Posts Tagged ‘Living’

Walking can save your life!

Walking is a great way to get outside and get a little bit of exercise under your belt – but if it is actually exercise you’re after then perhaps walking isn’t the best avenue for you.  Although you think you’re doing great things for your body, you could be moving too slowly to feel any of the benefits!

A study by the American Heart Association has shown that a moderate to brisk walk can do wonders for lowering your blood pressure as well as reducing your chances of getting diabetes.  You will also be fighting off those bad cholesterol levels.  So what can you do to add a bit of oomph into your walk?

Speed

You don’t have to be gearing up to power walk in the Olympics but it won’t hurt to kick it up a notch!  Build your walk up from a relaxing stroll to a brisk pace – you should be aiming to jump up to around a 15 minute mile which is around 3.5 miles an hour.

Work at it gradually and you’ll see the benefits in no time – don’t be scared, be strong!

Uphill Struggle

You’ll be doing more for your body walking up and down hill as your body will be working harder to deal with the inclines.  So effectively you will be having a better walk if you leave the treadmills to the gym-heads and take to the terrain.

Shoes

Don’t wear the wrong shoe – wear a shoe that provides you with the necessary padding that you need for a brisk walk.  All too often we look for shoes that will provide comfort when in fact walking shoes will supply the support where you actually need it!  The wrong shoe will do a lot of damage and will knacker you out a lot faster!

Weights

Don’t worry, you aren’t going to look like Arnie but you should think about throwing a little weight into the routine.  If you carry light weights in your hands as you walk you will be tuning up your upper body muscles without even really feeling the pressure.  Don’t use heavy weights as you’ll probably just do yourself an injury and put yourself off the whole walk which is not what you want at all.

Stride

Think about your stride and try lengthening it – you might feel as though you will be doing more by taking shorter paces but in fact you will be doing a better job if you stick to your walk.  The longer strides will help you burn off more calories and won’t tire you out as fast.  Don’t worry about looking silly either as you’ll just look determined and everyone will love you for it!

What about you?

Do you love a good walk but have been looking for ideas about how to take it to the next level?  Have you got any advice that you think could help our readers?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Happiness is only a few steps away…

What does it take to be happy?  That’s a question for the ages…if we all knew that answer to that then there would be no war, hunger, poverty and general upsets around the world…however, I can tell you what will make you happier!

It doesn’t involve spending all your time and money on a fad new Zen body trip…if you follow a few simple steps you will find that you will start to feel happier by doing very little!  But will you do it?  That’s another big question…don’t be negative about it, follow a few of these steps right now to make yourself feel a little happier about the day…

Activity

The more activities you do the more you will be boosting your energy levels.  There is always an opportunity to boost your energy levels so don’t take any excuse you can think of – if you’re working on your computer take 10 seconds out to do some star jumps, if you’re on the phone walk around, don’t just sit there looking glum…

Walk

Walking is one of the most relaxing things you could do but it has also been proven that sunlight actually stimulates brain chemicals that boost your mood.  Go out and get some sun on your face and you will feel better!

Free Yourself

If you’ve been haunted by that note on the fridge reminding you to cancel your magazine subscription then get going and cancel it – don’t let it fester away in your mind as “the task you need to do”.  Get it done and move on – you’ll feel lighter and happier by putting it in the past!

Tidy Up

If you’re sitting in mess then your brain will also feel cluttered.  Clear up your desk, how long will it take…5 minutes?  10?  Just do it and you’ll feel as though you’ve been freed from a prison of paper and clutter.  You’ll be surprised how refreshed you will feel afterwards.

Fake It!

This might sound as though it would make you feel worse but you should actually fake feeling good because after a while you will trick yourself into believing that you do actually feel good.  Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you’re stupid and you can easily trick yourself…it has been scientifically proven that a fake smile can actually boost your mood.  Give it a try, it won’t cost you anything…

Educate Yourself

Spend 15 minutes searching the Internet about a topic that you have no clue about – pop to a bookstore and buy a book about something that you have never even heard of.  Teach yourself something new and you’ll find that you will be feeding your mind and making yourself happier in the process.  Don’t go crazy and go straight for the astro-physics – pick something that you think will interest you!

What about you?

How do you make yourself happier?  Do you agree with our methods?  Have you given them a go?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Have you ever made a sandwich and just thought – hell yeah, my sandwich kicks rump! I know I have. Some people might say my life is empty, or that perhaps I enjoy the bread just a bit too much, but let me tell you, I’m no half-baked loaf, nor am I four buns short of a full (bread) basket.

I’ve thought long and hard about what makes a sandwich spectacular – and believe me it can be done. I went through a phase of being lazy, where I’d not take due time, care and consideration into building my leviathan of a breaded snack, but now i’m on the right path - You need to ensure your ingredients are all ‘just right’.

So my friends (if you’ve made it to this point well done) I thought I’d break down what I feel makes the best sandwich in the world…ever.

Bread
This is pretty much an integral part of the sandwich, otherwise you’d just have a load of ingredients and nothing to hold them in. Bread selection takes time, do you want it to be a little bit crispy on the edges, and massively soft in the middle, or do you hate crusts and want edgeless madness? Seed’s or no seed’s, brown or white bread, cut bread or torn? it may sound inconsequential, but let me tell you…it isn’t.

I always like a hard-ish crusty loaf, mildly warm to the touch, and soft in the middle.

Main fill
This comes down to personal choice, but you could go for loads of types of ham, chicken, or beef, fresh or pre-packaged sliced – its entirely up to you. I like the mail fill to be awesome, it can make or break your creation, and it will effect how your day goes. Good lunchtime sandwich, good afternoon – rubbish sandwich, rubbish afternoon, it’s that simple.

My choice for awesome main fill is the classic roasted chicken. You can’t go wrong with this choice. It’s a beast, but I can be dry – that’s where your choice of sauce/filler comes into play.

Filler
It’s a big thing you know. It can change the whole dynamic of your breaded masterpiece. Choosing the wrong filler at this stage could cause chaos in your lunchbox. Mango chutney may sound nice, but by the time you’re at work it’s going to look like a bag of back-fat. You need something that’s thick enough to hold the sandwich in place, but runny enough to balance out the roast chicken’s dryness.

For me it has to be good old Branston Pickle. It may ok like tar, but it tastes amazing, and will do the job nicely.

The Topping
Now this is where some major decisions must be made. Most people would be happy with the awesome bread, the roast chicken, and the classic Branston, but if you want to go that extra mile, you could add a multitude of different toppings. Maybe salad is your bag, or perhaps some kind of grated cheese, or perhaps just some salt and pepper, but for me it has to be the food that I could eat a ton of – crisps.

I discovered the joys of crisps on your sandwich when I was a boy. I was looking for something to spice up a sub-par pre-sliced ham and cheese number, when I found a bag of salted crisps in the cupboard. I poured the crisps onto the sandwich, and I never looked back.

So for the ultimate sandwich, it should look not too dissimilar to this:

Crusty Bread
Crisps (might I recommend Quavers – any flavour apart from prawn)
Branston Pickle
Roast Chicken
Lil bit more Branston
Butter
Crusty bread

Awesome.