adelaide personal trainer

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 25

Day Twenty Five:

What do you use to wash your dishes? If it is a sponge; a "disposable" cloth; a long handle sponge or anything similar, it probably contains some amount of plastic and is not a sustainable product.

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The best option is a 100% cotton cloth, once these have come to the end of their life (which will be many years if looked after well) they can be cut up into small pieces and put into your compost bin, leaving no negative trace behind once broken down. All these other "convenient", "disposable" options are not at all convenient and definitely not disposable as they will hang around for hundreds of years before ever breaking down.

Next time you run out of dishcloths or sponges please think about purchasing cotton ones as replacements. These can be found on many eco-stores online or most likely at your local markets, even some supermarkets may stock them.

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 20

Day Twenty:

Are you a meat eater?
Have you thought about the impact that all the meat packaging can have on the environment?

I was chatting to my local Butcher today about whether many people try and avoid plastic when buying their meat. He was telling me that there is one lady who re-uses her brown paper bags that they always put the wrapped meat into until it is almost disintegrated. And there is another lady who brings in her own tupperware for them to put the meat straight into. Therefore, totally eliminating the need for plastic at all. Imagine we all did that? How much of a positive impact would that have on the world of plastics.

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I have tried to start using tupperware myself for meat purchased at the Butcher. Give this a go! Next time you're at your Butcher just ask them if they would accept putting your meat into a tupperware for you instead of a plastic bag. They just weight the container first to make sure they deduct the weight of the container and pop your meat in there for you...EASY!  You should find that most Butcher's will be only too willing to accept this method as it is saving them costs in packaging. I know ours is super supportive of this which makes life easier and a whole lot more plastic free :-). 

Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 16

Day Sixteen:

Do you spend a lot of money on high end toiletries? Or alternatively, do you purchase cheap toiletries that just get the job done?

Have you ever thought about the plastic waste created from many different toiletry items? Not to mention all the nasties that are put in toiletries and then put onto our skin or hair which readily absorb such things. Even if you purchase organic, healthy toiletry items there will always be preservatives in them to lengthen their shelf life as well as possibly the container being lined with plastic that contains BPA & Phthalates without you even knowing.

The only answer I felt comfortable with is to make my own. At least then you know exactly what is going in them. Not only is it better for your body and the planet but it is waaaaay better for your wallet too ;-).

I now make pretty much 90% of my toiletries as well as my partner's (which he loves!). Here is one of the items I made over the weekend for my partner. We made two versions of this. The first attempt was more of a Pomade and he found it too oily and didn't have enough hold so we melted it down and added some Kaolin clay and veolia!...we had the perfect hair moulding clay that he said was better than his previous chemically laiden, expensive pot of hair styling product. He applied a very small amount to towel-dried hair and it took about 20 minutes for his hair to absorb the oils and leave a matt look as well as leaving the hair looking thicker; well texturised and re-mouldable...WIN! Not to mention the essential oils I chose promote hair growth as his hair is quite thinned.

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  • 2tbs organic natural Beeswax
  • 3tbs organic unrefined Shea Butter
  • 4tbs organic Jojoba oil
  • 5tbs Kaolin clay
  • 25 drops of organic essential oils of your choice (we chose 10x Rosemary; 10x Peppermint; 5x Lime)

Heat some water in a pot and place a clean, small steel bowl in the middle so the water is about halfway up the bowl. Place the Beeswax & Shea Butter in the bowl and gently stir with a clean, teaspoon until melted. Add Jojoba oil and stir, then remove bowl from the pot. Let the mixture cool for 2-3mins and add your essential oils & Kaolin clay. Using an electric hand mixer (you only need the one beater and not both) blend the mixture until it thickens and becomes smooth. The finished product should look like hair clay but will still be a thick, wet consistency that resembles cake dough. Scoop into 120ml glass jar (should just fit) and let it stand for a few hours, it should harden a bit more in this time. Apply as needed :-).

If you would rather purchase your own hair product then it is best to try and find one in a glass jar as opposed to plastic and also avoid a long list of unnatural ingredients where possible. Alternatively, I am happy to take orders!

Re-think your thinking...

 

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 7

Day Seven:

What is your toothbrush made of?

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Most likely plastic. 
Did you know you can get bamboo toothbrushes from most health food shops or online?

WHY IS BAMBOO BETTER?
Well, there'll be no need for bamboozling as it's a no-brainer! ;-p

In Australia, over 30 million toothbrushes are used and disposed of by Australians each year, amounting to approximately 1000 tonnes of landfill each year. The plastic they’re made of won’t break down in our lifetime. Nor within the lifetime of our children.

Bamboo on the other hand is an extremely fast growing plant, it is naturally pest resistant, which means it doesn’t need fertilisers to boost its growth. When it has been harvested, it grows back within a year and often grows 120cm a day! It needs no chemicals and very little water to grow.

