Summer in London

So the weather is kind of starting to pick up. We've had some nice weekends recently, then yesterday wasn't great but today looks like it's going to be a good one.

So hopefully this is the start of something good as most of my weekends this Summer are already booked up with festivals and events. Not all necessarily in London but most are. There's a real atmosphere in London during the Summer and it's quite exciting. Hoping to see some outside cinema, music festivals, there's so much to do.

And then there's the food. A friend of mine is a real foody so he knows all the cool and quirky places in London to go which means that I've got some nice restaurants to look forward to as well.

I'm also heading outside of London too. A quick cheeky weekend in Clacton, and one in Manchester and then a jazz festival in Marlborough so lots more to look forward to. Thank goodness I live in the heart of London as otherwise I don't think I would be able to do as much as I want to do. I'm sure there will be lots of drunken evenings after work along the Southbank, that's for sure.

So while Australia starts getting cooler, London (hopefully) will start warming up and all the Aussies will be flying over just in time. It's a shame I missed so much of last year's Summer and the Olympics. I can't believe I was travelling when it all happened. Everyone was talking about how friendly and social the country was. 

Two posts in two days

So sadly, Hong Kong is definitely a no-go. I’ve been restricted access to our flight booking portal. No, not because I’ve been naughty, but because I am resigning! Woohoo! So gradually I need to start getting my stuff sorted.

It’s also an Arabic bank holiday which means that Etihad and Air Seychelles, who I was hoping to fly with via Abu Dhabi, are going to have chocka block flights. It’s probably best I save my money anyway as it gives me the chance to invest it more wisely. I’ve done plenty of travelling over the past year so it’s probably about time I calmed the hell down and saved my pennies. I could have got an agent rate in HK but the hotels were still quite expensive. The whole trip would probably have cost around £600-700 which is far too much money than what I can actually afford at the moment.

I’m hoping that my new company will pay for my gym membership so that I don’t have to! That would save me a fortune, so obviously I want a good one. I really need to get my fitness up and invest in a sports holiday. As I’ve already discussed, I think Virgin Active is the way to go. Although a friend posted on Facebook the other day (when he tagged himself at the Virgin Active in Milton Keynes) that all hair straighteners and men wandering around naked should be banned from all male changing rooms. And I couldn’t agree more.

So I have a number of investment opportunities coming up and desperately need to get a meeting set up with an accountant. To help me work out the best way of doing it. It’s not just simple stocks and shares through a trading company though. They are friends and my own companies so a lot of thought needs to go in, as to how best to utilize my money.

I don’t think I will be getting a car for a while. As much as I would love one, London, for me, is the place to have a car, especially as I want to be pretty central. Public transport in London, although we complain about it a lot, is actually pretty great and I’m happy with it. The fares could do with being reduced though and as for the train fares in the UK, well they are just ridiculous!

Bye Bye Hong Kong

So sadly, I don’t think Hong Kong is on the cards at the moment. It’s one place that I have always wanted to go, however, it’s going to cost me a small fortune to get there and it would only be a weekend break so I think my money is probably better spent elsewhere. I have a number of different projects to work on and want to save up money as well to try and get myself out of debt and get a mortgage. I’ve still got a long way to go but as Tesco says, every little helps.

That was a subtly good marketing campaign wasn’t it. A well used phrase in society, add Tesco to the beginning of it and bam, you have a tag line that people will then start remembering. Every time I use it, I always think of Tesco now.

Anyway, I’m in the process of changing jobs as well. Again, very much in the early stages but fingers crossed for something good. I’m hoping to join Virgin Active as my new gym because, well, it’s a cool brand isn’t it, and I want to be associated with it. Still there is a couple around the area I am looking to move and it would mean I could also go to the Brighton and Manchester ones when I went to visit friends. I’m still on the protein, tribulus and ZMA tablets at the moment although I haven’t really put all my effort into getting fit which is kind of bad!

I missed my best friend’s birthday so I am hoping to take her to a spa for the day. Somewhere nice with a bit of champagne perhaps and then treat her to the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, followed by some delicious food at the diner next door. I don’t think she has been and if you haven’t already, it’s definitely worth it. Monday nights are the cheap nights but with lovely leather seats and sofas, you’ll end up falling asleep, it’s so comfortable!

Hong Kong

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. Very bad on my part.

I've been back from Thailand for a couple of days now and had an amazing time. I stayed at the InterContinental in Hua Hin which I would definitely stay at again. The location, although a two and a half hour drive from Bangkok airport was right on the beach in a prime spot of real estate. The property was beautiful and the staff were absolutely faultless. A quick £3 tuk-tuk ride into the main bar area led us to a much more chilled out and less seedy side of Thailand. I was still surprised at the number of older men with younger women but I really didn't feel like it was sleezy at all. I would much prefer it over somewhere like Pattaya.

Back home and I'm still looking at changing jobs with some exciting prospects in the pipeline so we will have to see what happens there. I only managed to get to the gym once whilst on holiday so I'm also desperate to get back into the swing of things and start taking my protein and zma again, despite not really having any holidays to look forward to. Still, Summer time in London is always good, even if it does rain half the time.

So at the end of another working week, nursing a terribly sunburnt back and shoulders, and I'm planning my next adventure. Hong Kong. In 30 hours that is.... Just 30 hours in Hong Kong and in only 2 weeks time. I've never been but I'm very excited. We will have to see what happens.....

