by Mollie Millington | May 8, 2020 | healing, injury, running
Long-time readers of my blog know that I have been working with Function360 Physiotherapy clinic on a gifted basis for many years. Their team is knowledgeable, friendly, and genuinely wants you to achieve your sport and fitness goals. They will get you to the start line if you are willing to put in the work (my motivation to do my homework sadly comes and goes). Unfortunately, the London lockdown meant they had to temporarily close their clinic in Moorgate for in-person sessions. The good news is that their team is still available for virtual appointments. Even better is that this means anyone in the world can now receive their excellent care (as long as you have internet and a web cam of some kind, of course). At the bottom of this post are my tips on how to make your virtual appointment a success. You can also use my discount code #F360MM15 for a 15% discount.
Normally, I check in at the clinic once or twice a month to see how my injuries are and receive soft tissue therapy where I am tight (there is always something tight). Since lockdown, I haven’t checked in as I was barely running and life was very busy with work and the puppy. My mindset towards fitness has finally changed back to a ‘let’s do it’ attitude, with the aim to workout twice a week, so now I have no excuse not to get my physiotherapy done too.
I set up the appointment via email and my confirmation sent info on how the appointment would be made over Skype. I was seeing a new-to-me therapist, Victoria, and wanted to make sure I had a good set up as she would need to complete her own assessment of my abilities. She actually WhatsApp’ed me a few minutes prior to the appointment start time to make sure I was ready. We had a good connection so just stayed on the line for the rest of my appointment, which was actually better as I had to move my phone to the floor. This would have been trickier with my laptop.
Victoria had spoke to Emma, who I had been working with for over a year, and reviewed my records. She asked for my version of what happened and I think I passed that with flying colors! She also reminded me that I was waiting for a GP referral to a sports clinic (which I will chase up once I am able to go to the doctor again). After our brief chat, she had me sit on the floor and move my feet in different ways to see what my current range of motion is. She also had my do squats, stand on one leg at a time, and perform single leg calf lifts. These are all things I would normally do in the clinic with a new therapist not only so they can see now my lower body moves but also to look for progress from previous visits.
I found Victoria really easy to talk to and she had lots of ideas on what I should be focusing on for the next few weeks before we check in again. When I explained I did an April run streak with very little pain, she was very encouraging that the drop in mileage probably helped my body rest a bit. It should now be in a better place when I ramp up my strength training again. She also asked about how much time I am able to set aside for my physiotherapy homework and prioritized the exercises so I know what I have to do, what I should do and what I can do if I am a lady of leisure. My updated plan was sent to me within 24 hours so now I am able to get to work. Even though I don’t have any races in the near future (fingers crossed for September!), putting the work in now to strengthen and stabilize will have a positive impact on my running form and pacing. We are following up again in two weeks time so the accountability is very motivating to stick to the plan.
Of course, in a virtual appointment, you cannot receive manual therapy, such as deep tissue massage, dry needling, or joint manipulation. Other than this, I felt the appointment was very similar to what I would normally do when I visit the clinic. My goal is to be a strong and balanced runner, and I will still be able to achieve that with their virtual help (although I do miss a good sports massage!).
if you are a runner with a niggle or pain, you should reach out to the Function360 team (don’t forget my discount code #F360MM15) Or if you have started working from home in a less-that-ideal set up, get in touch with them too. As these virtutal appointments are a new concept to most people, here are my tips for a successful virtual physiotherapy appointment (some of these will depend on your injury, but as the hip bone is connected to the leg bone and all that, your therapist might want to see how your body moves):
- To save some time, remove your shoes and socks before the appointment.
- Wear clothes that allow you to move freely while allowing the physio to see your body move too. (If you have been to a physiotherapist before, wear the same type of clothes). I wear booty shorts with a t-shirt and then a sports bra in case I need to take my shirt off. If you are comfortable showing a regular bra, that is fine too.
- Set up the space for your appointment to allow for movement and even sitting on the floor. Ensure there is good lighting and if possible, a plain background. If you are wearing black, try not to have a dark background as that will make it harder for the therapist to see you move.
- Most importantly, figure out the technology side of things 10 minutes before your appointment!
Let me know if you book in and how it goes. It is important to take care of your body in times like these. No one should have to suffer in pain, no matter what your exercise of choice is.
If you are a runner, why not book in for Function360’s running webinar on 12 May 5pm (London time) where you can learn to run faster and injury free. Take advantage of lockdown to work on imbalances and develop your strength. These steps will pay out loads when we are able to race again. To learn more and book in, visit running webinar info page here. Hope to see you there!
Ring light not required for a good appointment. 🙂
by Mollie Millington | May 3, 2020 | Uncategorized
You can use a kitchen timer to keep track of your intervals. 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. As always, remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. 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 minute of squats (sticking bum out and having weight in your heels) then 1 min jumping jacks/star jumps.
