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JD Sports Knows the Way to This Girl’s Heart

I’ve been doing my best the past two weeks to find my strength training mojo. There was a time when I was happiest in the gym lifting weights. Lately, I think it’s a good day if I drop and do 15-20 pushups and squeeze in my 5 minute workout.

Luckily, the gang at JD Sports knows the way to a girl’s heart. While I’m loyal to Mizuno these days for all things running, as soon as JD Sports offered me a complimentary pair of trainers, I knew I wanted to finally try the Nike Free shoes.

Drag to spin

Over the past year I’ve seen the Nike Free shoes everywhere from Instagram posts, my friends, magazines and almost every department store. I resisted buying them as my closet is already filled with multiple pairs of shoes for both running and lifting, but I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to treat myself. JD Sports offered 10 different Nike Free 5.0 colors but I knew immediately I wanted the grey, vivid white and pink model. The more subdue colors mean that this shoes can be used for cross training at home or the gym just as much as it can double as a touring shoe when we explore new cities.

Nike Free 5.0

Part of the crosstown running range they are super breathable due to the full mesh body and only weigh 8.2 ounces and is very well cushioned. Super flexible, this is the perfect shoe for packing as you can actually roll it or smush it to make more room in your suitcase! I loved the cushioning when doing jumping jacks, burpees and even short sprints during my workouts. Overall, the shoe is great except for one issue – the sizing. It is definitely not true to size. I messed up the UK to US conversion, ordering a size 12 and they actually fit when I wear socks. Clearly they run a bit small as I normally wear 10.5 or 11.

Thank you JD Sports for letting me test out the shoes I’d been dreaming of and motivating me to start doing strength training. It’s 10x easier when a cute pair of shoes get to be worn for the workout!

Don’t take my word for it though – for just $8.00 JD Sports will ship just about anywhere in the world including Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, and the US to name a few! But, for a limited time, they are offering free international delivery when you spend £75

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Amped Up Protein Powder: JAVAPRO

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of JAVAPRO.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve been spending a lot of quality time with my VitaMix lately. I’m not sure if it is the warmer weather or my way of summoning Spring but I’ve been craving smoothies constantly.

In the evening I’ve been whipping up different types of smoothies for dessert before curling up on the couch to read or watch TV. I find that a smoothie helps satiate my sweet tooth, give my muscles some much needed protein which helps with repair after a hard workout, and is the perfect way to end the evening. I try to limit the sugars I add since it’s late, instead adding primarily just protein powder, small amount of milk, spices, almond butter or peanut butter, possibly some fruit, Fage yogurt, water and ice.

Coconut Banana Smoothie

However, when the team at Nature’s Best offered me a bag of their new Mocha JAVAPRO whey protein powder, I was excited to try it. While the caffeine packed protein powder isn’t good for the evenings it has allowed me to perk up my breakfast routine this week!

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This is protein powder is unlike one I’ve tried before. It actually includes real coffee and caffeine! As someone who enjoys a cup of cappuccino or coffee each morning, I’m more than happy to kill two birds with one stone and enjoy it as part of my breakfast smoothie! This morning I took a few extra minutes at home to make a delicious green smoothie which combined the JAVAPRO protein powder with a few other breakfast essentials to make a delicious smoothie that kept me going until 1pm!

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Mocha Power Breakfast Smoothie

1 banana

1 scoop JAVAPRO

1 cup skim milk (or milk of choice)

1.5 cups spinach

10 almonds

1/2 tsp cinnamon

ice

Combine ingredients in blender and blend until reaching desired consistency.

The mocha flavor was a fun change for me and I definitely felt a boost of energy following breakfast. What’s even more important for me is that the powder blended well, didn’t have any chalky consistency, and didn’t leave me with any negative side effects. Considering that one serving packs 20 grams of protein, 80 mg of caffeine, and just 100 calories I will definitely be building this into my morning smoothie routine and possibly even taking a few servings to work for an afternoon pick me up.

For  more information, please visit their Facebook Page. Link: http://facebook.com/isopure.

Your turn: When do you use protein powder? Morning? Afternoon snack? Evening?

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ashleyd /

The Mizuno Wave Sayonara

The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Mizuno.

Since mid November, I’ve been running in my beloved hot pink Mizuno Wave Rider 16s which I’ve absolutely loved. In fact, before discovering these shoes I had never found a lighter weight shoe that also provided me the support I needed. In fact, they even protected my feet as I scaled, hiked and ran up the Saleve in February during my Geneva visit.

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When I had the opportunity, through my partnership with Fitfluential, to try the new Mizuno Wave Sayonara, I was ecstatic.

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A new shoe in the Mizuno line up, the Sayonara replaces both the Mizuno Wave Precision and the Wave Elixir as it marries the best features of both into one super light weight shoe! Here are the stats for your reference:

  • 7.1 oz weight
  • Heal to toe drop of 10mm
  • Performance neautral
  • $119.99

I’ve worn these shoes for multiple different workouts over the past few weeks including a long run along the Hudson with friends, a few shorter runs in Central Park, Barry’s Bootcamp classes, an Uplift Strength class, and finally today along the Highline and Hudson River.

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The verdict is that I am truly a fan of the Wave Sayonara. The love didn’t begin immediately though. My first run in them was a Central Park 6 mile loop and my legs were a bit sore afterwards. However, after a few runs today they felt wonderful! I think the key to these shoes is gradually increasing the mileage since they fit differently than my other running shoes and they have a bit more drop. But, give them a week and you’ll love how responsive they are and how light and stable you feel in both running and bootcamp class alike!

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If you’re looking to try a new pair of shoes I couldn’t recommend these enough! Head to your local running store or Mizuno Running Store to order a pair! Your running will thank you! How can you not feel speedy in such bright, light shoes?

So, since these Mizuno Wave Sayonaras are heading to Geneva with me and will quickly get used to running hills, I figured sharing a hill workout with you all is quite fitting! Hill training isn’t always fun but it definitely makes you strong and you notice results within just a few workouts! This one is short enough that you can do it even if you’re just starting out with hill training and since it is geared towards a treadmill, you can do it either at your gym or on the road at a hotel gym!

hill training workout

Hill workouts – love them or hate them?

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