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My inner gym-bunny's hopped off!
Posted by Samantha Castle on March 11, 2010 11:20 AM
WITH news that the Welsh Assembly Government is spending a whopping £650 million a year on obesity and poor health I have enrolled myself into my local council run gym scheme- Ffit Conwy, to ensure I'm not part of these statistics.
The membership is less than half the price of some of the hotel and spa facilities in the area and the staff are well trained and attentive, plus armed with my Ffit Conwy card I can use eight other council run leisure facilities and swimming pools too.
Health experts recommend five 30-minute sessions of physical exercise for adults and five 60-minute sessions for children each week. But on average Welsh adults achieve fewer than three sessions and 11-16 year olds fewer than four.
People who are physically active have up to a 50% reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers and a 20-30% reduced risk of premature death.
I have to admit I have been a little shy attending the gym and have only managed the odd early morning weekly spinning class, which although is a great start to my day, just one 45 minute workout is not enough exercise to make a difference to my health- (see Paula's tip below). But with the encouragement of the attentive gym instructors at Llandudno Junction's gym, who regularly contact me with encouraging email's, I am sure I will find my inner gym-bunny once again!
In the meantime, my favourite gym instructor Paula Griffiths has provided this exercise tip:-
"The body is designed to be efficient and to save calories. If you do the same exercise week after week you'll use up fewer calories over time because you are getting fitter. Simply by changing your routine regularly will mean you'll continue to see results.
"You can do this by trying a variety of activities such as cycling, rock climbing or fitness classes. Remember that you burn more calories if you have to concentrate!
"Activities like dance mats or martial arts are great because you have to think about what you are doing. You should also have your gym programme reviewed regularly by your instructor to make sure you are getting the most out of the time you spend in the gym."
She added: "Instructor Kieran and I will be doing all of the fitness classes in the centre all week leading up to Sport Relief. We are collecting sponsors online and in person."
To donate log on to: www.mysportrelief.com/ljlc
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New Year, New Me!
Posted by Samantha Castle on February 24, 2010 12:54 PM
JOIN Weekly News reporter Samantha Castle each week as she sets out to improve her mind, body and soul in her New Year, New Me! weekly online blogspot.
Each week I will take a closer look at how I can improve not only my physical wellbeing- by all the usual methods and some more unusual and alternative ones, but also my mental attitude to life and all it throws at me.
Far from being the months for successful new beginnings, January, February and March are often the time we set ourselves up for failure. So this year I have decided to reflect less on the changes I want to make and focus more on my actual wellbeing.
2009 was a tough old year for me and by the sounds of it I'm not alone as most of my friends, colleagues, facebook buddies and twitter chums agree, whether its redundancies or house repossessions- the recession has got to us all. So its good riddance 2009, and hello 2010!
My first tentative steps to renew my mind and body was to rejoin the gym.
Public and privately owned health clubs can be lonely, boring and intimidating places at the best of times, but after speaking to the staff at my local council run gym in Llandudno Junction, I now have the confidence and conviction to drag my podgy-self down to any one of eight local leisure centres available to Ffit Conwy members across the county. Since January I have had access to a number of activities including spinning, water aerobics, step class, circuit training and fitball sessions and I have also been given a short gym workout programme specifically tailored to my personal health and fitness needs, which I'm slowly but surely working my way through.
So I hope you will tune in each week to read my reports and reviews and maybe learn from my experiences and giggle at any titillations I encounter along the way.
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What's in a name!
Posted by Samantha Castle on April 9, 2009 3:10 PM
While entertaining four visitors Weekly News reporter Samantha Castle test drove a Nissan Qashqai supplied by Slaters Nissa, Abergele.
SO what's in a name? Mustang, Diablo and Vanquish all sound full of power and mystery. Astra, Clio and Seed seem small and approachable, but what is a Qashqai?
After some internet research I found the Qashqai were middle age, Turkic-speaking nomads from Iran.
Despite its weird name and Japanese badge, the Nissan Qashqai is a British car. It was designed in Nissan's London studios, engineered at the company's workshops in Bedfordshire and built in Washington, Sunderland.
