Second year Sports Science, here we go!

For those who know me and are yet to know me, there is one thing that i’m pretty good at (if I say so myself) and that’s organizing, whether it’s my wardrobe or my uni books you can bet it’s colour coded and in alphabetical order.

I know things can get a little crazy, very quickly as university starts but there are a few things I do to help minimise the chaos. Although this may just work for me, maybe it’ll spark some ideas on how to keep you on par with the happenings of work, notes, tests and yourself! So with university just being a few weeks away; here are some things that help me stay on track of my work and help me stay a little sane too!

First, let’s start with the exciting stuff: Stationary.

I am a sucker for a good stationary shop, It’s got to be one of my most exciting things to do before going back to uni (I know i’m not the only one). Last year I had a way of organizing all my uni work that worked for me so that’s what i’m doing this year, if it’s not broken why fix it right!? So here are my stationary essentials for 2019;

Black files; I only have two of these – one for each semester. Although I have quite a few more subjects this year, I like to have one space where everything is. There is honestly nothing worse then scrounging around in a hurry trying to find something just because you can’t remember where you last placed it! I find that having one for each semester just makes the whole process easier and much more convenient!

If I do run out of space, I would separate my files into terms rather then semesters. That way all the necessary subjects and modules for that specific term is in one place.

Pastel coloured highlighters, dividers and side stickers.

I’m the type of person that feels organized once everything is colour coded, so I always make sure that my highlighters, dividers and stickers all have similar colours so that each subject has its own colour. I use the highlighters to help me focus on the important information rather than the lump sum and the dividers do what their name implies, divide my subjects from one another. I use the side stickers for each chapter that Ive made notes for and it also makes it easier to see whats what when the file is shut. Im honestly a sucker for this stuff!

This may be an obvious one but definitely a necessary one. A diary. I find that this is the most important thing to help me stay organised and on track for the year. I use it for everything from birthdays, exam dates to blog posts and ideas – it doesn’t leave my side. Sometimes things make more sense when they are written down rather then typed into notes on your phone, well for me in any case!

Because self-care is my number one priority in 2019, what’s uni essentials without some beauty essentials, am I right? Here are a few things that help me stay relaxed during the most stressful times at uni.

A face mask, its no news that if you want to feel like you remotely have everything together you should just put on a face mask, right? Well truth be told, there were been many times where thats exactly what I did to help me feel a little bit more put together then what I actually was!

I love this L’oreal face mask because it’s quick, only 10 minutes and it leaves my skin feeling so smooth and much brighter. I know it only said up to 7-10 face masks but I’ve honestly used it way more than 10 times and I still have a way to go – you don’t need to have a thick layer of it on, even the smallest amount makes the biggest difference!

I am a firm believer that your productivity is determined by your routine. From eating, gymming, even showering etc thats why when I give myself some ‘me time’, I make sure it is with products that I love. For Christmas, I got this gorgeous smelling body wash by iwori, Beauty of Africa – Ive honestly never smelt something so good before and so I have especially saved it for when I go back to uni.

This may seem like a bit of an odd one to some but if i’m having a bit of a stressed day or just need to relax for a second or two, I light some candles and switch on my himalayan salt lamp – it instantly relaxes the air and I instantly feel better. I love the aura these two things combined, project. 10/10 recommend both! This candle is a bit of a 2 in 1. It’s the royal botanicals Ditch Iris soy massage candle, first of all it smells like what dreams are made of and secondly, once it has been lit for a while – once you’ve blown it out and the wax has cooled, you can use it and massage it into your skin – amazing.

I would love to hear what your uni essential are? I have plenty space on my ever growing list 😉 

I’ve never done a post like this, I thought it would be interesting for someone who is just starting out their fitness journey and isn’t sure how to plan their workout days.

Essentially it is up to you and your body. I usually go by how my body is feeling, if my legs are still sore from the previous leg workout then I wouldn’t necessarily train them again even if it is my next leg day. Listening to your body is crucial when wanting results.

Before my workouts I always like to do a 5-10 minutes slow warm up, whether it be cycling or an incline on the treadmill just to make sure that my body isn’t cold when I start my workout, then once my workout is finished I do a 10 minute cool down stretch. Stretching is so important when workout out so make sure to always integrate it into your sessions (even though it can be a little tedious sometimes)!

On Monday’s I like to focus on my legs. It’s one of my less favoured areas of my body so I usually put more time and effort into planning and doing those then I would my other days. I train legs twice a week and then usually a full body session at the end of the week depending on how my body is feeling, however Ive recently been enjoying taking Saturday’s and Sunday’s off and using them as rest days.

My workout split at the moment looks a little like this:

Monday – Legs

Tuesday – Back and bis

Wednesday – Chest and tris

Thursday – Shoulders

Friday – Legs

Saturday & Sunday -Rest or Full body

I like integrating back and bis together because you’re essentially using your biceps when you are training back. It just so happens to work out that way depending on the exercises being done but I always do exercises during the workout that focuses mainly the specific areas and then I enjoy integrating supersets for both, back and biceps.

