BodyBuilding.com: Workout #1

I don't want to do the same workout every time I go to the gym, or every time I workout at home - not only is it a bit boring, but it actually stops you making gains, as you continually focus on the same muscle groups. I'm still looking to gain muscle as well as tone, so I took to bodybuilding.com to search for an upper and lower body workout aimed at achieving the aforementioned goal. That said, I don't think changing your workout every week is a good thing either, as it makes it difficult to see strength gains!

Bodybuilding.com is an excellent website for many reasons; it is a wealth of information on the fitness industry, from workouts to supplements to fitness celebrity workouts to interviews. You can create your own account and buy supplements from the site, as well as talk to other like-minded individuals. The website also has a feature where it directs you to suitable workouts, however I prefer to look myself.

It can be a bit overwhelming at first, as there are thousands of programmes, so practise a bit of SEO (search engine optimisation) and really think about what you want to achieve. Putting in 'upper body workout' is too vague - do you want to split your workout into upper and lower, or by body parts (back, chest, arms, abs, legs etc)? 

I wanted a separate upper and lower body programme because of time constraints; my passion is horse riding, so as much as I love lifting things up and putting them down, I would rather be at the stables with Mr Ernest than at the gym. That said, I still want to achieve results. The programme I found allows me to heft around heavier weights for less reps, and if I have more time, I add a couple of extra exercises on. 

The regimes I've been doing are in Part One: Alternating Upper and Lower Body Workouts:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/3-full-body-workouts-for-size.htm

The rep range is lower on these exercises, but I do about 8 - 10 reps of each.

If you are doing these at home, you may need to make some changes if you don't have all the equipment - I don't own any barbells or machines. With the Upper Body Workout, all of these can be done with dumbbells. For the weighted dips, just use your body weight and a chair or low table. With the Lower Body Workout, the only one you can't do is the lat pull down. Replace this with a different back exercise, or just miss it out. For the calf raises, do them on your stairs or on the pavement.

I like to add about 4 or 5 different ab exercises at the end, such as crunches, L-sits, bicycle crunches, oblique rolls and jack knifes. 

One of the things I really love about this site is that under each workout is a link to a printable page and a PDF, where you can add details of any cardio you did during the workout, your weight, additional supplement info, etc.

If you've never been on Bodybuilding.com before, go and check it out. It's given me loads of ideas and keeps me inspired.

xxx

Book review: Heartstone, by C.J. Sansom

Happy Tuesday. I hope everyone is well – I’m feeling under the weather after a busy weekend and eating absolutely rubbish on Sunday. I even had to rearrange yesterday’s gym appointment to Saturday.

In the fifth, and hopefully not final, book of the Shardlake series, our ingenious protagonist travels to the Portsmouth area. I finished this book in December 2013, but then visited Portsmouth with my Korean students in January; we went on a tour of the large warships, as well as visiting the fantastic Mary Rose exhibition.

Spoiler Alert:

The sinking of the Mary Rose was heart breaking to read about, reflecting the waste of human life in war. Seeing it in 2014, after it had been pulled from the bottom of the channel, was truly breathtaking, especially after reading Heartstone. Hundreds of men died on that ship.

Objects which are mundane in 21^st century life, such as spoons, bowls and chests, become much more precious when they are centuries old, and when the owners died in such a tragic way. I imagine whose it was and what they would think now, seeing it displayed in its own exhibition.

Heartstone

9/10

In the tumultuous summer of 1545, England is preparing for war. Men are marching from across the country to Portsmouth, where the French are expected to invade. Fear is widespread. The new coinage Henry VIII has created to fund his war has destabilised the economy, causing anger and unrest.  

Meanwhile, Shardlake is embroiled in a case which will lead him straight to the heart of the battle. He must investigate ‘charges of monstrous wrongdoing’ against the Hobbey family's ward, Hugh Curteys. Against the better judgement of his friends, Shardlake also decides to search for the truth behind Ellen Fettiplace's imprisonment in the Bedlam (we met her in Revelation). When he finds no documentary evidence as to why she is unable to leave, his interrogatory mind is set.

