When it comes to exercising at home, there are many different types of equipment that are available and that can give you a great workout. One of the best all-around home exercise equipment pieces you can buy is a rowing machine.

To find a rowing machine model that’s right for you, check out this website for all of the rowing machine latest reviews, and keep reading for our tips on how to correctly use a rowing machine.

Today’s rowing machines range from simple, easy-to-use models to sophisticated machines with all of the bells and whistles to truly take your home workout to the next level. Unfortunately, as straight-forward and simple as a rowing machine may look at first glance, many people often make crucial mistakes while working out that won’t allow them to gain the full potential the machine can provide. If you already own a rowing machine, or are thinking about buying one, here are some common mistakes and ways to avoid them to get the most from your workouts.

Not Understanding How the Machine Works

The first thing you should do before using a rowing machine is to learn about the different parts of the machine and how it works to give you a full-body workout.

While there can be differences from model to model, every rowing machine is built with the same basic design. A rowing machine is built on a long, low platform. At the front end there will be a tank of water or a flywheel that provides resistance when you pull on the handle from a seated position. There is a small platform that you put your feet on to push, and you sit on a seat that is on tracks and moves forward and backward as you row.

Because you use your arms and legs, many different muscles get a good workout, including your calves, quads, abs, glutes, biceps, triceps and deltoids.

Doing Too Much Too Soon

Hopefully, since you bought a rowing machine or will soon be buying one, you want to use it for a long time. The hardest thing about working out is sticking to your routine, especially if it’s been a long time since you had a workout routine.

You may say to yourself that you want to workout five or six times a week. This is a noble goal, but you should start out slower than that for the first few weeks to avoid burning yourself out.

Instead, tell yourself that you are going to row for 20 minutes, three times a week. This is a commitment that allows you to gain the benefits of exercise without the undue pressure of forcing yourself to workout more than you may want to. You can increase the time or the amount of workouts per week as you use the machine more, and before you know it, you may be using it five times or more a week.

Not Using the Right Resistance

Once you know the basics of a rowing machine, you can adjust the resistance accordingly so you can maximize your workout.

Many first-time users may just jump on and start rowing, which can be a big no-no. If the resistance is set too high, you can injure yourself or just not be able to workout long enough to get the good effects. If the resistance is too light, your muscles won’t benefit. Adjust the resistance so that you can row for fifteen or twenty minutes, but not so easily that you are not tired by the end of your workout.

Imagine the resistance being like the gears on your bike: the heavier it is, the more difficult it is to use for extended periods of time. Find the right resistance as you start out, and then you can increase it over the following weeks for a more intense workout.

Rowing Only Your Arms

When you watch someone else row, it may look like they are mostly using their arms, but this is wrong. The truth is, a rowing machine is such a good choice precisely because it works out your entire body when you use it correctly.

Follow:

Don’t make out like you don’t have them too.

We all have little voices in our head from time to time. Not in a worrying ‘the vicar called Tony told me to paint the cat red’ sort of way – I just mean that ongoing internal monologue. We tell ourselves we can’t do things, or that we’re going to make a fool of ourselves, or that we’re looking a bit chubby today. That sort of thing.

Except I don’t really.

I was thinking about this the other day, and I reckon I have my internal monologue pretty well trained. It’s taken effort, and I think a lot of it is to do with age, (I’ve always thought my forties were going to be awesome and I’m building up to that), but on the whole my head voices seem to generally be on my team. They are cheerleading rather than criticising, and I’m grateful for that.

Let’s imagine I look in the mirror.

Here I am:

img_0116

Those cubby cheeks! I look about four years old.  View Post

Follow:

I have a reputation in my family for being very hard indeed to buy presents for. Apparently I have this face when I open presents, that looks kind of disappointed, horrified, sad and indifferent, all at the same time. I’m very conscious of doing the face, and so in my efforts not to, I think I just make it worse.

I’ve tried to recreate what happens for you here:

Chirstmas wish list

You can see why people dread buying me presents.

The truth is though that I don’t ever hate any of the presents. (Okay, so maybe sometimes…) Mainly it’s just that I’m not especially bothered about things. I love buying other people presents and watching them open them, but that’s different. The downside of being a grown up is that if there is anything you desperately want during the year, you just buy it for yourself, so Christmas isn’t that whole thing of finally getting the toy you’ve waited all year for.

So, when it comes to Christmas presents, I find it really hard to think of things I really want.

But then the team at Vorwerk asked me to take part in their #AllIWantForChristmas campaign, designed to uncover what is on the ultimate Christmas wishlists of some of the UK’s top parenting and lifestyle bloggers, (that’s me by the way), so I had to think about it. I did say that a robot hoover probably wasn’t going to be on the list, even though they do look very cool, but they said that was okay, they were just interested to see what did make the list.

I decided that I’d come up with a proper fantasy list – all the things that I’d never be able to buy for myself: View Post

Follow:

Most people turn to vaping as an alternative to smoking tobacco cigarettes. While research is still being carried out on the long-term effects of e-cigarettes, what’s clear is that vape concentrates, when compared to smoking tobacco, have clear health advantages.

