Todella hienoa, jos uskalletaan sanoa oma mielipiteemme. Hyvä kirjoitus aiheuttaa keskustelua, niin puolesta, kuin vastaan. Toisen mielipidettä ja näkökulmaa on hyvä opetella ymmärtämään, vaikka itse olisikin eri mieltä asiasta. Kiitos Virpi, kirjoitit hauskan ja hienon tekstin.   

Jokainen meistä, niin aiheesta kirjoittavat kuin - lukijatkin, niin himourheilijat kuin vähemmän urheilua himoitsevatkin ovat aivan yhtä hyväksyttyjä. Emme ole huonompia ihmisiä, jos emme omista personal traineria tai salikorttia.

Kaikkeen ei todellakaan tarvitse tai pidäkkään lähteä mukaan, ellei niin itse halua. Vinkkejä ja inspiraatiota voi silti hakea omaan tekemiseensä ja muokata niistä itselle sopiva paketti. Omasta terveydestään toki tinkimättä. Tämä tekeminen ulottuu muihinkin elämänalueisiin, kuin vain urheiluun ja liikkumiseen. 

Omalla kohdallani voin sanoa, että on hurjan palkitsevaa ylittää itsensä. Urheilusuoritukset muistuttavat siitä, että ihminen pystyy uskomattomiin asioihin. Mieli, pystyy uskomattomiin asioihin. Näin 24-vuotiaana haluan nähdä mihin pystyn, monessakin asiassa, mutta myös saavuttamaan huippukunnon. Itseni takia.

Elämme yksilökeskeisessä kulttuurissa. Tämmöinen omaa ja muiden hyvää oloa ja terveyttä edistävä joukkohurahtaminen on siis ilmeisesti jossain määrin paheksuttu asia. Jos ihminen on tyytyväinen omaan elämäänsä, se ei koe tarvetta latistaa muita. Mielestäni tämä maailma kaipaa lisää yhteisöllisyyttä, toisten tsemppaamista, toisten puolesta iloitsemista. Sekin täytyy hyväksyä, että kaikista ei siihen ole ja täytyy yrittää nähdä se rikkautena. Annetaan jokaisen tehdä omat, itselleen parhaaksi kokemat valinnat.

Syy, jonka takia en esimerkiksi halua miettiä sen tarkemmin mitä syön, on koska itselleni riittää, että tiedän tasan tarkkaan syöväni terveellisesti ja sen vuoksi kropassani on hyvä olo. Jos alkaisin noudattaa jotakin dieettiä ja suunnitella jokaisen aterian etukäteen, kyllästyisin siihen hyvin nopeasti. Ruoka on hyvää ja sillon syödään, kun on nälkä. Jos välillä tekee mieli pullaa, niin hitto vie, sitten syödään pullaa ja ollaan ylpeitä siitä. Kohtuus kuitenkin kaikessa, ei tarvitse koko pitkoa vetää naamariin siltä seisomalta.

Koko elämäni eri lajeja harrastaneena voin sanoa, että omalla kohdallani liikunnallisuus on erittäin pysyvää - vaikka siitä kirjoittaminen jäisi vähemmälle, silti sen harrastaminen ei tule koskaan katoamaan. Eikä myöskään toisten tsemppaaminen. Kirjoitan aiheista, joista voisin itsenikin kuvitella lukijana kiinnostuvan.

Kaikille liikuntaan ns. hurahtaneille haluan antaa yhden neuvon: kun päätätte muuttaa joitakin elämäntapojanne, tehkää se niin, että vaikutus on pitkäaikainen ja pysyvä. Kokeilemalla uusia juttuja se usein selviää ja pikkuhiljaa löytää ne itselle sopivat vaihtoehdot.

Jokainen varmasti nauttii liikunnasta jossain muodossa, sillä ihminen on luotu aktiiviseksi. Löydä se oma, sinulle sopiva laji, nauti sen parissa. Hyötyliikuntakin lasketaan! Kunhan sinulla on hyvä olla, niin henkisesti kuin fyysisestikin, on kaikki hyvin. Pähkinöiden syönnillä ei ole mitään merkitystä, jos peruspalikat ovat kunnossa.

kuva: Nike

 

 As much as I hate running and jogging, I have decided to change my attitude towards it and give it a shot. There's a saying that goes like this: "Once your head decides to get off the chair, your butt will follow". It's true. You just have to set your mind to it. I challenge you all!

