Disclosure: I received two pieces of clothing from Get The Label for free in return for an honest review on my blog. I am not being paid to talk about or advertise their products. All opinions of the product are my own. See my policy page HERE for more detail.

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It's no secret that I love myself some new fitness clothing & fitness gadgets, I'm pretty sure I own more fitness wear that I do actual clothes, most of the money I save up tends to go on something fitness related and when it comes to the Christmas and birthdays, I typically always ask for something fitness related too.

It's sort of addicting I must admit and I get a surge of motivation when I get new fitness kit, I always want to go and try it out, so it's win win!

Get The Label approached me a couple of weeks back to ask if I'd like to pick out some pieces from their website.. how could I turn that down?!

Get The Label(a subsidiary of JD Sports) is a website that sells fashion and sportswear at up to a 75% discount! I'd never visited the site before but I have seen a couple of people talk about it before. I am a big fan of JD Sports for fitness kit too.

There are lots of brands available such as Adidas, Lacoste, Diesel, Sketchers, Penguin and many more. There's some brands I've never personally heard of before too. There's a wide variety of different types of clothing and footwear to have a look at.

I had a hard time actually picking out what I wanted with so much choice available! I ended up picking out a pair of cropped tights and a tank/t-shirt combo.

Here's my choices:
Adidas Supernova 3/4 Running Tights - Currently £21.99 - RRP £51.99
Adidas Run Layer T-Shirt - Currently £13.59 -  RRP29.99

For the price that they're at, Im pretty impressed, it's hard to find good, affordable fitness kit that doesn't cost the earth. There are so many other good deals available!

So What did I think of the items I chose?
I loved the print of the leggings, perfect colour for Spring and Summer and I loved the idea of a dual layer for the top and the colours were almost a perfect match.
The tank is the perfect length for me, I like tank tops that are a little longer in the body and it has a dipped hem at the back hem on the tank too, allowing for a little extra coverage of the booty if thats your thing! The over top is really light weight with an open back which is a nice detail.
Wearing both allows for some extra layer and coverage if it's a little chilly.. and then it's a good transition piece into the summer when it gets really(who am I kidding ;)) hot as I can just wear the tank on it's own.

As for the 3/4 tights, I didn't love them quite as much as the top. The colours and the print are amazing and the fit was great with a drawstring waist(if you're someone like me who struggles with finding tights and shorts that don't slip down!). There is a lovely little mesh panel on the back for a bit of extra detail.

Whilst I did love the above details, there were a couple of downsides for me with these tights. The inside of the tights is white, so when the fabric is stretched, the white from the inside kinda washed out the print(I think you can only tell up close as photos don't show this issue). They also go a little see-through on the butt area when wearing dark underwear so a lighter coloured pair of undies is needed, works well and doesn't show through. It may be that because I have chunky thighs and a bigger butt, these two slight issue might not happen for others!
Despite the two issues I mentioned above, they're both otherwise good items and I've worn them countless of times when running. Get The Label will definitely be a website I keep in mind when I'm looking for some great sportswear deals! They actually have the Pure Boost X trainers I'm wearing in this picture for an great discounted price!

If you'd like to see what Get The Label has to offer, you can find their website HERE. There's also a link to their sportswear for Women HERE and Men HERE.

Question: Have you heard of Get The Label? How often do you find yourself buying fitness gear?

 
Compression garments.. they've been around for a long time! They were/are primarily used in the medical field to improve symptoms related to Diabetes and Arthritis and to aid in circulation(I wore a fetching pair for Surgery to help prevent blood clots due to lack of movement).

Question: Do you own any pieces of compression gear? If so, what do you wear?

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Disclosure: I received a top and tights from SKINS for free in return for an honest review. I am not being paid to talk about or advertise any of these products. All opinions are as always, my own and are not affected by items gifted to me. See my policy page HERE for more detail.

I'm quite partial to a bit of fitness tech.. I love new pieces to try out and like to have all the new technology. I'm also quite partial to listening to some music whilst I workout, whether that's running, home workouts or even just a walk, so a decent pair of earphones is a must!

I currently have a pair of headphones that I love for running, however, these headphones aren't quite suitable for my home workouts and I tend to go for normal, wired headphones or without completely.

The thing is, when I'm working out at home, I want to be in the zone. We have a very busy household and I  want to block out the rest of the noise to focus on my workout and listening to instructions from workout videos - something I can't do with my running headphones due to them being bone conduction and being able to hear everything around you.

So, then I'm left with wired headphones and their issues.. They can keep coming out of your ears, you can get the wire tangled & caught up and you can become very frustrated and distracted! So, when I received an email with the opportunity to review a pair of their wireless VerveRider+ Earbuds from VerveLife range by Motorola, I jumped at the opportunity to solve this issue.
Typically, when I think of Motorola, I tend to think of Mobile Phones and not accessories like headphones. They brought out a new range of VerveLife products including different types of head/ear phones and even an action cam(which looks great)! So I was pretty intrigued to see how they held up.