Quitting Smoking

If you want to stop smoking, vaping can help with the process. E-Cigarettes allow you to control the amount of nicotine you are inhaling and this gradual process of cutting down can help with withdrawal symptoms, in the same way that nicotine patches can.

Smoking also has a psychological element and so with vaping you can still enjoy the sensation of smoking, with none of the resultant tobacco smoke. Vaping can also be enjoyable as you are moving away from the taste and smell of tobacco and instead have the choice of a wide range of e-liquids to choose from, which not only taste great but smell good too.

Most smokers know traditional cigarettes are not good for them and are keen to kick the habit. If vaping can help curb that addiction and in the process help extend your life expectancy then that can only be a good thing for you and the people around you.

What’s Inside a Tobacco Cigarette?

The main problem with tobacco cigarettes is that every time you light up you are breathing in a cocktail of over 4,000 chemicals, at least 60 of which are known to be carcinogens in humans. The list includes lead, arsenic, cadmium, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Most of the time we would run a million miles from these chemicals but in cigarettes we seem to accept them.

This mix of chemicals enters our bloodstream every time we inhale, and it is what causes the 14 different types of cancer linked to cigarettes; plus heart disease; and a variety of other lung diseases including the disabling COPD.

The Risk of Passive Smoking

Smokers are risking their own lives but they are also putting others in danger through passive smoking. This can be particularly acute in confined spaces such as inside the home or during a car journey.

Every time a smoker lights up they are increasing the risk of a non-smoker in their vicinity getting lung cancer by 25%. In addition, they are also exposing them to higher risks of pharynx and larynx cancers, stroke, heart disease and COPD. To get an understanding of the severity of passive smoking, we only have to look at the estimated figure of deaths caused every year by second-hand smoke, which stands at around 600,000 people globally.

In children the effects can be even more striking with a higher risk of asthma, respiratory infections, meningitis and cot death all being associated with passive smoking. In part, this is why the government imposed a ban on smoking in vehicles with under-18s present in 2015, and why some people would also like to see a smoking ban imposed in any homes where children live.

Because vaping doesn’t produce tobacco smoke, the NHS has indicated that the risk from passive vaping is negligible. Therefore the vehicle ban does not apply to e-cigarettes.

Follow:

When I was 19 years old, I moved into my first home of my own. I lived there with Bee, then about two years old, and her dad. It was a new build – a teeny tiny thing with a living room, small kitchen and two small bedrooms. We were renting it, obviously, and the landlord was clearly not looking to splash out on the fixtures and fittings.

I imagine him having a conversation with the builders along these lines:

‘Here are the carpet swatches we’ve got,’ says the builder in my head, ‘what do you want to go for?’

‘Hmmm…’ says the landlord, ‘they’re all a little bit carpety. A bit warm and cosy looking. Do you have something cheaper? Something a bit more like the sort of mat you wipe your feet on as you come into a supermarket?’

‘Well,’ says the builder, ‘we have this really scratchy, brown cord, but it’s pretty nasty. We’d normally only put that in prison visiting rooms.’

‘It’s perfect!’ says the landlord, ‘let’s have that in the whole house!’

It wasn’t nice. View Post

Follow:

I’ve been thinking today about all of the different village halls and community centres I must have been to in my life.

I know that sounds boring, but bear with me.

Some that I particularly remember:

  • The village hall I hired when I stupidly agreed to Bee having everyone in her class to her fifth birthday party. (Note to parents of girls – five year old boys are LOONS.) Also, I forgot the cake. Whoops.
  • The two different community halls where both Bee and Belle went to Badgers. (It’s St John Ambulance for kids. Not actual badgers.)
  • The hall I went to as a child to learn to be a majorette. I never quite got good enough to be allowed a baton in parades – only pom-poms. I did however master what has been forever known as my majorette face – the face I apparently pull whenever I am concentrating. (I expect I am making it now as I type, although you can’t see it obviously.)
  • The forty seven at least different halls that I’ve visited to offer moral support to my mum at a craft fair.

And these are just examples – I can think of masses of them, and I’m sure you can too.

The fact is that most us have probably been in dozens of village halls without really paying them any attention or appreciating the value they pay in the community. Village halls like this one at Creech St Michael – a little village about ten minutes from me:

Creech St Michael village hall Cif Community Clean View Post

Follow:

Yesterday I had one of the most interesting and enjoyable work days I’ve had in a long time.

You remember how at the end of last year I won a couple of awards?

*whistles casually*

Who am I kidding?? I wasn’t casual about it! It was AWESOME.

I was up for the award for Best UK Parent Blog in the inaugural Vuelio Blog Awards last November, and pretty damn excited about it. The night came around – very glitzy – and I won! Hoorah! That wasn’t even the best bit though. Unbeknown to me, there was an extra category at the end for the Best Overall UK Blog, and I only went and bloody won that too.