I had planned to start running already on Sunday but unfortunately caught a terrible flu so I had to postpone it. My friend Amanda is such a trooper! She's aiming to run 10K in a few weeks and has progressed with great determination. So admirable! She recommended a free version of an app called RunKeeper. You'll start off by determining your goal, you can select anything between 5K and a marathon. Then you choose a starting date and it will give instructions on what to do each day. RunKeeper also has categories for other forms of exercise ranging from snowboarding to rowing and swimming to the elliptical. It even has a category for a wheelchair. If you're interested and want to find out more, click here to get to their website.  

photos: appadvice.com and joggen-online.de

Every now and then I check out H&M's kids department to see what cool things they have to offer. I got lucky with these fresh colored sports shorts! The quick dry material feels soft and what a perfect combination of colors! Nice and fresh for the summer especially with a tan skin! The blue looks more like a minty shade in person. Can't wait to take these out for a run!

photo by: Nike

Have you decided to make some changes in your life regarding your health and your body? Whether you're after a more toned body, want to loose some weight or strive for a more energetic mind, setting goals is the first step. Write them down on a piece of paper and stick it on your fridge door. You'll be able to see them every day and it will help you to stay focused and remind yourself what you're striving for. Another thing that has helped me on my journey has been an inspiration/motivation photo. It can be a cut-out from a magazine or even a photo of you back in the days - anything that you want to achieve. Now, be realistic! Pick a photo of a body that's achievable, one that's your height. 

Once you've set your goals take out your calendar. Make it official! Plan your workout days and write them down. Improvise! Anything is better than nothing! Even a 30 minute, fast pace walk counts so skip the public transportation and leave your car home. Walking to work is a great way to start off the day, you'll get your daily dose of fresh air and increase blood circulation. 

Do you have kids? Anyone who has kids of their own or spends a lot of time with them knows that they can be very active! Why not take them swimming, ice skating, sledding, skiing? They'll most likely be very excited. I took my younger siblings, ages 12 and 9, swimming and they both asked immediately after: "Can we do this again next week?!" - how can you say no to that?! 

It's not always easy to think what's best for yourself. Fun is addictive and making someone else happy is a great motivator. Volunteer to take a friend's/neighbour's dog out for a long walk, animals have a very strong influence on your mood. When they're excited and happy, you most likely will be too. You'll be doing yourself, the owner and the dog all a favour. 

Try not to stare at the scale or in the mirror - rather focus on how you feel. If it helps you, you can even write "Under Construction" on your mirror to remind yourself. Keep going, results will start showing!

photo: networkpanda

photo by: BitOfBlueSky

Hi readers! 
I'll have to start off by apologizing. January has been hectic! There are so many things going on at the moment for me. I haven't had much spare time for my blog.

I experinced a nasty back injury roughly a week before Christmas that forced me to put all exercising on hold - even walking, sitting and standing were painful. I broke my tailbone when I was younger but that felt like nothing compared to this. 

Before the injury I had been attending dance class twice a week. It still continues to amaze me how effective it is for the core especially! Now that it's been six weeks from my last class, I can tell the difference in flexibility. I had also been going on long power walks twice a week for an hour at a time and switching from public transportation to my own two feet. The distances weren't significant but the uplifting effect it had on the mood was amazing. I recommend you to try it! Now, it's time to get back on track.

Sportstracker, the app, has been a great motivator for me. It ables you to monitor your workout whether it's biking, running or walking. It might cause you to want to push your workout to the next level - and feel even better afterwards! Also The Workout Trainer by Skimble has brought a nice addition! It has numerous different workouts, all categorized for you whether it's cardio, weight loss, running, cross fit, full body, core, arms, butt & legs, yoga, stretching, weight lifting, walking, biking or even rock climbing you want to do! I was like a kid in a candy shop at first, I wanted to try as many as possible! Plan your week's workouts beforehand, mark them into your calendar with The Workout Trainer and stick to that! Go for a 30 minute power walk or jog and continue with a workout of your choise. It's a great alternative for morning coffee, for sure! There are also different fitness tests you can take. The free versions of both of these two apps will do just fine.

Get inspired! Set goals for yourself. What do you want to achieve? Stay focused by motivating yourself! Challenge a friend! Always do a little more than last time, it doesn't have to be much, run one extra block, do two extra push-ups. Keep it interesting! Finish each workout on a positive note. Remember to stretch!
 
 

 

 Never underestimate the power of bright colored sports gear! I have something in store for you guys later this spring with Stefanie from www.steffit.com! Stay tuned and check her blog for some tips from a professional regarding exercise, nutrition and more. She has some great inspiration pictures too!

