Fitness, lack of it and changing of my ways!

Feeling Rough

It's very rare that I'm ill, I mean properly ill where it stops me from doing things but as I write this I've come down with Shingles and it's knocked me for six!

What it's made me realise is how much I value my health, how easily it can be lost how so many people take what they have for granted. It's restricted me from doing simple things and made me realise just how addicted I've become to working out. I'm not super fit, I'm still carrying too much weight but I've found a new love this year and thought it would make a good topic to add to the blog.

Trying Something New

At the beginning of 2015 myself and Emma were made aware of a new fitness venture that was expanding to Stafford. Guerrilla Training was a concept that was being syndicated from their Newcastle-Under-Lyme base after developing a good following. It's essentially Circuit Training across a number of activities designed to maximise your workout into less than 1 hour.

It's not fancy looking and I have to admit I wondered what I was getting myself into but as the weeks rolled on, the addiction started to grow.

What really caught us was the direct encouragement style of the Instructors - all Personal Trainers in their own right, it feels like they are really working with you and pushing people to their own individual limits. You leave a session and know that you've had a workout. You're covered in sweat, look pretty bad but wow, it feels good!

HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a term that seems to becoming more famous by the day. I certainly discovered the use of this term through Guerrilla Training and it's opened up our eyes to a new method of fitness that keeps you away from those long, boring slogs on the treadmill or X-Trainer where you never really saw any results.

It's All About The Food

Working out 2-3 times a week in the Guerrilla environment has felt great but it wasn't really delivering the results either me or Emma wanted to see of the body front. Around May time, Emma joined in with a Ladies bootcamp that they did. The concept was simple, working out hard and educating us about clean eating. 

Now to be clear, this wasn't about being on a diet, god knows we've tried enough of them with no success. This was about making a lifestyle change, educating us on meals that we'd love to make and eat that are actually healthy for us. Introduce but regulate cheats meals, watch the alcohol consumption, all achievable stuff. It worked, it really worked. It's allowed us to fuel our bodies correctly so that we can push hard at training but also see the results in the clothes that we wear.

Mrs T's 6 week results during Bootcamp

The results were great. I managed to shift about a Stone and Emma moved the best part of 3 stone in 10 weeks. It wasn't just the scales that mattered, it was the way that clothes felt. Bellies no longer sticked out, tight clothes felt looser, new jeans were required as the old ones fell down. That was the really great feeling, actually seeing the results! I've levelled out a bit now and was just getting stuck back in before the illness hit....I'm raring to go at it again before Christmas!

The Social Connection

Last but not least, I love Guerrilla Training for the people that it's introduced me to. Everyone that goes is of a similar mindset and helps to push each other on. Through the training and social media a positive network has been built that never fails to raise a smile and is something different to your usual friends and family.

This new group led to me doing something I never even contemplated doing before, a Wild Warrior event through the mud, obstacles and countryside! An amazing experience and one that I'll be taking part in again.

The Wild Warrior Team from Guerrilla

If like me you've struggled with fitness and eating then start looking into HIIT and Clean Eating to give you a few clues where to start. It may not be for you but it's certainly worth a go!

Frustration

So anyway, that's why I'm feeling pretty low. I'm ill, housebound, developed blisters on my face and I'm missing the buzz of working out with the Guerrilla crowd. A week more of recovery has never sounded so long!! 

The one thing I'm sure of is that I already know I'll get the encouragement and motivation to hit it hard again when I'm fit and continue with the new lifestyle that we've discovered this year!

It's really hard to cover all the above topics in detail so drop me a tweet or message if you want to know more about it all.

Just how corrupt are FIFA?

Picture the scene, Barceleona and Real Madrid have reached a Champions League final to face off against each other in what has been built up to be one of the best finals in years!

Now here's the twist....in the previous respective games both Ronaldo and Messi were sent off for violent conduct and will now be suspended for this major occasion!

Everyone looks to FIFA but the real pressure comes from the money men, the sponsors who plough millions into the game and pockets of the people involved! 

"I know it's the rules but you can't seriously let this game go ahead without them" come the comments directed towards FIFA. 

All this time you can imagine Sepp Blatter sat in his gold plated office, drumming his fingers on his desk looking like a bad guy out of a Bond film. He's watching re-runs of both incidents. He's seen countless ones already that year, all the same and all have carried 3 match ban's. But this time it's different, this time he feels compassion, "They didn't really mean to do it did they....".

