...Nakd Cocoa Orange Bars and Clare Nasir's DVD.....

The title pretty much says it all really. Good grief, they are delicious!
I can't believe that I can eat something that is actually nicer than any chocolate orange that I've tasted but has a fraction of the calories without putting in any crap like sweeteners.

I feel in internet splurge coming on. There's a 21 bar mixed case with my name on it.............

Anyway, on to the review......

I bought this DVD about 3 weeks ago after procrastinating since Boxing Day about whether or not buying another "Celebrity" fitness DVD was a good idea.
Having now done it for EVERY workout session since (prior to AHB) I can tell you that it is, most definitely, a good idea.

For those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about these pics (courtesy of dailymail.co.uk) should tell you everything you need to know.




This is an interval based workout, split into 4, 20 minute sections.

The first section is the warm followed by some skip/run intervals interspersed with boxing moves using weights and a toning section with T-Ups , push ups and ab work.

Section two is made up of jumping knee lift intervals interspersed with leg exercises and more ab work.

Section three is the main toning section but you will still be burning fat with plyometric lunges, push up/burpee variations and a push up/ oblique mountain climber hybrid that they call the "Clare-Climber".
You will also do more ab work, lower abs this time.

Section four is the ab section - as if you needed more ab work at this point. It is followed immediately by the cool down and stretch. If you have the time and inclination I suggest that you do include these extra abs because, lets face it, you can never do enough Planks :)

Since I have been doing this workout I have felt a real tightening all over my body. I have also found that my muscle gains in my shoulders have been substantial - in 3 weeks I have been able to rebuild what  having a frozen shoulder a year ago took away.
I also still get muscle ache in my legs the next day which usually NEVER happens after the second time doing a routine.

I am so pleased I bought this DVD and have been recommending it to anyone who'll listen!

For anyone who's interested I saw it reduced to £10 the other night in Tesco and if you do decide to take the plunge I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

FiTNESS: Valerie Waters Action Hero Babe Programme - Day 3 - Burn and my first Nakd Bar!......

Today was the sweaty day with lots and lots of fast paced bodyweight and resistance band moves.

My personal nemesis are Alligator Walks which involve starting in "top of a push up" position with your feet on Valslides (slidy, plastic discs) and dragging yourself along with your arms.
Pure evil/genius.

On a food note I finally got to try a Nakd Bar - Cashew Cookie - and it was so nice. It's good to know that I can buy something sweet and nutritious from a supermarket. I also bought a Cocoa Orange bar but I am being very restrained and resisting the urge to try it tonight :)

Didn't see the Mint one though, which I really want to try.
Are any supermarkets better for stock than Tesco?
Maybe I should try the website.

FITNESS: Valerie Waters Action Hero Babe Programme - Day 1 - We're going to need a bigger boat!! But by boat I mean weights........

For those of you who don't know her, Valerie Waters is a personal trainer based in Hollywood. She is Jennifer Garner and Rachel Nichol's (GI Joe, Star Trek) regular trainer and has also worked with Kate Beckinsale on Underworld (LOVE!) and Jessica Biel among many, many more.

I have been using her workouts as part of my rotations since August 2008 when she opened the Red Carpet Ready Club which is an online community for people who use her workouts.

I was  travelling through L.A. at the time so I was able to pick up the Val Kit for travel (review on that coming later) from Val's house where she very kindly let me ask her questions even though she had completely forgotten that I was coming and didn't know who I was!!
I think she was very relieved when I explained but she hid it very well!

The thing I love about Val's workouts is that they do exactly what they promise and AHB is no exception.
In case you're wondering I have done the workouts before, they came out in 2009, but I only did them for about a week and a half because I got sucked in to the UK Christmas celebrity fitness DVD mire.

Anyway, with this training programme the clue is in the title: Action Hero Babe. If you like the way any of the actresses I mentioned earlier look, then this is the programme you want because it's based on the exact routines that Val used to get their bodies in to kick ass shape.

You get 6 DVD workouts:
- Build 1+2 - Heavy lifting to give shape and strength
- Burn 1+2 - This is where you sweat! Lots of fast paced, bodyweight based moves.
- Sculpt 1+2  - These are the polishing moves that refine your shape but you'll still be working hard!

You do level 1 for 4 weeks. I do "Build" on Mondays, "Burn" on Wednesdays and "Sculpt"on Fridays with cardio in between.
In the kit you get some interval routines for use with an Eliptical or Treadmill, etc but I don't have one so I use my (excellent) Clubland aerobics DVD instead, but the interval routines look good so if you have one, or Gym access then they would definitely be worth a go.

So today I started again on Build 1 and I really enjoyed it. As my title suggests, my weights are too light, Val uses a 35 pound kettlebell for some of the moves and I only have 10 pound dumbbells - fail!!
It wasn't too bad though, I was feeling a bit rough so I was actually glad to not go too hard in the beginning, but by the time I got to the Valslide Pikes I was in the zone :)

I don't have any pain yet but I have been doing mainly bodyweight work recently thanks to the lovely Clara Nasir (glowing review to follow!) so i am expecting some major creakiness tomorrow.

I will keep you posted  and report back again on Wednesday with the next installment :)

Hope everyone's having a good day :)