Chest and tris are definitely my least favourite thing to train, but I think it’s important to train weekly especially when trying to keep your body in proportion. A lot of girls think that only boys can train chest because they will get “man boobs” but that’s not the case at all. There are actually a few benefits from training chest, such as improving your posture, making your breasts perkier etc. So don’t neglect your pecs, your future self will thank you for it!

I definitely enjoy getting a little shoulder pump in the gym, it’s not my strongest point but it’s something I enjoy working on and challenging myself so I like to focus mainly on shoulders on a thursday.

As for full body, because it’s weekend and usually getting to the gym is a struggle I like to keep it short and simple and high intensity. If I don’t end up getting to the gym, i’ll opt for a run or a walk on the beach.

I’ll do abs at the end of every workout day that isn’t leg day, just because you need to activate you core a lot of the time when you are doing legs and it’s usually a hardcore session I personally don’t see the need for me to do abs as well but I do love doing 10 minute challenges as a burnout!

Depending on the day and time I go to gym, if it’s too busy for me and there aren’t many machines open for a specific workout I want to do – I would just swop days around to make my life a little easier (TIP: This also helps prevent a little bit of gym anxiety!) This workout split has been working for me and my schedule for the past few months, so hopefully it will inspire you to create a schedule that works well for you and your lifestyle.

If you would be curious to see some of my workouts, please let me know in the comments below or send me a dm on instagram – I would be happy to film some clips!

It is no secret to those who know even just a little bit about me that one of the things that help keep me sane is exercise or more specifically, HIIT workouts. One of my best ways to blow off some steam is to smash out a High Intensity Interval Training Workout! So you can understand my excitement when HIIT Fit Stellies contacted me and very generously offered me a month free of charge to try out their classes.

I started going to their HIIT classes 4 weeks ago, I didn’t think I was that unfit until I was pretty much heaving at the end of the first workout (bearing in mind I have been recovering from a chest infection, but I think i’m just saying this to make myself feel better). It was honestly nothing like I had ever done before – I like to think i’m pretty good at creating killer hiit workouts but there was just something about doing a hiit workout with other people and having the coaches constantly motivating you to push harder that made it 100 times more difficult, in the best type of difficult there is.

Before the class begun, I got chatting to one of the members of HIIT fit, she was telling me how she started seeing a difference in her fitness levels and in her body after going to the classes just 3 times in one week! What’s nice about this is that the coaches were not inexperienced, they were extremely friendly and knew exactly what they were saying. One of the greater things I noticed is that they often corrected your form if you were doing it incorrectly and they also give alternative options to an exercise if you’re feeling a little too fatigued or if you have an injury of some sort.

During my first workout, I felt pretty good and fresh in the beginning but as the workout progressed, I became very tired and my body hurt, A LOT! Because this was the first HIIT workout I had done in over a month, I was exhausted when it came to the end. I definitely felt like it was a good kick in the butt and a good wake up call to get my behind back into gear this semester! One thing I really did appreciate was how the coaches explained why we need to do certain exercises in a specific way instead of them just showing us and getting on with it.

Waking up the next day was, let’s just say an easy challenge. When i’m sussing out whether a workout worked for me or didn’t i don’t only go by how sore my body is, i also go by how i feel mentally. Yes, I was stiff from my feet to my shoulders (which is always a good sign of a good workout) I woke up and got up without hesitation, which is a rare for me – usually takes me a few minutes to get up and at it. I’ve always found that a good workout the day before sets me up for a good day the next day!

As the weeks progressed I found that I was starting to get a lot fitter doing these workouts, I noticed I was doing more reps and had more endurance for those last few seconds of the exercise – don’t get me wrong, I was definitely still struggling but I could see results even after two weeks which is almost always the aim, to progress!

HIIT Fit is an amazing way to do a good workout in a short amount of time, their memberships are crazy good so if you are in stellenbosch and are wanting to try it out – all of the information is on their instagram or you can just dm them, @hiitfit.stellies

Some things to take note when you do try it out; I made the mistake of not taking a towel to my first class so when we did exercises on the floor my little knees got a bit sore and I ended up using my jersey. So make a mental reminder that water and a sweat towel are essential and some of the floors are wooden and get polished so make sure you wear shoes that have grips or else you’ll find your lower back will start to pain because it’s slippery! Lastly, push yourself. If it burns, it means it’s working!

The HIIT Fit workouts didn’t only push me mentally but also physically. I learned some pretty cool new exercises, realised I embarrassingly have no coordination whatsoever and that you can get a sufficient amount of exercise in 30-35 minutes! I’ve absolutely loved every minute with the HIIT Fit fam and I know you will too! 

I just want to say a little thank you to HIIT Fit Stellies for allowing me to come into their space and experience the magic they project and offer the beautiful women in and around Stellenbosch! 

Disclaimer: HIIT FIT Stellies did offer me a month free trial with them and asked me to write about my experience. I want to make it clear that I would not promote or encourage something I do not believe in but with my love for health and fitness, I felt right at home with the HIIT FIT fam and believe you will too!