1 min- Walking lunges (take a step forward each time you switch legs). Remember to think about sinking the back knee to the ground rather than pushing front knee forward.
1 min- Squat and lift one knee up. Squat again (with two feet on the ground) and lift the other knee at the top. Repeat.
1 min- Push ups/Press ups against a wall or counter, on your knees, or “regular.”
1 min- On your hands and knees, lift the right knee up and out to the side while keeping it at a 90 degree angle. Return to starting position and repeat. I call these the “fire hydrant.”
1 min- As last interval, but with the left knee.
1 min- Push ups/Press ups against a wall or counter, on your knees or “regular.”
1 min- Crunches- try to raise your shoulder blades off the ground. Look up and behind you to avoid straining your neck.
1 min- Supermans- Lay on your stomach with arms extended above your head. Lift opposite arm and opposite leg up off the ground so you feel your lower back working. It doesn’t need to be very high. Lower limbs down to ground and repeat with other arm and leg. More advanced is to lift all four limbs off the ground at once. Remember, it doesn’t need to be high off the ground. Just enough to feel lower back contract.
Still feeling good? Do it again!
by Mollie Millington | Apr 30, 2020 | community, family, happiness, holistic, mental health, self care
We started lockdown (due to coronavirus) in the UK on 30 March 2020. The rules are you can only leave your home once a day to exercise; dogs can be walked once a day; you can travel to work if you are unable to complete your job from home; if you leave your home you must keep two meters away from others. Like many other countries and cities, the rules are not black and white, leaving some room for interpretation (such as, how long can I exercise for), but overall you are meant to stay home and not socialize with others. We are very fortunate to have a garden and be able to work mostly from home (I have to go in every other week and can cycle there). Maple has also been a nice distraction, but lockdown has made socialising her a bit complicated too. We are doing the best we can when out on walks (she loves watching people walk by) and hope she doesn’t turn out weird.
Between working, worrying, and puppying, my days have been pretty intense and varied. I haven’t quite managed to set up a proper routine yet. I thought I would share a few things I have learned on lockdown, along with how I am coping. Perhaps you can resonate with some, or can you add to the list?
Gratitude
As I mentioned above, I am very grateful that my husband and I are still both employed full time and also have a garden space to enjoy. We are still allowed to go outside and visit shops without seeking government permission. That is a big relief. I am grateful that so far, my family has been healthy and we have been communicating more often that usual. I am grateful to have Maple to keep us distracted from the scary stuff going on outside our front door. She is a good cuddler too.
Patience
Both the puppy and the virus are helping me with this one. Maple is a puppy and needs time to learn and explore. She tends to sit and stare unexpectedly on our walks. I try to let her do so as she is observing the world as it goes by. When I go for a run, I need to take it easy to allow for social distancing, waiting for traffic so I can stay 2 meters apart from pedestrians, and to not be frustrated with my lack of structured training. We have also learned patience waiting for deliveries, booking grocery delivery slots, and how in general, things are working a little bit differently out in the world. In this day and age, Amazon Prime and internet downloads have gotten us so used to instant gratification. We are learning to live at a slower pace now.
Acceptance
The serenity prayer is something I have embraced for a long time. Not because I am recovering, but because it is a good reminder that I should not waste energy trying to control things that I cannot. I tend to have high standards and expect everyone to have the same values that I do. I am reminded that this is not the case on a daily basis, especially in lockdown.
The thing I am having the most trouble accepting is the amount of gloves, masks, and cleaning wipes I see in my local park and on the sidewalks of my street. People can be so selfish and it is really disappointing (deep breaths).
Here is a link to a printable PDF should you want to hang the image in your home.
The power of napping
Maple still doesn’t sleep through the night. After a few weeks of letting her cry and spending an hour coaxing her back to sleep, we now set an alarm to wake her up to use the loo at midnight and 3am. She then wakes up at 5:15am for breakfast. Sometimes I sleep from 7-9am and it is glorious. (I am grateful for a flexible working schedule!)
Many people have shared with me that they are finding it hard to sleep or the quality of the sleep they are getting isn’t as good as it used to be. Self-compassion key here. Your sympathetic nervous system is on overload. Being constantly on edge may not be something you are aware of, but this could be why you are finding it hard to sleep. Take a nap if you want to. Stay in bed longer if you need to.
Service
With no many things out of my control, I have been blessed to channel some energy in to supporting others in my local community. We posted a note through the houses on my street, letting folks know we are here to help if they need it due to self-isolation or illness. I was pleasantly surprised to have several responses from others willing to help and we now have a Whatsapp group. Two elderly neighbors let me know they are self-isolating, so I text them once a week to check in.