You can tell from here the way the story goes....exceptions are made, bans are overturned, Nike throw wild parties into the night and all the while the footballing world hangs it's head in shame. 

The money men rule this sport nowadays, an event like this one would just go a long way to proving just how corrupt money has made it! 

A Football Dilemma!

There are many dilemmas faced in football now a days, do I buy the new shirt? Who is my Favourite player and where should I sit at this game? but the dilemma facing me today was worse, it was a question that a lot of football fans think should never be asked! Which of my teams should I go and watch today!

Isn't it Illegal to have two teams I hear you all cry! Well, yes....normally I'd agree but I'll explain the reasons behind my predicament! The teams in question: Crewe Alex and Stafford Rangers!

I grew up near Crewe and fell in love with their team during the 90's. I've had season tickets there and have seen lots of highs and as we're seeing now, quite a few lows! I moved to Stafford to go to University and stayed here ever since. Until about 5 years ago I wouldn't have even dreamt of making a trip down to Marston Road, that's full of non-league players isn't it, I'd hear myself say.

I can't remember the exact game or reason that made me walk the 5 minute trek to the ground one day, pay the entrance and get change from a tenner and then lean on the railings by the side of the pitch to watch some back to basics football but it grabbed me. There was something about it, the fact you were next to the action, could hear the players barking orders at each other and that you could chat to fans and staff during the game that just attracted me to it more.

It became a conflict of interests that still haunts me today. The 5 minute walk down the road to watch some sub standard football or the 40 minute drive to go and pay double to watch some slightly better football! I will always go and watch Crewe every season but it's far from Season Ticket support, if only they hadn't raised the price to £19 a game then maybe I'd be a more regular attendee.

Crewe will always for the rest of my life be my main team, the team who's result I look for first and the team who make me sit and swear when I see us throw away another lead! My craving for live games however can be solved much closer to home for half the price and a beer stop on the walk home! I was once ignorant of the lower leagues and now it has an attraction that I've fallen for that makes you feel part of the club every time you go down.

I have made the cardinal sin in football and fell in love with two teams, I suppose it could be worse though.....they could be teams that actually win games!

Tim and Emmas Honeymoon!

Thu 14 - Home Sweet Home!
Stafford

And so to the very last leg of our journey, Singapore to Manchester via a quick stop off at Munich again! Most flights are average but this one made us smile, not only did we have a spare seat next to us so we could spread out but the staff really looked after us! Food and drink on demand but also they made us a handmade card, flowers and a couple of deserts to celebrate our honeymoon! It was an excellent touch and meant slot to us!

A quick run (sorry Emma) for the train at the airport and we were heading to mums to pick the car up and also a homemade meat and potato pie! What a way to welcome us back!

Not only that but when we got home our post had been sorted (Thanks Tony) and Ems mum, sister and Rob had put a basket together of snacks, wine, Chocs and a movie of our Wedding photos! What a great surprise and a wonderful way to end what can only be described as the most perfect honeymoon ever!

Thank you to everyone that has been a part of it and in making it happen! It wouldn't have happened without you! x

Photo Details
- Our gift from the airline! - 1.jpg [Map]

- Tasted great! - 2.jpg [Map]

- Our new friend! - 3.jpg [Map]

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Tim and Emmas Honeymoon!

Wed 13 - The Final Journey Begins!
Thailand

There was one thing on the holiday that we hadn't done yet.....we hadn't had a Thai massage yet!

What better way to spend our final morning than a relaxing massage ready for our day of travelling! Well, it would have been nice if we hadn't received a beating! Every muscle in our bodies was beaten to a pulp and it was hard to work out how this was a good thing! An hour later tho and I felt great, whatever they had done had worked...not bad for a fiver!

After that it was a race to the hotel to pack then off to the airport! Bangkok to Singapore and then a bit of time to chill there....wasn't really looking forward to this bit!

Photo Details
- Breakfast of Champions! - 1.jpg [Map]

- Statue in the airport! - 2.jpg [Map]

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Tim and Emmas Honeymoon!

Tue 12 - Tigers And Elephants!
Thailand

A 04:30 wake up today as we were being picked up at 05:00 in order to get to the Tiger Temple for breakfast! We were really hoping that the early start and expensive trip was going to be worth it!

First stop was at the famous Bridge over the River Kawi! Unlike in the film the bridge was actually destroyed by Bombers and not some blokes blowing up the bridge! It was only about 6:45 when we reached it and was lovely and peaceful, we even timed it right to be half way across the bridge when a train came across!

