I find exercising without music really difficult. Often, if I'm doing a long run I'll run to the half way point in silence and then reward myself by putting in my headphones and feeling really motivated for the last half of the run.

I've just discovered this great new site called Fitmix. Even if you don't fancy downloading their custom made exercise music compilations, it gives great ideas for tracks which you can download yourself.

"Whether you’re a fitness instructor or just looking for personal workout music, get the beats to boost your workout with our continuous non-stop mixes utilising dance, pop, R&B, disco and rock hits tailormade for all your personal fitness activities and classes including running, walking, elliptical and cardio machines, gym cycle/spinning and aerobics".

My two favourite tracks at the moment are:

Sean Paul - So Fine
Dizzee Rascal - Holiday

I'm a long time fan of James Cracknell. Watching him and his team win the Olympic Gold reduced me to floods of tears. I also recently enjoyed watching "On Thin Ice" which was about his team racing to the South Pole. Besides seeing him in all his resplendent glory doing what bears usually do in the woods - on ice, I particularly liked the fact that he allowed himself to be portrayed in a less than flattering light. Even though he comes across as arrogant, stubborn and dangerously driven it gives an insight into the personality traits an olympian medallist probably has to have.

Anyway......I digress.......... he writes a column for the The Daily Telegraph and this week he wrote about a massage technique which he tried out called "shmeissing". This is a yiddish word for "beating" ..... I think you can work out the rest.

Read the article in full HERE

It's a real shame that James doesn't actually say how he felt after the treatment.

P.S I also found this article where the writer says the following:

"I am not a man lightly given to admitting to good health, yet so absolute are the relaxing, energising and stressbusting qualities of the shmeiss that even I emerge from a session with Big Lee feeling gleamingly clean (you wouldn't believe the gunk that emerges from a human back) and bereft of medical complaint".

I've recently discovered a sports drink I like. Often they are simply too sweet for my taste. It's lemon flavoured Taut. However, this new drink costs between £0.99 - £1.50 for 500 ml. I mean come on, it's 99% water, a few trace minerals and some sugar and salt. Imagine the profit margins on that! The words old rope and money spring to mind.

This got me thinking about making my own drink and then even how necessary they really are.

I found this excellent article on The Guardian, written by top athlete Sam Murphy.

In a nutshell, the right kind of sports drink at the right time can make some difference to performance and recovery rates.

At the end of the article is a recipe to make your own.

Do you think sports drinks make a difference. Please leave a comment. Go on!

To truly get the most out of a massage, it can take a bit of focus and mindfulness on the part of the client. Some people find it difficult to relax and let go and feel compelled to fill the silence of a massage with chatter. Obviously, some communication is welcome but constant chatter during a massage can actually work against the relaxation process.

In our busy world, with constant noise and stimulation it can be very relaxing to just enjoy the silence, breathe and connect with your body.

Next time you have a massage consider the following:

* As you settle onto the table, even before your therapist enters the room, feel the weight of your body on the table. Allow yourself to be supported by the table and begin to notice your breath.

* Feel your breath moving of its own accord. Where is it most noticeable? Where could it express more? Invite your breath to move into the spaces that feel less full (without effort ... just invite).

* When your therapist starts working, notice the pressure and rhythm. While maintaining a comfortable rhythm in your own breathing, notice when she lets up on her pressure and breathe in. When she applies pressure, breathe out.

* If your practitioner comes to a tender area, pay special attention to your breath. Work with the tenderness on the exhale, imagining that you're breathing out the pain.

* As your therapist works on different areas, imagine your breath moving there to meet her. Send your breath wherever she is working. Let her work on the outside, you work on the inside.

* Notice the changes as the massage progresses. Notice your thought patterns. Notice your comfort level. Notice your stress (and how it melts) as you send breath to the various areas of your body.

* When your session is complete and you sit up, notice how your breath feels. What do you notice about your body, the room, the light?

Click HERE to find out more about how breathe can transform your massage experience.

This year, for the first time ever, I've got into the Tour de France. Maybe because I'm doing a spin class at the gym and can appreciate the fitness involved to cycle for 85 hours over three weeks up vertigo-inducing mountains. Well done Alberto Contador - you're amazing!

I was interested to see that since beginning the Tour de France on July 4th, Lance Armstrong has updated his Twitter page more than 225 times, an average of 14 times per day. That's a pretty impressive total considering that he spent most of his day taking part in a gruelling 2,141 mile race. He's accrued around 1.4m followers and he reckons the short messages are ‘prob the most accurate’ way for people to gain a ‘good perspective’ of the demands of the 21-stage race and, taken collectively, they provide an intriguing insight into the mind of a one of cycling’s greats.

What particularly interested me was that he often used his time on the massage table to send his tweets. That's multi-tasking for you.

The photo of Lance [above] gives a real insight into all the muscles involved in cycling. Professional athletes know the benefits of massage for cyclists - they're living proof!

Click HERE to read more about tweeting Lance.

Energy bars are a great way to have a healthy snack on the go. Unfortunately, they are often loaded with sugar and fat and can also be expensive. For a decent tasting bar - my favourite was Tesco Finest Fruit and Nut - you pay a whopping £2.54 for 3.

Why not save some money and whip up your own, customised energy bars with this simple recipe [I haven't actually tried it out yet but am off to the supermarket today to buy ingredients, so I'll keep you posted on the results].

Each bar is virtually fat-free, easy to digest and supplies 30g of carbohydrate - enough to fuel 30-60 minutes of hard running


• Combine 175g oats

• 85g muesli and dried fruit together in a bowl

• Warm 3tbsp of honey until it becomes runny - add it to the oat mix

• Stir in 150g dried fruit (raisins, dates, apricots, figs, apple, pineapple)

• 2 egg whites

• 175ml apple juice



Press the mixture into a lightly-oiled 18x28cm baking tin

Bake at 180ºC for 20-25 minutes until golden

Allow to cool slightly then cut into bars



Ideas for other ingredients:

Coconut
Hazel nuts
Peanuts
Cashew nuts
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Dried cranberries

Roll in sesame seeds while still slightly warm to coat

According to an article in the Evening Standard - 01 July 2009:

" Andy Murray's run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero today, has been assisted by regular dips in the cubes normally used to cool your gin and tonic".

Full article here

Ever since I heard about Paula Radcliffe having ice baths to aid recovery, I've given them a go. After all what's good enough for Paul is good enough for me!

OK, I don't actually have bags of ice cubes to hand, instead I sit in a bath of cold water [which in winter is icy] and it also does the trick. The water is so cold it literally takes my breathe away.

The reason behind this torture is:

"During exercise muscles suffer small fibre tears that cause small amounts of internal bleeding. When you get into an ice bath (for between five and 10 minutes), the cold causes the vessels to constrict and the blood to flow out of your limbs.

When you step out of the bath, and your body warms up, blood flows back and this invigorates the muscles with oxygen, helping the cells to repair themselves better"

It really does work! Whenever I do a run that is over about 90 mins I spend the last 10 minutes of the run actually looking forward to my ice bath. Why? Because that means it's over, I've done it and I can now relax for the rest of the day. My legs also don't feel so heavy afterwards.

I think I'm going to try a few ice cubes next time ........