I have also been doing my best to support small business and my friends who work for the NHS. Hustle Bakes will post brownies to you or a friend. Dook of Edinburgh make luxury handmade soaps which are the perfect treat for you or a friend who washes their hands a lot. We are also trying to visit the local shops near us more for fruit and veg, rather than the big chains. I even paid my hairdresser ahead of time so that she can pay her bills. She works out of her home as a freelancer and cannot see clients right now.
Charity
Along with supporting small businesses, we have been donating to various fundraisers and charities to help the NHS, the art foundations offering special programming on the television and internet, and those organizations that offer support to vulnerable people and animals. Don’t get me wrong, we are not donating a lot, but if everyone donated a few quid here and there, it would add up (just look at Captain Tom Moore!).
Communication
Working from home while my team is on site, alongside working from home while my husband does the same has really helped me learn to communicate more effective in several modalities. At home, I still choose my battles if something is bothering me but I am not waiting as long to address it. Usually, I am not a confrontational person and James and I tend to be very independent. However, we are now spending a lot of time together, are sometimes frustrated about the puppy and neither of us have slept the night through in six weeks (due to the dog).
The things I miss
With my injuries, I haven’t been at track much this year, but I do miss my Advent Running family and going to parkrun on Saturday mornings with James (he always beats me). I also miss seeing my blogger friends at fitness events in London, going to Function360 for my physiotherapy check ups (I am going to schedule a virtual appointment soon), and hitting the gym before work. Of course, travelling is something that was a big part of our lives before Covid-19 and I am not sure when we will be able to start that up again. James misses going to the pub. Each to their own, I guess.
As this pandemic continues, I am sure we will continue to learn more about ourselves and others. If your lockdown rules are starting to lift, I would love to hear how it makes you feel and if there is anything from lockdown you will continue with or if you plan on returning to life as you previously knew it. Leave a comment below and let me know.
by Mollie Millington | Apr 26, 2020 | exercise, quickie
You can use a kitchen timer to keep track of your intervals or download a Tabata interval timer app. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial.
Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime.
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. 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).
Tabata is a high intensity interval training (HIIT) exercise technique that lasts 4 minutes. Within that 4 minutes, you perform eight intervals that each last 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest in between. For those 20 seconds, you should go all out to almost your maximum effort for as many reps as you can. I hope you are ready for this!
Warm up: By walking or running for 2-5 minutes until you break into a light sweat.
First 4 minutes: Squats 20 seconds on, 10 seconds of rest 8X.
One minute of rest.
Next 4 minutes: Push/press ups 20 seconds on, 10 seconds of rest 8X.
One minute of rest.
Next 4 minutes: Mountain climbers 20 seconds on, 10 seconds of rest 8X.
One minute of rest.
Final 4 minutes: Reverse curls (lift hips up in air) 20 seconds on, 10 seconds of rest 8X.
You are done! I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
by Mollie Millington | Apr 23, 2020 | guest post, weight loss
Big thanks to Lauren at @quityourcomfortzone for sharing her experiences with diet and weight loss. Read more about Lauren and what she has to offer at www.quitthecomfortzone.com
I, like Mollie am a Personal Trainer, and I love her philosophy, because it’s about small, effective changes that lead to a happier lifestyle. Some people exercise for aesthetic reasons only, but Mollie and I exercise for how it makes us FEEL, which makes it much more enjoyable.
Be aware of calorie intake
I just want to start by saying, I think it’s important not to relentlessly count calories and beat yourself up about going over your daily allowance. However what I would advise anyone to do, no matter what stage of their fitness journey, is to increase your awareness about calorie intake in general. How many calories are you eating or drinking on a daily basis? Have you tried keeping a food diary? Or tracking your diet by using My Fitness Pal? This is such a simple yet effective tool which can help whether your goals are to bulk, cleanse or lose weight.
Re-learn what a treat is
Diet and exercise go hand in hand, but the word DIET doesn’t need to mean that you can’t treat yourself. I like to just re-teach my clients what a treat is. For me a treat might be a flat white, because I usually drink black coffee. A flat white with full fat milk is 179 calories or 93 if you get it with skimmed milk. Some people are mindlessly drinking 2 or 3 coffees a day and that could be 537 calories. If your average woman needs to consume about 1,500 to lose weight then your 3 meals a day will have to be very low in calories to shift a even a pound. Maybe you have done that spin class, already burnt 300 calories, so you can justify those 3 coffees? Or maybe you only eat 1 meal a day so that you can have those 3 coffees, but that sounds like a pretty restrictive diet to me and does not sound like fun to stick to, So are there other ways?
Here is a round-up of a few ‘diets’ I have tried myself to shift a few pounds or reboot my gut health:
Mind Body Green – The definitive 3 Day Gut Reset Diet
Based on Ayurveda science this 3 day Gut reset Diet works on the principle that your body needs periods of rest and rejuvenation to operate as effectively as possible. I have learnt on various nutrition courses that your body uses up to 60% of it’s energy to digest food, so if there is nothing to digest you will have more energy to spend on other things.