The Bamboo toothbrush was invented by a Brisbane dentist. The handles are biodegradable, environmentally sustainable, and do not pollute the environment. The amazing growth and self-renewing ability of bamboo means that deforestation is not necessary either. Even the packaging is bio-degradable.

Bamboo toothbrushes are BPA FREE and FAIR TRADED as well as VEGAN FREINDLY.

GO BAMBOO!

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 3

Day Three:

Do you use straws for the kids at home?
Do you run a business that utilises straws?
Do you enjoy drinking certain drinks with a straw yourself?
Have you thought about where all those straws land up?

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Mostly either in landfill where they will sit for 200 years or in the ocean where some sealife will probably ingest them.

There are plenty alternatives to plastic straws. Either just not using one at all and saying no if offered one when out. Or you can purchase a variety of alternatives:
- steel straws
- glass straws
- paper straws
- bamboo straws

Saving you money in the long run if you purchase the more durable options.

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 2

Day Two:

Did you know you can recycle your soft plastics?‪

Soft plastics such as bread bags; biscuit packets; frozen food bags; rice and pasta bags etc etc (for an extensive list click here) can now be recycled at many Coles or Woolworths stores. Look out for the RedCycle bin as seen in the pic below and take all your soft plastics here to be recycled into outdoor furniture; signage; kids playgrounds; gym equipment & many other cool products.

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park bench made from recycled soft plastics

park bench made from recycled soft plastics

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1 OF OUR TOP 4 AB EXERCISES: PALLOF PRESS

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A great exercise for oblique function!

As promised from our previous post, here is the first of four of our top abdominal exercises that won't harm your lower back.

Want to train your ABS in an efficient, functional way?

As mentioned in the previous Sit-up post, you all know (unlike most personal trainers), I am no fan of traditional sit-ups. So here is the first of 4 alternatives that will hit your abs hard and give you that burn that you probably desire. As well as increase the function of your core area if done correctly.

1. PALLOF PRESS:

This is a killer exercise for the OBLIQUES! 

Kneel down side on to either a light powerband or a cable (I would start with 10kg and go from there, this is harder than it looks!). You only need a small amount of tension if using the Powerband. Keep your hips locked out and hold the cable/powerband level with the bottom of your sternum. As you breathe out, extend the arms and lockout the elbows. The band/cable will want to pull you across to the attachment, the aim is to not let it, make sure you don't hold your breath or flex the hips, if you do then back off the band a bit or lower the weight.

Once this is manageable then try hold the arms out for a count of 5 seconds whilst still breathing.

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GETTING YOU ON THE ROAD TO FITNESS SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY!

PROGRESS AT THE STUDIO

A change is as good as a rest they say...

Well, we decided to change up the moov space this week to free up a lot more room in the gym and open it up a bit. Our Hatha Yoga Classes now have a better area to work with and there is a lot more floorspace available for things like crawling; animal flow; farmers carry's; walking lunges etc.

Check out some of our progress pics below...

So there it is...plenty of functional space to be utilised. See you at the Studio!

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DON'T STOP MOOVING...

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Our bodies were designed for movement. The more we don't move, the more we suffer and become sick.

Find ways in your day to encourage movement, whether it be on a small scale or a larger scale.

If you work from home, try and find different positions to work in, don't just sit all day and don't just stand all day.

- Spend a few minutes down on the floor in different positions with a laptop or book raised on a stool.

- Find a way to raise your work up on something that can encourage you to stand for a while whilst you work.

- Spend some of the day sitting on a fitball and moving your pelvis gently forwards and back/side to side/around in circles.

- Spend some time down on one knee in a hip flexor stretch; switch legs after 10minutes then spend some time down on both knees with hips open.

hip flexor stretch work in half kneeling
 

- If you have to make some phone calls during the day why not go for a walk whilst you are making them.

Challenge your body and your brain throughout the day to encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Go for long walks in nature when you have time after work or on the weekends. Breathe in fresh air and appreciate the beauty of the planet we live on. Leave your mobile phone at home and be in the present moment. 

Let's encourage healthy habits for ourselves and our children. Seek movement on a daily basis...

 
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YOU ARE HOW YOU MOVE...

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Here's a glimpse of an hour of work in a dynamic work space, sped up to a few minutes. For more information on transitioning to a standing and dynamic work space, read "Don't Just Sit There" by Katy Bowman.

Move often...

Here is a lady who lives by the laws of movement. There is an array of useful information on her website about how to encourage movement in the home; at work; and with the family.

With all the hype about sitting being bad for you and standing desks now being all the craze I have always been a promoter of moving often, standing all day is as bad for you as sitting all day is. However, if you choose to adopt different postures throughout your work day and add in some useful stretches/movements scattered around, then you are certainly on the right movement road.

Your body craves movement. Don't lose what you started out with. Rather maintain and gain as much movement as you can over your life.

Katy Bowman's website is certainly worth a look, even if just to get one good tip that you carry over into your own life.