout video. Please remember to check with your doctor before engaging on any fitness scheme.
Warm up– 1 minute walking in place; 20 star jumps; 2 minutes of step ups (you can change your lead foot if you want half way through)
1 min– press ups
1 min– squats
1 min– plank
1 min– tricep dips
1 min– right foot forward lunge with a lateral raise
1 min- lunge foot forward lunge with frontal raise
1 min– step ups
1 min– overhead press with tins of soup
1 min– wall sit
1 min– Supermans
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