Nissan has sold almost 300,000 of them to date along with its new cousin the Qashqai+2 with two extra seats, which I had test drove recently.
For a large family the Qashqui+2 is a bargain, not only is it capacious inside with little storage compartments everywhere, including under the floor and with its vast panoramic sunroof, its like an observatory on wheels.
The black, shiny, diesel model I was given for the weekend was only four months old and full of optional extras including metallic paint, rear-view camera and chrome trim. But don't worry there are only a few optional extras with this range, which I see as a positive.
The range goes from £15,500 for the 1.6-liter petrol to £23,270 for the 2.0-liter auto diesel.
For a diesel I was pleasantly surprised to find I was permanently in the fast lane and the drive was very quiet and smooth to manoeuvre with a grand sense of safety being that little bit higher up than other road users. The handling on county roads down the Conwy Valley was great and the heated seats were a godsend after a gruelling hike up Snowdon.
I must admit I felt like I had lost an arm when I had to say good buy to that reversing camera, don't get me wrong I am a very competent driver (in a fiesta) but this was almost twice the size! And don't get me started on the six-speed gears, cruise control, air-con, six-CD auto-changer, Bluetooth and sat nav- I adore gadgets and gizmos like that, show-off that I am.
The fuel consumption averaged 40mpg, but that's probably down to the long country drives I was doing- I would expect townies and Chelsea tractor types to not get much over 36mpg, but that's a matter of opinion.
In a nutshell I liked it, comfortable and economical- it transported around five females and all their walking gear in style.
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Getting fit the North Wales way
Posted by Samantha Castle on March 25, 2009 12:07 PM
AFTER experiencing a British military boot camp in the Brecon Beacons last October reporter I asks why should women have to travel out of North Wales to achieve the body of their dreams when we have all the facilities right here on our doorstep?
Women in the region could soon have the opportunity of dropping a dress size after two prominent local businesses are looking at developing a North Wales weight-loss boot camp.
Each week hundreds of women, including celebrities like singer Michelle Heaton and Jade Goody, travel as far as Devon and South Wales in a bid to lose weight and develop a new exercise and healthy eating regime. And after spending a week at the famed British military New You Boot Camp last year, I saw first hand how women of all ages and backgrounds were prepared to pay up to and over £1,000 each to be put through their paces military-style, but why travel out of North Wales for the experience when we have similar facilities right here on our door step.
So last weekend I invited some of the girls I met at boot camp to North Wales to sample what our green and pleasant land has to offer. I teamed up with three local businesses- Slaters Nissan, Abergele, Tree Top Adventures, Betws-y-Coed and the Quay Hotel and Spa, Deganwy, to provide my guests with an action-packed, luxury weekend.
The girls stayed at the Quay Hotel and Spa in Deganwy who supplied twin rooms at the five star location for £70 per night with 25% off spa treatments, which the girls took full advantage of soothing their aching limbs after each day of activity.
The Hotel's Operations Director Tony Riley commented: "The Quay Hotel and Spa has made it a priority to establish itself as a fantastic venue in which to enjoy a number of outdoor pursuits, such as sailing, hiking, rock climbing, white water rafting, tree top walking etc.
"We are perfectly positioned to develop a boot camp package."
Local businessman Sean Taylor agrees saying there is a gap in the market for this kind of healthy holiday package.
"I will definitely be looking into working with the Quay Hotel to develop a package for women who want to lose weight," said Sean.
"At Tree Top Adventure its not just the rope walk, we do gouge walking, abseiling, hill walking, bush craft, anything goes.
"There is definitely a gap in the market for this kind of holiday here- we have all the facilities to provide women with a pound busting experience."
As well as taking the girls on a gruelling walk up Mount Snowdon they also enjoyed an afternoon grappling the Tree Top Adventure rope course in Betws-y-Coed and I ferried them around in the lap of luxury in a brand new seven seater Nissan Qashqai supplied by Slaters Nissan in Abergele.
Mother of two, Michele Curtis travelled from Suffolk for the reunion. She lost 5lbs at boot camp. "It was great seeing the girls again and to see everyone's kept up their fitness and healthy eating regimes since October," she said.