The Hobbey house is eerie and unsettling, with an impending sense of disaster which builds up throughout Shardlake and Barak’s stay. Hugh’s ambivalence and David’s coldness towards his mother are indicators that something is amiss, but it really is impossible to pinpoint what. The backdrop of the impending war infiltrates the household, with the boys regularly practising archery and Shardlake meeting marching soldiers and carts full of ammunition on his secret trips to and from Sussex. 

Abigail, central to the activities in the household, is tormented, creating a palpable sense of nervousness whenever she is around. One particularly callous act towards her, by both Hugh and David, is frightening in its cruelty, as well as the fact that Hugh, the supposedly wronged ward, is a perpetrator.

Shardlake meets a variety of people in Heartstone, providing more minor characters than before; the significance of this is not apparent until much later, but it adds a sense of poignancy at the climax of the story. Sergeant Leacon, whom Shardlake helps in Sovereign, becomes more prominent; an affable character in Sovereign, he is transformed by the siege of Boulogne and the widespread slaughter in France. His shock and personality change echoes that of men returning from the trenches 400 years later.

Heartstone is an explosive end to the series, with the exposure of long-kept secrets and the punishment of old enemies. In a glimmer of hope, Tamasin gives birth to a healthy baby boy, named after the lost men on the Mary Rose.

xxx

Book review: Revelation, by C.J. Sansom

What a week. I can't wait to tell you all about my first week of work experience. Until then, let me talk about C.J. Sansom (again)...

Revelation

10/10

Unsurprisingly, this story is based on the Book of Revelation, argued to be the most blood-thirsty and violent gospel in the New Testament. This time, the story becomes much more personal when Shardlake's close friend, Roger Elliard, a kind, philanthropic individual, is murdered. 

Similarly to Dark Fire, Shardlake has two cases to solve: that of Adam Kite, possessed by religious mania and incarcerated in the Bedlam asylum, and the violent murder of his friend.

As the prophecies of Revelation are carried out in the tumultuous spring of 1543, Shardlake finds himself working for Cranmer on a deadly mission, which also brings him into contact with Catherine Parr, the future Queen of England. This novel was more gruesome, more violent and much, much tenser, with Shardlake battling personal emotions throughout.    

The religious mania of Adam Kite is echoed on the streets of London during Shardlake's investigations, with Bishop Bonner attempting a purge of Protestants. The zealousness of people's beliefs is alarming, causing utter blindness to what is happening around them - Adam Kite's priest fasts with him for three days, praying constantly, not realising that Adam is already weak and deeply fearful of evoking the wrath of God. It seems fitting that, with this unrest and bubbling anger, the fifth book is about war. It is also understandable that Shardlake becomes increasingly disillusioned with religion, questioning the presence of God at all in such a volatile and hateful world.

The story touches on the characters' personal lives more than the previous novels, such as Shardlake's and Guy's loneliness and Barak's marital problems - his wife, Tamasin (whom we meet in Sovereign) delivers a stillborn child, causing the couple to struggle with their own feelings of guilt and sadness, thus creating a distance between them.

I am always amazed at the cleverness of C.J. Sansom's plot, and once again, I was dumbfounded when I found out who the murderer was. This is one of the best books in the series - I've tried to decide which is better, Dissolution or Revelation, but I can't!

xxx

Pony Tales: Night School

Yesterday, I went down the yard after getting back from London at around 6:30pm (I'll post about my internship next week - spoiler, it's the best thing I've ever done). Maxx came with me to groom and tack Ernest up while I went to turn the school lights on (it's a little walk away).

I've not ridden in the dark for a long time; instead of being eerie, it's so peaceful. There's something curiously personal about seeing all the horses in their stables when everyone is gone; sometimes when we walk the dogs, people forget to shut their curtains and you can see clearly inside. Being at the stables at night is like looking through the window - they are completely relaxed, not expecting to see anyone. 

Ernest greeted me by lifting his head, putting his ears forward (this is a good sign, like a human smile) and walking to the stable door. Normally, he likes to be left alone in his 'bedroom', but yesterday evening he welcomed company. I came round the corner from getting changed and Maxx was fussing around Ernest, whose ears were still forward. 

He was very alert walking through the woods to the school, our path lit intermittently. I could hear the generator as we neared the school, but Ernest barely registered it. He wasn't as explosive as the lesson on Sunday, which also happened to be when Maxx had his first canter (oops), but he was certainly energised! 