Features of the  VerveRider+
The VerveRider+ are wearable, waterproof stereo Earbuds. They are designed with IP57 water/sweat protection(can withstand 3 feet of fresh water submersion for 30 minutes) so there's no risk of them not working after a sweaty workout session or even a run in the rain.

You connect the earbuds via bluetooth to your phone or even your laptop(if compatible). Pairing is pretty straight forward with a long hold press of the  power button to put it into pairing mode and connecting it with your bluetooth device.
The earbuds have 150 ft of range! As a test engineer for my full time job, testing technology like headphones, remote controls etc, is part of my daily job so I know what to look out for quality wise with this sort of technology at long range.. I can say I'm pretty impressed! I wouldn't go as far to say I've been to 150 ft range but I've been to the other side of quite a big office and connectivity has been perfect, as has audio quality, no audio distortions.

The earbuds also have 12 hours of audio playtime which is impressive and I've definitely tested this, I've worn these from the morning all the way to the evening before the earbuds have needed charging.

They have an integrated mic for calls - I've taken a couple of calls and the audio has been perfectly clear and the recipient can hear me with absolutely no issues. You can also control Siri/Google via the headphones too.
There's function buttons on collar part of the earphones, play/pause, volume controls that double as backwards and forwards for track selection & a call function button. The Call and Play/pause button are also magnetized, allowing the back of the earbuds to stick to the collar so they don't swing about when not in use!

How do they perform?
The main purpose of these earbuds are for those that live an active lifestyle, so whether you exercise a lot, you travel/commute to/from work or you're just generally on the go a lot, these are probably for you! I've used the headphones for pretty much everything to be able to give an all round perspective. So, how did they stand up?

General Use
First off, I've used them as my 'out and about' earphones. I've worn them on walks and I've worn them in and around the office, they've been my go to earphones for listening to anything! They're comfortable and lightweight, I hardly recognize they're there. I've had a couple of mini heart attack moments listening to music and wheeling away from my desk and forgetting I'm not actually connected to my phone! ;) They fit well in my ears with the standard bud - but there are 2 other sizes available if they don't fit. I've never had them fall out of my ears, they're a pretty secure fit.

The sound quality is perfect, very crisp and clear, blocks out the chatter in the office when you really want to focus on work and the hustle and bustle outside of work too.

Home Workouts
I've done both kettlebell workouts and home workout videos when wearing these and I've found them to be great. No more wires tangling, pulling out earphones from my ears or any general frustration. I have been able to pair the earphones to my laptop when I watch the videos in order to hear instructions/music and I've been able to hear instructions clearly without getting confused having not heard properly! My workouts certainly go a lot more smoothly now!
With regards to movement of the collar band, there is a little bit of movement when doing certain movements, jumping can make the collar band bounce a bit but nothing drastic or annoying to deal with. I suppose if you wanted to skip with these on, it might be a bit of an issue.

Running
I've used them for both running here in the UK and running in Cyprus last week in more sweaty..sweaty conditions.. xD Sound quality wise when running, the earphones are absolutely fine and there's been no issues. No tangles from getting arms caught in wires.. woohoo! Sweat is not an issue at all, the earbuds dont fall out when you sweat alot, a problem I've had with previous earphones.

The collar part of the VerveRider+ can be a bit bouncy but I haven't found it that annoying, others may have a different opinion.
I do have one issue with the earbuds, that being that I have to run with just 1 earbud in and not both - this wasn't the case on holiday as it wasn't busy but it is always the case in the UK. The fact is, I really need to be able to hear what is going on around me, whether there are cars about and you cannot hear any sort of ambient sounds when both earbuds are in. If you have very little traffic about, you'll probably be fine.

Overall Opinion
I think the VerveRider+ Earbuds are great. I love the sound quality and I haven't really taken them off much to be honest. I'm getting the most benefit during home workouts, it's a joy to be able to focus on a workout without the fuss of wires getting tangled or not hearing instructions on workout videos and they're great for general use too.
I am definitely continuing to use them for home workouts and general use but maybe not so much for running purely because of the ambient sound issue. With the traffic in our town, it's too much of a risk to run with both in and that's pretty much the whole point of having to earbuds ;). That's not two say that others wouldn't be able to use them for running!

Generally, I think these earbuds would be perfect for home workouts/gym goers, particularly for those who weight train! If you lead an active lifestyle, if you're on the go a lot for work and travel - they would be great too.

