Tuesday 28 January 2014

Want to get fit? There's an app for that!

For most of us, smartphones have become an integral part of our everyday lives. We use them for everything - communicating, connecting through social media, finding recipes, playing games, watching videos, listening to music but have you considered using your phone as your training buddy?

We all know there are a million fitness apps out there but are they any good? The Lazy Girls have done the hard work for you and worked their way through lots of these fitness apps. We have found a number of apps to help us achieve our fitness goals and today we thought we'd give you a rundown on some of our favourites at the moment.

Tabata Timer 
Have you heard of Tabata? It's basically an intense workout (also known as High Intensity Interval Training - HIIT) where you go hard for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 and you repeat this for 8 rounds. Sounds easy right? Go on...try it I dare you. This workout technique has brought both Lazy Girl A and Lazy Girl F to their knees in exhaustion. You feel so amazing afterwards though, so totally worth it :-) 

Tabata Timer App
The Tabata timer is an app that counts your 20 seconds on and your 10 seconds off (because believe me when you are in the middle of this workout timing is the last thing on your mind!). It allows you to still play your own music in the background and keeps you on track for all 8 rounds. We love this app at the moment - even if we think it is secretly trying to kill us.

Lorna Jane Active Living App 
This app tracks your walk/run with in built GPS. If you are feeling unmotivated you can have Lorna Jane herself give you audio encouragement as you go. Both Lazy Girl A and Lazy Girl F use this app (but we have both turned off the voice prompts). You can link your results to Facebook if you want to brag to your friends and you can also unlock different trophies and rewards. For example on Active Living Day last September everyone who used the app was given an award to get a discount at Lorna Jane for the next week (I think it was a free motivational singlet with purchase). Who doesn't love shopping rewards as an incentive to exercise? You can get the Lorna Jane app here.
 
Lorna Jane App
Run Keeper 
I'm going to hand over to Lazy Girl A for this review as this is one of her favourite apps...

I really do love this app! I like being able to track my running and see how I improve over time, it really helps to keep me motivated. It's a great free app that has all of the standard running app features such as: GPS for mapping out your run, including stats on elevation, average pace, distance and time (you can also link it to a heart rate monitor, however I don't have one). It keeps details of all of your personal records and sends you alerts an emails when you have achieved a new PB or if you have achieved your goal. 

There is also a social element by creating a 'Street Team' of friends who use Run Keeper which allows you to see a news feed of what your fellow Lazy Girlfriends have been up to. It can rank your team by the amount of activities they have logged (for those who find motivation through competition) including prompts to shout out to those who have been a little too lazy!  You can share your achievements on Facebook, however I'm not really into that. I use the sound prompts a lot which you can customise quite easily. I'm normally trying to fit in a run around my busy lifestyle, so I like to get an alert every 5 minutes so that I know when I should be heading back home or to the office. One of my favourite parts is that it kind of acts like a fitness journal. You can log all kinds of activities, (some of them need to be recorded manually) along with photos and notes about your workout. 
 
Run Keeper App
It is a free app, however you can pay to upgrade and get access to a number of different training programs. I haven't tried this out yet, but maybe I'll give it a go this year!

Lazy Girl A xx

Nike Training Club
Who hates going to the gym? Me! Me, pick me!! This is my favourite app at the moment because it gives me a great workout without having to go to the gym. The Nike training club app provides you with a  full workout program with pictures and videos on how to do each exercise. You can choose different programs such as 'Get Toned' or 'Lose weight' and the app schedules your workouts for the next few weeks. As a Nike Fuelband wearer it also calculates how much fuel I will be burning for the workout which is great. You need very little equipment to complete these workouts usually just a mat or some free weights. It also allows you to listen to your own playlist and gives you voice instructions as you workout.
 
Nike Training Club App
Adidas Micoach 
If you have an adidas Heart Rate Monitor which you can connect to your iPhone and you want to train in your optimal heart rate zones then the Adidas Micoach app is for you. Not only does it have GPS capabilities if you are out for run but it also provides you with voice coaching and sets target heart rates for you to meet if you are trying to lose weight or get fitter. You can choose the voice you wish to have coaching you, I have a British male voice as I like to think it is Daniel Craig or Benedict Cumberbatch motivating me to work harder - but that's just me! :-)

Like the Nike app you can choose fitness programs to follow and it provides you with images and plans to follow to meet your goals.  It also provides you with feedback on how well you have stuck to your heart rate zones throughout your workout which really helps you to improve your over all fitness. The only drawback with this app is you need the heart rate monitor to gain maximum benefit from this app. 
 