I practiced transitions - walk to canter was easy. We even got halt to canter. The downwards ones still need work, particularly canter to trot; I need to prepare more and keep my leg on, which will to stop him falling into it and then becoming unbalanced. I wasn't really asking for a contact or roundness, but he did become more rounded in the trot as we warmed up. I watched our shadow moving fluidly round the school, and saw the minute drops of rain blowing towards us in the orange lights. 

When we'd finished, I groomed Ernest in the stable. I could see him, my view encompassing the curve of his back into his neck and head, watching Maxx bringing a wheelbarrow for me to tidy his stable. I love how he is constantly curious and alert, observing the world around him. 

Whenever I see Ernest, my anxiety about the future evaporates. He commands my attention by being such a big character, making me laugh and knowing when I need to just be quiet. The stables at night really are a different world, and I felt like we'd been on a little adventure, even if it was just forty minutes of schooling.

xxx

Book review: Sovereign, by C.J. Sansom

Happy Sunday everyone. The weather outside is bright and beautiful - I'm hoping it stays like this as I have a riding lesson at 3! 

Without further ado, here's installment number trois...

Sovereign

8/10

The story opens in 1541, with Shardlake and Barak, who is now in Shardlake's employment, arriving at York. They are there to process petitions to the King, who is on a Progress to the North to receive submissions by the York rebels. However, there is also a special mission assigned to Shardlake by Archbishop Cranmer - ensure the welfare of a conspirator, Sir Edward Broderick, who is to be brought to London and questioned about his involvement.

The murder of a York glazier, and the discovery of secret papers in his home, involves them in a mystery connected to Broderick and Henry VIII himself. 

Sansom recreates the excitement and activity surrounding the preparations for the King's arrival, from putting up the royal tents to practicing the correct way to greet him. When the group, Shardlake included, travel out to meet the King, the tension and anxiety literally emanated from the book. Henry VIII is infamous for his temper as well as sheer bulk - his belittlement of Shardlake in front of the Royal procession, because of his hunched form, displays the King as a cruel, ignorant ruler.

The plot is intricate and complicated, neatly sewing together characters who are partly or completely involved in the glazier's murder and the conspiracy. Dissolution and Dark Fire have their share of brutality, however Sovereign demonstrates just how inhumane this period was. Visitors to York are met with body parts nailed to the city's gates, as well as the skeleton of Robert Aske hanging from the castle as a reminder of what happens to rebels. Animals are both food and entertainment; bears are captured and baited as courtly amusement, which Shardlake (thankfully) refuses to watch. As the Royal procession travels to the North, their waste damages the land they travel through, rendering it useless to the owners.

The morality of the tale, for me, rested on Shardlake's mission. As Broderick reminds him, his attentiveness to Broderick's health is only preserving him for worse horrors in the Tower, where he will be professionally questioned - tortured.

I've rated Sovereign as 8/10 because, while the plot was incredibly detailed, it simply wasn't my favourite of the series. The sheer depth of the story, a credit to Sansom, meant that the story became quite drawn out, although all the threads are tied neatly together at the end.

xxx

Book review: Dark Fire, by C.J. Sansom

I was thinking this morning that I've never actually bought a C.J. Sansom book myself. All five of them were gifts: the first from a friend, the other four from Maxx. Since then, I've decided I'm not going to choose books for myself anymore - letting other (trusted!) people recommend them means I've been introduced to more authors and genres. 

For Valentine's Day, Maxx bought me three more books: one by the well-known author and historian Alison Weir, whose books I am already a fan of, and the other two by authors I've never heard of but are apparently very successful. I started Kate Morton's The House at Riverton last night, and now can't wait to start commuting to London again so I can read it on the train.

Anyway, as promised, here is the second installment of my C.J. Sansom reviews...

Dark Fire

9/10

Appropriately, Dark Fire is set during the hottest summer of the sixteenth century, in 1540. After Shardlake's dangerous adventures in Scarnsea, he is now trying to lie low in the bustling city of London, convinced he is not in favour with Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is increasingly unstable himself, as he tries to save the King's fourth marriage to Anne of Cleves.