At £79.99*, they're at a higher price point than some might be willing to pay but they're great earphones, are very well made and stylish looking and I really can't fault the sound quality and it's features included.  *Checking the website currently says they've got a deal for you to get a Power Pack Micro Charger for free with purchase too!

If you're interested in checking out the VerveRider+, you can find it HERE.
For all other VerveLife products, you can find those HERE.

Question: What do you look for in a pair of headphones/earphones? Do you like listening to music when you workout?

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Disclosure: I received some VerveRider+ Earbuds for free in return for an honest review of the earbuds. I am not being paid to talk about or advertise their products. All opinions are as always, my own and are not affected by items gifted to me. See my policy page HERE for more detail.

It's been a good month and a half since my last update with the ErgoFlex mattress and I wanted to do a quick update to let you all know how I've been getting on over the last month and a half with regards to the quality of my sleep since changing from a pocket sprung mattress to an Ergoflex Mattress and whether or not it's had any positive effects on my training.

So, I'm gonna keep this relatively short and sweet(hopefully) and cover some of the major points to mention with the mattress that I've seen over the last month and a half.

Quality of Sleep
I've by far noticed the biggest change here. A switch to the Ergoflex Mattress has stopped me waking in the middle of the night and I wake up feeling WAY more refreshed and less stiff and creaky in the morning which is awesome! I don't quite wake up as zombified as I did previously, which is also good for others as they don't get grumpy Laura in the morning! ;)

I've been away twice within the last month or so - Once up to Phillip's Aunt&Uncles in Penrith for a few days for the Great North Swim. I tell you what.. I notice a massive difference in comfort between different beds and I actually tend to miss my own mattress now! I slept on a sofa bed with Phillip that weekend and they're not the most comfortable. My sleep was disturbed quite often from trying to get comfortable and I definitely wasn't well rested when I woke up.

I also went to my parents the other weekend too and we slept on a blow up camping bed. Again, same thing - lack of comfort, constantly waking and moving about.

Effects on Training
Thus far, I've not seen a massive difference in my training and performance but I think that's because I haven't really been going all out with it as of late. As you may well know, I was in running funk and didn't run for a week after I got back from visiting my parents and as I mentioned earlier, I've been away on two occasions.

My training basically hasn't been 100% over the last few months and so I haven't properly gotten to see if there's a real difference.

On days where I HAVE had a tough session, like a hill training session, I've slept comfortably and woken feeling great. In the past, a hard hill session leaves me feeling quite stiff when I get out of bed the next morning but not with the Ergoflex which is a good sign.

Phillip has told me he is definitely noticing a difference in his training. He's currently training for a Triathlon in August so he's been doing a lot of block sessions of cycling and running and he has said that he always feels fully recovered since sleeping on the new Mattress, he isn't disturbed during the middle of the night and is able to keep going with his training the next day without the need to rest further, so it's a thumbs up from him!

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I've got sleep data from my Garmin watch for the last couple of months with both my old mattress and my new one,so I'm gonna go through the data to see the comparisons between the two for my next update which will be in a month or two!

Overall, it's all positives this far and I've nothing to complain about. I'm looking forward to seeing how I feel after some hard races coming up these next two weekends and whether I'll feel better recovered the morning after.

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Disclosure: I received an Ergoflex Double Mattress for free in return for blog updates on how the Ergoflex effects my training. I am not being paid to talk about or advertise their products. All opinions are as always, my own. See my policy page HERE for more detail.

Question: What type of Mattress do you own? Do you think the amount/quality of sleep effects your training?

Everyone knows that sleep is more important and that they should sleep more. There's a lot of benefits for getting a better nights sleep.. Improved Immunity, Better Health, Better Weight Control, Clearer Thinking and many more. However, sleep is the one thing that many people tend to cut if they're short on time.

I am very much one of those people. On both parts. As much as I know that sleep is important and that I should go to bed earlier, it very rarely happens and obviously I don't feel very good for it. I tend to be in a bad mood more often than not and always feel tired.

Along with the benefits I mentioned briefly above, another benefit of better sleep is an increase in performance during exercise and aiding in recovery. As of late, I've been trying to make more of an effort with my training. Rather than just plod along and make very little progress, I want to try and get faster and stronger and beat my times in races.

So, along with ramping up my training and incorporating some speed runs, I knew the other part I needed to focus on was my recovery and sleep!

Why is sleep important for exercise?

Disclosure: I received a selection of ZipVit Energy gels for free in return for an honest review. I am not being paid to talk about or advertise their products. All opinions of the product are my own. See my policy page HERE for more detail.

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It's a given that if you fuel your body right, your run/exericse will go much better! There are SO many different ways to fuel during a run and so many brand choices to choose from that offer these products.

