Getting A Workout With Primark

It's been January for a while now and I for one have been dabbling in this fitness business. Don't get me wrong, I haven't ever been an avid gym go-er apart from a few phases during uni and I didn't used to be able to run to save my life, but there has certainly been periods in my life where I've really got into the whole health thing and I can feel another phase coming on.. This time I'm hoping it sticks.

So, in the spirit of all things health, I had a little splurge on the Primark Workout range and thought I'd give you a bit of a rundown of some useful tips (apps) and tricks to get you moving this year.

FORM. Whatever you're doing, make sure you're doing it right. I'm not trying to put the pressure on here and say what's the 'right' way to workout, as different things work for different people but if you're doing squats, weights, lunges, whatever - google the movement and watch some youtube videos on it before you try it out - and especially before you add weights to the movement. I found that squatting in front of a full length mirror (glamorous image there) really helped me get my form right, they can be such a nightmare to get right and if you're doing them wrong - as with any exercise - you're gonna pull muscles and ache in places you shouldn't.

I think my fitness highlight has to be when I ran the Race For Life in 2013 (God.. where the hell did that time go?). I genuinely couldn't run before training for that and I can put my success purely down to a little app called ' Couch Potato to 5k' Literally did what it said on the tin. It's an app that coaches you through interval training, starting with minimal running and mostly walking and builds you up until you can run over 3 miles. To some this will sound easy but to those of you that struggle to run longer than about 3 seconds, I hear ya, and I'm saving you. Download the app. Seriously.

Get some comfortable and practical gear for your workouts. If you're running outside, and it's as cold as it is right now, you'll need a sports hoody to keep you warm without overheating you when you start to get warmed up. This one from Primark is perfect for me and is so comfortable that it makes me actually WANT to go running. What is this? 

If you're working out in the gym and are less bothered about cardio and more bothered about toning and weights then maybe you don't need running trainers. I personally find that bright and colourful workout gear (there's something about neon) really makes me feel like I'm 'the real deal' even if I only ever move once a year. Wear what's comfortable for you and ladies - always wear a sports bra. Come on now, it'll make your life easier and for a while, you'll forget you even have boobs cause they'll be so squashed into your chest that you'll be able to jump and swing and frolic around with no sudden reminders of your ladyness. Lovely.

Another thing that really changed the way I workout is breathing. I know it sounds stupid but I can't stress enough how breathing the wrong way can turn a potentially awesome workout into a disappointing fail. I used to think that I had an issue with breathing or that I couldn't possibly run longer than 3 seconds otherwise I would pass out due to lack of oxygen but somehow, through actually slowly working up my fitness and not freaking the hell out every time I ran an extra second, I almost, relaxed into it? My boyfriend (the marathon runner) always told me that there's a short amount of time at the beginning of a run where it'll feel unnatural and like a struggle and that after you pass through that, you find that you can actually breathe and can then run for a further million miles. The latter has never been true for me but sure enough, I found my 'barrier' and it's about ten minutes in. After that point, my body sort of calms the hell down and lets me actually run without looking and feeling like I'm about to die. Excellent.

Primark Leggings, Sports Top & Hoody, WESC Headphones, Nike 'Zoom Quick' Trainers

Get some comfortable headphones and create the most motivating playlist that you can. For me, those 'in-ear' headphones have always been a massive ball-ache and fall out or hurt my poor little ear drums so I'm more of a full on headphone gal. The only downside to these is that when I'm running, they act as a pair of ear muffs and my head gets so hot it could burst.. So we'll see how that goes. I've also recently started using the 'soundcloud' app. Other than just paying for music & the odd risky illegal download, I've been using spotify for my gym playlist as it's free, I can add new songs all the time and well.. it's just easy. BUT THE ADVERTS. Yeah so that's where Soundcloud comes in. Same principal, same lack of payment and none of the ads. I tend to go for really upbeat tunes, a lot of oldies from the 90's and the occasional club classic. Does the trick!

If you're interested in seeing more of the workout gear that I picked up from Primark then you can watch my haul video below, if you don't want to hear me ramble then you can skip to 4 mins to avoid watching the thing's you've already seen above!

If you found this type of post useful and would like some more links to things I'm using/watching etc to get me back into fitness then let me know in the comments!

What do you think of the Primark workout gear?

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