We arrived at the Tiger Temple just before 07:30 and had to start the day with a food donation to the monks that lived at the temple and then sign our life away to say it's not their fault if we die...reassuring!

After that it was straight up to the prayer area where all of the baby Tiger cubs and some of the slightly older tigers were waiting for us. The tiger cubs were everything we hoped they would be! So cute and playful but despite all this they still had the potential to sink their teeth in. They were strong for such a young age. Bottle feeding them was great but like all of us, once they were full it was time for a quick sleep!

After a quick (and very spicy) breakfast thanks to the monks it was time for us to each walk one of the larger tiger cubs down to be washed. They were referred to as cubs but still larger than most dogs and a damm sight more powerful! It was surreal that we were walking something that at any point could turn around and eat you!!

After hand washing the tigers and feeding them chicken from the palm of your hand it was then time to go for a play with them! I'm normally game for most things but this freaked me out a bit. We were taken into what looked like any normal big area at a zoo where animals would be kept and the there were about 8 full grown tigers walking around on the sides and in the water! We were given large bamboo sticks with bags and rubber on the end of them to play with the tigers with! Now I'm sure they find them very amusing but I'm sure they were really thinking..."That Ginger one will taste good!".

The staff then had the tigers jumping all around us after these toys. It was at this point with various people screaming that I just freaked out and having these tigers running between us just didn't seem right....it would only take one moment for game over! Me and Em decided to watch the rest from a bit further back!

We then walked a fully grown adult tiger down to a canyon full of water where they could play. It was great seeing them enjoy themselves and you could see how they acted in the same way as normal cats....they just went after bigger prey!

It was a great experience and something we'd always wanted to do in life. Now if only we could see some elephants.....oh yeah...there's still the afternoon to go yet!

Full Moon was her name and she was a beautiful elephant! We rode on her bare back as she took us down to the river Kwai to play in the water! She was so playful in splashing us with water and dunking us until we fell off we loved every minute of it. The photos below will show how much we enjoyed it!

For some reason Em was allowed to guide Full Moon back to the base without any guidance...even more surprisingly we made it there! :-)

After fulfilling a day of life ambitions it was only right that we ticked another off the list that night! We headed to the Red Light district and night Market to witness one of the famous Ping Ping shows!

Well, I had an idea what to expect but being shot at (on target) from 10 metres away even impressed me....talented, if not quite rough ladies! A beer and standing ovation later and it was time to hit the Market for some last night shopping. I love the banter of haggling for the best price!

All in all we'd had an excellent last full day in Bangkok!

Photo Details
-  Bridge Over the River Kwai  - 1.jpg [Map]

-  Ideal timing for a train!  - 2.jpg [Map]

-  Bottle feeding a Tiger Cub!  - 3.jpg [Map]

-  So cute.....  - 4.jpg [Map]

-  Can we keep one please?  - 5.jpg [Map]

-  A fully grown Tiger, we walked this one.....or she walked us maybe!  - 6.jpg [Map]

-  They certainly can jump high!  - 7.jpg [Map]

-  I told him to use the straw!  - 8.jpg [Map]

-  She won the water soaking competition!  - 9.jpg [Map]

-  But we had such good fun!  - 10.jpg [Map]

-  Emma stearing on the way home!  - 11.jpg [Map]

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Tim and Emmas Honeymoon!

Mon 11 - Recharge!
Thailand

Today was one if those days when with a new city to explore on your doorstep you just can't be bothered!

After weeks if travelling and exploring today was deemed "Let's do Nothing" day! It pretty much contained us chilling in the room, watching movies, the occasional nap and just recharging our batteries! There wasn't a shade of guilt that we didn't leave the room till gone 19:00 so we must have needed it!

We only left the room for 2 reasons! We had to go and book a tour that we'd found for the next day to a Tiger Temple and Elephant Farm. It was bloody expensive but looked like a once in a lifetime trip! Proper chuffed to hear they could take us at late notice! The last thing on the agenda was food. The restaurant next door was recommended and the thing that stood out for us on the menu was pork....well, I say pork, it was an entire pig served at your table! This guy looked immense and tasted better! The first course was the crackling served on bread with soy sauce and cucumber. He was then taken away and cooked with garlic and black pepper for the main course! Stunning meal and glad we chose it..well, when in Thailand.....

Photo Details
- You should have seen our faces when he arrived at the table! - 1.jpg [Map]

- Working our way through the first course! - 2.jpg [Map]

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