If you haven't already found a fuel that works for you, figuring out where to start can feel very overwhelming! Before we get into the different types of race fuel, its probably a good idea to know WHY it's important to take them in training and races.

The Importance of Fuel
Whilst you're training or racing, your body relies on carbohydrates that are stored in your  muscles, however, your muscles can only store a limited amount of carbs. When you run or exercise these carb stores deplete and as your muscles run our of fuel, you start to feel physically fatigued and drained.

That's why, if you're running longer distances like half marathons or marathons or typically any exercise over about 75 minutes, you need to ensure that you are consuming carbs to minimize depletion and keep your blood sugar levels up.

Before I get on to some popular ways of fueling during a training run or race, I should say that it's very important to find out what works for you and not just go with the majority. I found out the hard way and tried various different fueling choices before finding one that worked for me. Unfortunately, some gels, bars and sports drinks do not agree with your stomach and can give you stomach ache, or even worse.. can make you need the toilet!

So just be wary and make sure you give your fuel of choice plenty of test drives before using them on a race, just incase!

Fuel Choices
So, like I said earlier, there are loads of different options for fueling during training runs and races. I've just picked out ones that I've used in the past and ones that are quite popular and seen most often. I'm sure there are plenty of other options that people use as fuel and probably more natural choices too.

Obviously, as I've mentioned loads of times in the past, water is essential for any sort of exercise including pre, during and post workout!

Energy Gels/Chews
Probably my most popular form of energy, these are typically what work for me the most. They're convenient single serving packets which are easy to take whilst running. Different gels have different textures, not to everyone's preference. They're a thicker, liquid consistency and I find it very similar to Calpol!

You can also find added caffeine versions of gels for an added boost of energy which is nice towards the end of your run.

Mine and Phillips Gel Stash!

Popular brands include: SiS Gels, Clif Shot and GU gels - I'm personally using ZipVit energy gels but I'll talk about them a little later. Gels come in a plethora of flavours too so it's just about finding one that you like.

Sports Drinks/Electrolyte Drinks
With a mix of water and carbs, sports drinks are another quick and easy way to provide the boost of energy that you need and they keep you hydrated too which is a bonus. They also aid in replacing what is lost through sweat. They typically help replenish sodium which enhances retention of fluids.

Electrolyte drinks(tablets) are packed with Sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, they're added to water and they again, replace what is lost through sweat and can add some extra flavour to your water.

On bigger races, you sometimes have these as a station during the race so you can take a bottle to refuel. I actually don't have sports drinks too often, at least those at races. They're typically lucozade and that doesn't tend to agree with me too well, so I steer clear of those fueling stations.

Popular brands of sports drinks includes: Lucozade, Powerade, Gatorade
Popular brands of electrolytes are:  Nuun, High5, SiS, ZipVit

Energy Bars
These are great for pre-run snacks but you can also eat the bars during a run too. I personally find things that I have to chew far too hard and causes me to get really out of breath, I usually choke on them mid chewing too, so I have just stayed away from this option.
Energy bars would be perfect for longer runs, they're packed with carbs and are a better choice if you need something that satisfies hunger during your run as this will do a better job than drinks and gels.

Some popular energy bar brands are Etixx, Zipvit Tribe, Clif bars, SiS, High5 - you could also try making your own!

Sweets
Sounds like a weird thing to use for fuel and there are much better alternatives they're a cheaper fuel alternative and provide the carbs and sugars that you need for extra energy during a race. With lots of sugar, sweets are fast absorbing for energy and do the job when needed.

Popular choices for Sweet fuel includes Jelly Beans, Jelly Babies, Gummy Bears

My Current Fueling Routine
Typically, I use Energy Gels during training and races and usually take 2-3 depending on the event. For my last half marathon, I took 3 gels and spread them out over the duration of my race. I take my first gel between 30-60 minutes of a race and then every 30-40 minutes afterwards.

I am currently using ZipVit Energy gels, which I was kindly sent by ZipVit and they have been my go-to gel during my training runs and races over the last few months.

Tell me: How do you fuel for your runs? What are your favourite brands?

Band - The band should be firm fitting and lie straight across your back on the loosest hook and eye fastening(so you can tighten to next hook as the bra stretches out).

Cup - The cups should encase all of your breast tissue, there should be no spillage from any direction! It should sit flush against your skin with a smooth transition between the sports bra to chest.

If you experience spillage or the bra sits away from the breast bone, then the cups are too small and it is recommended to go up a cup size.

If the cups are gaping or you experience chafing under the armpits, then the cup size is too big and it is recommended that you go down a cup size.

If you're still unsure on your sports bra size, there are more helpful tips on fitting and choosing the right sports bra on the boobydoo website. The next best place would be to go to a store that sells sports bras that will be able to help fit you in the right size.