Goal Setting for success

I managed to finish the marathon, collected my medal and had a celebratory meal with the family. It was all rather lovely.

Then I did nothing, literally. Just look at the lack of blog posts.

Apart from a few attempts at heading to the gym and a bit of yoga my physical exertion peaked at ripping off my next piece of a baguette.

With the start of summer well on its way after months of saying no to events I began to say yes to everything. I was attending birthday drinks, Saturday nights drink, before work drinks (I work in the evenings!) and generally anytime drinks.

My social life was off the scale but my body was suffering. After a rather boozy trip to Marbella I decided I had to stop and get back to training.

I have signed up for a half marathon in September and joined a gym using the benefit of corporate membership with work.

So far so good. Goal setting for success

It did get me thinking thought about casual exercise and the people who neglect their physical health for the majority of the year only to try a bikini body blitz two weeks before their holiday.

Whilst I have been a regular gym go-er for over five years I train better when I have focus and focus comes from having a goal.

These goals need to be specific.

Most people who visit the gym want to lose weight, tone up or get fitter but these ‘goals’ are so vague it is easy to forget them.

Specific goals such as working towards an ideal weight and training for a race provide the perfect platform to a better you.

It is well worth taking a bit of time out to look at your diary and identifying what you can work towards.

A wedding in October, a holiday in December, whatever the event by being mindful of it when training will help to maintain your focus and increase the effectiveness of your training time.

Plus once you reach your goal and feel fabulous, try to remember that feeling of achievement and make sure you plan your next goal.

Otherwise, like me, you could spend all that time and effort training hard for months to simply let it slip in a matter of weeks.

Power Balance Bands, is it just hype?

Getting out of bed this morning was trying, my legs are heavy and tired.

We ran just over 21 miles yesterday, however despite the aches and pains and general stiffness post training run, I am amazed I don’t feel that bad.

Could it be down to the beach training, I undertook in Spain last week, the Lucozade gel that we used mid run, or could it be down to a rubber band I wore around my wrist?

I was given a Power Balance band to try out, and I am wondering if there really is something in it. The innocuous looking band, is very thin and has two holograms on the sides, to be honest it looks a bit like a charity awareness bracelet, like the yellow Livestrong ones.

One the website the makers claim:

POWER BALANCE’S Mylar Holographic Disk (the same substance used to keep static electricity from damaging electrical components) has been imbedded with an electrical frequency that restores your body’s electrical balance, promoting a free exchange of positive and negative ions and align your body’s energy pathways.


The high density disk acts much like a switch, resonating within your system and turning on your energy field while it clears the pathways so the electro-chemical exchange functions like the well-tuned generator it was designed to be.

When the static Power Balance Hologram comes in contact with your body’s energy field, it begins to resonate in accordance with each individual’s biological, creating a harmonic loop that optimizes your energy field and maintains maximum energy flow while clearing the pathways so the electro-chemical exchange functions like the well-tuned generator it was meant to be.

It claims to improve strength, flexibility and balance, but to be honest looking at it and its price tag of £24.99, I was extremely skeptical.

My previous long run, 18 miles was tough and ended in shoulder pain preventing me from running any further. Yesterday’s run was very different, even up to the final few metres we were still able to talk well and on a respiratory level, I felt quite fit. On a muscular level, my legs felt like dead weights but after the run, I did not feel the need to lie down for hours unable to function, I felt ok.

It is really hard to tell if the band had any impact or if the placebo effect gets you through it is a tough one to call.

I will most definitely be using the band again, and will compare it against a long run without it.

Power Balance have many celebrity endorsers including London Wasps and Shaquille O’Neal to name just two.

Rachel, a strength conditioning coach, PT and physio said : “I really dont know too much about the science behind it although I do know that I am heaps strong when I use it!”

It could be all in the mind but if it helps me get across the finish line, any faster or feeling stronger then I am definitely going to buy into it for now and wear the band on all training runs.