Fitness and diet regime are finally paying off...

Another weekend is here! Woohoo! Finally I can tell everyone that my workout regime is actually really working and it’s all thanks to circuit training. I’ve really seen some noticeable improvement in my physique and I realised that I wasn’t actually eating enough, so when I was doing cardio, my body would burn off the calories the next day from my muscles instead of my fat.

I’ve also been taking ZMA and Tribulus supplements (as well as my protein shakes) and I think they are helping. If anything, the ZMA is definitely helping me get some deep sleep. I read a few posts about people not being able to sleep after taking it but it sends me out like a light and I even struggle to get up the next day!

Just a week to go to Thailand so the fitness results couldn’t have come at a better time. I just hope I am able to keep it up this week and not get to complacent. At the same time, I’m due to go out to a barbeque tomorrow which will mean a good few beers and a night out with work on Thursday which will also mean some more empty calories. I’ll just have to try and rein it in a bit and not go overboard. I’m working on Sunday so I don’t want to get to drunk anyway.

I’m really excited about Thailand and I even get to see a friend of mine while transiting Abu Dhabi airport that I haven’t seen for ages. She’s moving back to Australia so will be great to spend some time seeing her. We timed it well so fingers crossed for no delays and that we get to see each other at the airport.

I’m also starting to look for jobs in London although it’s probably still a bit early. There aren’t many good jobs in my line of work out there but London is the place to have them. If only I could get a US visa and I would be over there in a flash instead.

Finally getting warm

Another update for you. So the great news is that it has finally started to get warmer. Summer is on it's way! the thought of spending lazy Sundays in the park, going for a drink outside on Southbank and being able to walk to work without getting wet is definitely cheering me up.

Before that though, I get to go to Thailand in two weeks. I'm so excited as I've never been before. Economy though, no business class this time :(

Top Gear Cast - sildrome.com

I've just been watching Top Gear as well. It was the episode where the boys were racing to Milan for a football match. Just watching the guys take the Eurostar and the european trains and Clarkson taking the ferry makes me want to travel a bit more. I do love flying but the ferry reminds me of the school trips to France and Belgium for French and History classes. They were the good old days! It's just a shame my partner has expensive tastes and would rather take the Eurostar or fly.

I've also been looking around for another job. Something a bit more international. I would love to be able to travel as part of my job. Not too much. Definitely not so much that the novelty of taking business trips wears off but once every few months would be nice.

Here's an image that should cheer up your day. One of my favourites from Top Gear.

Jeremy Clarkson - fanpop.com

My top three muscle building foods and supplements

In order to build quality lean muscle, nutrition is vital. Many people will put in a lot of hours at the gym only to not get the results they want due to a poor diet. Your diet plays such an important role in the muscle building process that bodybuilder’s believe it is the 80-20 rule, 80% diet and 20% exercise.

A diet designed for muscle growth should contain a mixture high protein sources, complex carbohydrates and good fats such as omegas. Protein plays the primary role in the muscle building process as it provides the amino acids necessary to build muscle. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which are essential to muscle growth.

I have put together a short list of my top three muscle building foods that are affordable as well as being tried and tested.

Peanut Butter

That’s right, as delicious as peanut butter is, it can provide you with the nutrition to build muscle. Peanut butter is an ideal choice for bodybuilders in the off-season where most of the muscle is gained for competition. This is because peanut butter is very calorie dense, contains lots of goods fats and contains proteins. Nuts in general are very calorie dense and help to provide the calories to fuel workouts and promote recovery. Many people make the mistake of the thinking that all fats are bad for you. Most of the fats in peanut butter are unsaturated and are essential to help with natural testosterone production, which goes hand in hand with muscle development.

Oatmeal or porridge

Although oats do not contain much in the way of protein, I have added them to the list as they are the number one choice for breakfast by bodybuilders and athletes. Carbohydrates can be broken down in to two categories, slow digesting and fast digesting. If you are aiming to build a lean muscular physique, then you should be staying away from fast digesting carbs. These are typically simple sugars from things such as, candy, honey, soft drinks, sugary cereals, chocolate and so on. These fast digesting carbs create an insulin spike, which in turns leads to weight gain. Complex carbohydrates digest much slower and provide the body with constant energy rather than a rush of energy like simple sugars. When fuelling workouts it is important to consume complex carbohydrates, especially in the morning, as this will put you in good stead for the day and your workout. Another bonus of oats is the price, you can pay as little as £1.99 for a 2kg bag. A bodybuilders diet can get very expensive so it good to save money when you can. Eat a bowl for breakfast or mix them in with your post workout shake. It is often said that oats for breakfast is the cornerstone of a muscle building diet.

Protein Shakes

This may be a bit of an obvious choice but a protein shake, in particular a Whey protein shake can help yield fantastic results for muscle growth. When we train a muscle group for growth, we are actually breaking down the muscle fibres. After this the muscle fibres repair themselves, becoming bigger and stronger providing that the correct nutrition is in place. During the hour after exercise is when fuelling your muscles with amino acids is particularly important for the best results. Whey protein is one of the fastest digesting proteins there is, which is why it is an ideal choice for your post workout shake. Taking a protein shake straight after a workout allows the muscles to be flushed with muscle building amino acids and will kick start muscle growth.

These three foods are a stable part of my diet. I also include various other meats and fish. Remember, diet is the key to getting results so take the time to prepare your food and the results will follow.