  

Last week was amazing! It included a few ten kilometer long walks in the snow with my dog Koda. He's such a trooper and regardless of his small size he doesn't seem to get tired at all. Also, I'm addicted to Sportstracker, I really am! Try it if you haven't already, the free version works just fine! It motivates to push harder to achieve better results. To me it's almost like having personal trainer Chris Powell in my pocket.

We now have snow here! Everything is covered in white and looks pretty and inviting! 

Without proper winter gear it would be almost impossible to enjoy the outdoors. I've been extremely thankful for my winter boots, especially. I bought them a few years back, on sale and they've been worth every euro and more! I wish they'd still manufacture them! They're like warm, light, comfortable winter sneakers turned into boots - so functional! 

 

I love my neighborhood: its atmosphere and warm people. On Friday after my dance class I felt really good both physically and mentally. I went to the grocery store and ended up carrying four plastic bags full of groceries back home. I was sweating! Nobody held the door for me, people just rushed by pushing and shoving. It was crowded in the tram, it had been snowing all day and traffic was insane. The trams were packed. Some of my groceries got squashed by people standing next to me. I really didn't feel like letting all this ruin my day. 

I got home, got out and grabbed a shovel. It was rather small but hey, so am I. Besides, at this point it didn't even matter. As I mentioned, it had been snowing all day. Cars on my street, on any street, were covered in snow. First I thought I'd dig someone's car up, but I couldn't make up my mind on which one. If I'd choose one, I'd have to dig them all up, in all sense of fairness. There was an empty parking space, well not completely empty, just covered in snow. Imagine driving home from work after a terrible, long day thinking how on Earth will you find an empty parking space. Instead of having to shovel your way into the square, you could have a grin on your face for the rest of the evening feeling lucky. It took me forty minutes and gave me a warm feeling and a great workout! I was so excited I would've wanted to do some more shoveling today but to my disappointment, due to the drop in temperature, the snow was too hard and icy. All this excitement and I don't even own a car.

The past few weeks have been interesting regarding my dance classes: burn marks and bruises have appeared all over my body not to mention the muscle tension. I've been collecting bruises from each class like it was their loyalty program. I'm so focused I don't even notice them until after class. In both coreographies, hiphop and contemporary dance, there's some kneeling, I don't just fall flat on my face although it might seem like it based on the photo. 

The great thing about my contemporary class is that there's two weeks until the Christmas show and I'm feeling confident! It's a very satisfying feeling. Two more weeks time to practice and at this point it's starting to feel comfortable, my own. What a great job from Katja Putkonen! She's extremely talented and inspiring as a dancer, but most importantly, as a teacher. I feel priveleged as a student. She chose this song called Butterfly, by Rajaton for our coreography:

Tämä viikonloppu on ollut urheilupainotteinen pienestä yskästä ja nuhasta huolimatta. Inspiroiduin Steffin blogista ja päätin nyt toden teolla alkaa tavoittelemaan parempaa kuntoa ja kiinteämpää vartaloa.

  

Latasin puhelimeeni Sports Trackerin, jonka avulla voi seurata omaa kehitystä. Myös Skimblen valmiit treeniohjelmat ovat olleet kovalla käytöllä. 

Päätin myös aloittaa tauolla olleen, rakkaan harrastuksen uudelleen: tanssin, siitä lisää myöhemmin. Opettelin Youtuben avulla eilen tekemään piruetteja ja cha cha chan perusteita. Parasta tanssitutorial -videoissa on se, että niitä voi kelata, toistaa ja katsoa uudelleen kaikessa rauhassa omaan tahtiin. Tanssi on ovela laji, koska siihen jää niin helposti koukkuun! 

This weekend has been very sports oriented regardless of a minor cough+a running nose combination. I was extremely inspired by Steffi's blog. I decided it's time for me to start achieving a firmer body and improve my physical fitness. 

I downloaded Sports Tracker on my phone to monitor and keep track of my improvement. I also welcomed Skimble's workout routines to my daily exercise regime. 

Dance has always been a big part of me and very close to my heart. It's my way of expressing myself and that's why I decided to take lessons, more of that later.

I wanted to learn to do turns and some cha cha cha basics at home so I found a few good tutorials on Youtube. The good thing about tutorials is that you can take all the time you need, rewind, pause, start again etc. The great thing about dance is that it's an addiction that's actually good for you!