Adidas MiCoach App

Round Timer 
The round timer app is similar to the Tabata timer except you get to choose how long each round is and how many rounds you wish to complete. Lazy Girl A and Lazy Girl F use this apexercises to work our core, arms and legs. If time allows we then do another 8 exercises for 1 minute each withp a lot when sneaking in a lunchtime workout. Our general routine is to do 8 rounds (i.e 8 different exercises) for 1 minute each with a 15 second rest in between. This allows us to choose enough  a 15 second rest in between. What a great way to get some quick movement into your life with little equipment and without having to drive to the gym!
Round Timer App
30 Day Fitness Challenge 
It's no secret that the Lazy Girls love a 30 day fitness challenge (if you want to read more about how to succeed at a 30 day challenge go here)  and lots of you have joined us in one of our recent challenges. The 30 day fitness challenge app has a whole lot of challenges for you to choose from and provides you with clear instructions on how to do each exercise. There is also a checklist so you can tick off each day as you complete it. This app costs $2.99 though so you need to be committed to doing these challenges to consider buying this one.
30 Day Fitness Challenge App
Obviously, there are lots more fitness apps out there that are fabulous, these are just our favourites at the moment. Let us know which apps you use, so we can try them out too.

Lazy Girl F xx

PS
As the Lazy Girls both have iPhones, all reviews are based on the Apple version of the apps.


Sunday 26 January 2014

2014 Year of the Lazy Girl

As we start a brand new year it's always a good time for everyone to stop and reset our lives, rethink our goals and re calibrate our thoughts. The Lazy girls are no different.


Lazy Girl A and Lazy Girl F are facing 2014 head on...here's how we are doing it...

Make breakfast while you sleep!

Do you struggle to find time to have breakfast everyday? We certainly do! It's hard enough just getting out of the door - so breakfast is always the first thing we skip to get to work on time. Lazy Girl F and I were looking into ideas for achievable breakfasts and came across this one that does its magic while you are sleeping... it sounded like just the thing for us!


I had heard a lot of people talk about "Overnight Oats" or 'Refrigerator Oats' before and to be honest, it did not sound very appealing. I thought it would taste like creepy, cold, soggy porridge. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it - it was really tasty!!


OVERNIGHT OATS RECIPE


Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 Teaspoon vanilla protein powder
  • 1-2 drops of vanilla essence
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • Defrosted frozen raspberries
Method:
  1. Put the dry ingredients into your jar and give it a little stir
  2. Add the milk and stir
  3. Leave in the fridge overnight
  4. In the morning add berries
  5. Enjoy

You can make heaps of variations of this recipe, for example: cinnamon, honey and banana instead; or mango and mint leaves; or grated pear with cinnamon and nutmeg; or fresh blueberries with flaked almonds... You can add your own personal flair to your overnight oats to keep things interesting. I'm even thinking of trying out substituting the oats with quinoa flakes next time!

I recommend finding yourself some super cute jars to help get you motivated and to make preparation much easier. I use old jam jars with thigh lids so that I can take it on my commute and eat at my desk if I'm running late. 


My Lazy Girlfriend Mel, likes to prepare all of the dry ingredients into her jars for the week so that she only has to worry about adding the milk the night before. This means her breaky is perfect everyday!


Lazy Girl F and I love this breakfast because it is so easy to prepare, it's healthy, it fills you up for ages AND it actually tastes good! 


Lazy Girl A xx

Saturday 25 January 2014

Who's Keen for Quinoa?

Lazy Girl A and I have been eating a lot of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) lately (and I really mean a lot we both seem to have difficulty making small amounts of the stuff. Oops!). Consequently we have also had a lot of comments from people who creepily stare at our lunch such as.... 
- What is that?
- What does it taste like?
- How do you cook it?
- Why do you eat that? 
- Why do you and Lazy Girl A always have identical lunches?