There are two competing investigations in this fast-paced, brutal second novel, both of which need to be solved in 12 action-packed days. An official of the Court of Augmentations has discovered the formula for Greek Fire, a petrol-based weapon which the Byzantines used to defeat the Arab navies with, in a dissolved London monastery. When Shardlake is sent to recover it, he finds the official and his alchemist brother horrifically murdered and the formula missing. 

At the same time, Shardlake must investigate the case of Elizabeth Wentworth; accused of murdering her young cousin Ralph, she has refused to speak since, languishing in Newgate prison with less than two weeks until she is executed.

As with Dissolution, the story twists to its explosive ending; my mind was literally running to keep up. The reader is introduced to one of Shardlake's greatest enemies, Sir Richard Rich, as well as new ally and partner Jack Barak. Appointed by Cromwell, Barak adds a rougher sense of adventure to Shardlake's investigations, particularly when they break into the Wentworth's property. While Barak's coarse language grates on his superior, his interest in the welfare of the lower classes is poignant, particularly when he reveals to Shardlake that his 'incompetent' aid at the courts is actually half blind. 

Dark Fire is rich with moral dilemma, class difference and racial tension. Guy Malton, the ex-monk from Scarnsea, is now living a quiet life as an apothecary; he provides a source of moral righteousness throughout Shardlake's search for the Greek Fire formula, arguing that if he was able to make it, he would not give the formula to his friend because of the destructive purpose it would be used for. Shardlake's increasing disillusion about religious reform, and the presence of God in general, is substantiated by the reformists' increasing violence in the name of their cause.

Sansom has an excellent aptitude for writing very human, complex characters; Barak is initially suspicious and rude about Guy, even though he too is mocked for being racially different (he is of Jewish descent). Eventually, Shardlake and Barak, and Barak and Guy, become firm friends, but neither are written as inferior, even if the books are from Shardlake's perspective.

I have given Dark Fire 9/10 because, even though it was thrilling, I felt the Greek Fire investigation became too drawn out. I actually thought the story of Elizabeth Wentworth was more intriguing, but this could have been because it was not the only plot of the novel. Even so, Sansom paces this story excellently, revealing kind characters to be cruelly deceptive and hard characters to be fiercely loyal.

xxx

The Alphabet Travel Game

Having a week off between teaching and my next internship (so excited - editorial and rights!) means I have lots of time to ride and gym and generally be outdoors. This also means I get to experience the weather in all its glory - yesterday, Ernest and I were lucky as it was sunny and pleasant. I only had four layers on top, not five! Today, who knows. It's very grey outside.

Coupled with the dismal weather and the stresses of job hunting, my mind has been wandering. I have a list of things I will do once I'm employed, from trivial things, such as getting a monthly beauty treatment of some sort, to the much more important saving for a mortgage, but one of the most common daydreams of mine is where I would like to travel to next. I've already visited quite a few places, such as Rome last year, but there are dozens more places I would love to visit.

When deciding where we would like to go on holiday last year, I invented (I say invented, but I'm sure someone will have done this before) this little game to see where Maxx and I would both like to visit, and to see how many of the places were the same. Then, as the years draw on, we can cross off where we've been.

• You need a piece of paper, with A - Z written in a column, and possibly a list of all the countries in the world.

• Write down a country you would like to visit next to each letter. You can only choose one!

• If you have a partner, ask them to do the same on the other side.

• Compare afterwards. If you don't have a partner, it doesn't matter, you can do this with whoever you normally go on holiday with!

Here's my list (in bold are my top 5 places):

Austria 

Belgium

China

Denmark

Egypt

Fiji

Germany (I've only been there for one day, so that doesn't count. Same for Greece)

Hungary

Ireland

Japan

Korea (South - to see my lovely ex-students! They can be the teacher this time)

Luxembourg

Morocco (this was extremely hard to decide)

New Zealand

O... (there's actually only one option and that's Oman - not sure if I'd want to visit this area right now)

Portugal

Q... (same as Oman)

Russia

Sweden

Thailand

Uruguay

Vietnam

W... (no places begin with W)

X... (as above)

Y... (same as Oman)

Z... (two options here, but not sure I'd want to visit these countries right now)

Where would you like to visit? Have you been to any of the places listed above? If so, would you recommend going there?

xxx