"I've loved it in North Wales, the rope walk was a real challenge but also a lot of fun and I don't think I would have ever contemplated walking up Snowdon before boot camp. It doesn't just change you physically but mentally too, for the better."
Businesswoman and mother of three Helen MacAndrews is from Berkshire. She said the hotel's spa was a godsend. "Thank goodness for the spa to help ease our aching limbs.
"It has been a great weekend, North Wales has so much to offer. Although my arms are now a few inches longer after the rope walk," said Helen, 48.
Sam Stanger, 31 from London has travelled all over the world. "I lost a whooping 7lbs at boot camp, I think these holidays are a great idea for women trying to lose weight."
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I've over dosed on spending again
Posted by Samantha Castle on January 20, 2009 11:29 PM
OMG. Is it me or is everyone broke already this month?
It's only four days after payday and I'm already up to my £700 overdraft limit.
How did this happen? I'll tell you what Christmas and New Year happened, despite my mantra that staying in is the new going out, I still managed to blow my budget on doing just that!
January can be depressing enough what with going back to work, the cold, wet weather and not to mention this blooming credit crunch (I hate calling it that but hey it's happening)
I had a couple of bills that I put off paying until this month so I guess that's what broke the bank for me, normally I would just take it easy and ride the poverty storm but this month I have two birthdays and Valentines day to shell out for.
I refuse to ignore my beautiful mum's birthday even if she would rather forget about it, as this is the women who has bailed me out financially on a couple of occasions and I owe her everything because not only did she help me out but she made me see the error of my ways. Yes I am still in debt but at least I'm more aware of it and trying my dammed hardest to pay off my debts slowly but surely. She of all people knows the intricate details of my money worries and will probably say she doesn't want anything for her birthday so I am sure she won't mind that her birthday present was bought in Debenhams blue cross sale.
But prehaps just this once I will have to forgo the commercially forced celebrations of Valentines day and be original and think of a homemade way to celebrate my love for *loml. I am sure my other half won't complain at some old fashioned home entertainment instead of an overpriced meal in a crowded restaurant! Well I hope so because that's all he's getting this year.
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The lengths people will go to to save money on their 2009 getaway
Posted by Samantha Castle on January 15, 2009 9:01 PM
ONE in three parents will be more likely to take their kids out of school in this year to save money on the family holiday compared to previous years according to a new survey.
2008 has been a challenging year in travel and with the current economic climate Brits are embracing online media more than ever in a quest to seek cost effective, reputable holiday opportunities.
A poll of 1,250 adults by webTV travel site, Holiday '09 has revealed that six out of ten people don't trust traditional holiday brochures anymore. Over half of the people polled said they would be looking for advice on how to save money and get the best deal on their holiday this year. For nine out of ten consumers this research will be done online.
Encouragingly, a getaway is very much on the cards for the majority of respondents with a beach holiday taking poll position. Over a quarter of those surveyed revealed that UK city breaks are in their plans for 2009 while a fifth of respondents are planning something more long haul. One in ten of us are planning a camping trip for 09.
Ceriann Mullins, Editor of Holiday '09 said: "It's clear that following recent events in the industry and the global economy that customers want reassurance from travel companies placing openness, transparency and interactivity higher up their decision making process."
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Money in a wink
Posted by Samantha Castle on January 5, 2009 4:52 PM
WITH the credit crunch continuing to bite, would-be models are turning to alternative ways of making money by renting out their eyelids as advertising space.
I kid you not!
feelunique.com, the online beauty boutique, is offering people the chance to earn 10p per wink in return for displaying the company's logo on their eyelid space.
Amy Rebours of feelunique.com said: "We all take notice when we're being winked at so what better way to advertise a beauty company than on people's eyelids. It's a genuine marketing first, which encourages people to spread a feel-good winking moment and earn some much-needed extra income in the process. So far, it's been brilliantly received with people fancying a different kind of flutter and registering to be feelunique.com winkers."
People who sign up to star in the campaign will have the feelunique.com logo temporarily transferred onto their right or left eyelid and will be paid on a Pay Per Wink (PPW) basis - up to a total of £100 per model.
Visit www.feelunique.com for more information on how to take part, become a winker and make money from fluttering your eyelids.
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