In short; This is a 3 day cleanse, you start by drinking water in the morning, have a sugar free breakfast, broth for lunch and adding in prebiotics to your evening meal. The hardest part is not to snack during meals and instead have a cup of Chai, add prebiotics in the evening and get lots of sleep.
I tried this cleanse and recommend it to a few clients too. Mainly because I have found that long laborious meal plans are just too hard to stick to for most people with normal lives, and near impossible to stick to for those with demanding jobs where you are always on the go.
The results:
Me: Lost 0.9kg overall but weight tends to fluctuate about half a stone depending on when I weight myself anyway.
Client 1: Women, Age 50+- Over 3 days she lost 1.6kg, but reported feeling more energized.
Client 2: Man, Age 60+, Over 3 days lost 0.8kg but enjoyed the fact that it was an easy diet to stick to. Has tried diets before and found them too complicated.
Conclusion: Short but effective! We would all highly recommend for a short-term gut fix, but this is not a sustainable weight loss solution.
Intermittent Fasting as a Dieting tool
I have fasted for years. I find that when I wake up, as long as I don’t leave it too long before I exercise, I can usually fend off hunger until lunch time. I personally have terrible bowel movements and have found this really effective in giving my body a break from digestion. But I tried every method and cut out every food group in order to find this method. It wasn’t until the 5:2 diet became mainstream that I really thought of fasting as an option.
In short: If you don’t consume any calories until lunch time, you can have larger meal portions for lunch and dinner. Once you get used to this, you can also try fasted cardio – Hit the gym or go for a run on an empty stomach the “British Journal of Nutrition” found that you burn up to 20% more fat if you exercise on an empty stomach, but some critics have been sceptical of this.
The results: I find this great if you are trying to maintain weight and it works if you have low body fat to start with but starting from a high % body fat for some reason doesn’t have the same effect. I believe this is because your body needs to kick start the metabolism before burning off anything and with any diet, your body either likes it, or doesn’t like, I would certainly say this approach is not for everyone. However, I do just want to add that ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ was apparently created by cereal companies wanting people to buy cereals, so another great marketing ploy has helped attribute to our countries problem with obesity.
Conclusion: You have to try it, it might not agree with you, but you might find it easier than you think. At the end of the day all diets will only work if you
If your new to fasting, this page has some great tips.
Hypoxi
This is not a diet as such, this is marketed as a quick and targeted weight loss solution.
We all know too well that it’s very hard to target where you want to lose weight, Yes there are exercises that can help but the reality is, if you work one area too much the muscle will increase and it if you want to lose weight in your face or your inner thighs then no amount of full body or targeted exercises will just take it from that area you desire. You might lose a bra size, a chin or an inch on your waist when all you really wanted to do was lose a bingo wing.
How it works: You exercise within your fat burning zone for 30 minutes either seated or lying down. The machines are exercise bikes and a vacuum is applied once you lock yourself in. The vacuum is created around your legs using a Neoprene skirt and air locked container.
The results: According to measurements which were taken before my first session (fasted) and after 3 Hypoxi sessions, my overall loss was 9cm from thighs and stomach. I had also lost 0.4kg in just a few days. I am not convinced the 9cm loss was just the measurements being taken from a slightly different angel but having spoken to a few girls who had signed up to longer programmes know that having paid for something like this they were inclined to eat a much healthier diet because they know otherwise it was a waste of money. But trying to lose weight can be as much a mindset thing as it is a physical thing from some people, so if this worked and they didn’t even have to get on a treadmill then so be it. We are all different.
The conclusion: I would recommend this is you struggle to exercise because of impact on knee and ankle joints. There is something a little weightless about the experience and the vacuum makes you work hard whilst not exerting too much downward pressure. You do certainly sweat and you do manage to maintain in your fat burning zone so I’d recommend it for that but overall it’s quite a lazy approach to shifting a few pounds and inches. I wouldn’t really feel like I had deserved or earnt any weight loss results from this approach, but if you just need a little nudge to help you on your way then what have you got to lose? Overall this is venue is quite nice, the staff are very welcoming, it’s clean and well-kept but it’s not a the 5* luxurious studio you would expect in the middle of Knightsbridge.
At the end of the day there has been absolutely no evidence that’s proves any diet is a one size fits all diet, but what I do know is that there is a direct correlation between losing weight and how religious you are about sticking to a diet. Try not to overcomplicate a diet. Find what works for you, find what is sustainable and just burn more calories than you put in.
As Lauren says, and experienced, there isn’t one practice for loosing weight that works for everyone. You have to find something that works for you and your lifestyle. If you would like to talk through some of your options, send me or Lauren an email to discuss.
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