As the second year of the Vuelio Blog Awards rolled around, I have to admit that I was a bit nervous. The pressure was on you see. Would I have to win again or feel like a total loser?? What if I didn’t even make the shortlist? It all felt a bit awkward.

And then… sweet relief! Vuelio got in touch to ask if I’d like to be a judge. BOOM!  View Post

Follow:

‘Does my blog need a niche?’ is a question I ask myself fairly often, especially after conversations like this:

Random person: ‘Hey! Lovely to meet you! What do you do?’

Me, thinking to myself ‘well, I eat, sleep, poo…’: ‘I write a blog!’

Random person, a bit confused but trying to sound interested: ‘Oh that’s cool! What about?’

Me, sounding like the lamest person ever: ‘Oh you know, all sorts.’

You see? Rubbish. I do think it might be cooler to be able to say something like ‘Oh yes, I blog specifically about knitting patterns for dog jackets’, or something like that. (Sometimes I also say ‘niche’ in my head in an American accent so it sounds like ‘nitch’. I couldn’t figure out what anyone was talking about when I went to a US blog conference a few years ago.)

does my blog need a niche?

If you’re a blogger, you’ve probably felt the same. (Unless you do blog about the dog jacket knitting patterns.) 

Except here’s what I think…

YOU ARE YOUR NICHE. View Post

Follow:

Necessary issues to settle before moving

A poorly organised moving process can cost you a lot of nerves as well as money. Before making this serious step, make sure you have a plan and make a list of things not to forget. Great planning will guarantee a painless relocation. 

While choosing a company to trust relocating all your belongings it is better finding the best and most reputable one as only trustworthy orange county movers will guarantee safety of your stuff and here are some recommendations on how to find reliable movers:

  • Ask your friends or colleagues for referrals, browse internet for reviews;
  • Make sure that the moving company you are about to hire is licensed and insured;
  • Finally check business credentials.

These are only few basic tips that might be useful while preparing for moving out and relocating to a new house.

Packing and organizing tips

After moving company is chosen and all insurance coverage issues are settled one may be left with another hard assignments as packing. Your whole life must be carefully analyzed and packed in boxes. This whole procedure might take a lot of time so it is necessary creating a priority packing list and evaluate how much time packing will consume. Here are few essential details not to forget when start packing:

  1. Try estimating how many boxes you will need to pack all stuff you are planning taking with you. Other useful things that might be handy are: bubble wrap  that will take care of all fragile things, strong tape, paper or old newspapers for lining boxes, knives, bolts etc. Consider using red duct tape on boxes with all essential thing that will be required shortly after moving in at a new place;
  2. Carefully look through all your belongings and decide what is useful and what can be thrown away or given for charity;
  3. All essential things for the first days at your new home like first-aid kit, basic clothes,  kitchen stuff must be packed and moved  in advance;
  4. Try to pack one room at a time and don’t forget labeling all your boxes with indication of the room to which it belongs – it will be easier to find necessary things after. Try to keep all boxes for each room together, label boxes that contain breakables or fragile items;
  5. Don’t forget to pack all important documents together and keep them close to yourself. Another useful idea is to back up your computers;
  6. It is important to notify utility services at both old and new places few weeks prior to your move; hire cleaners to take care of both premises.

Following these easy instructions will make your moving process much easier as you will have your list of priorities and won’t forget any little detail.

shutterstock_154243622, moving

shutterstock_154243637, moving

Images – Lucky Business/shutterstock

Follow:

Today I have another guest from the man I like to call ‘Matched Betting Jon’ from The Money Shed. Jon has written a few posts for me before, and has one today about making money from matched betting during the football season. I’d like to say Jon pays to post here, but we’ve struck up an unlikely online friendship, based principally on him insulting my love of caravans, and so I let him post here now and again. I’ve done matched betting myself, and it isn’t some weird scam I promise, so it’s worth a go.

Over to Jon…

Foreword – I have written A Beginners Guide to Matched Betting for Jo on here which you might like to read if you wish to give this a go.

Now that August has finally rolled around and we’ve seen the most of whatever ‘summer’ we’re likely to get, the next thing on the calendar we can look forward to is every matched bettor’s favourite time of year – the return of the Premier League!

What you need to get started with RISK FREE Matched Betting

Football offers at the weekend are the bread and butter of every matched bettor, and there is potential to make a healthy profit each month with the risk-free offers that the bookies throw at punters during the season.

Here is a selection of the best offers that we saw last year, many of which are likely to make a return for the upcoming 2016-17 football season! View Post

Follow:

You want a baby. Oh, how you’ve longed for those ten tiny fingers to grasp yours and those two little eyes to stare up at you. How painful it is when this desire is thwarted time and again by infertility. But there is still hope. Depending on what you’ve gone through and the treatments that may not have worked, it may be time to investigate egg donor IVF. But in the world of infertility, which itself is shrouded in mystery, the practice of using donor eggs for IVF is riddled with misconceptions.

Here are five common misconceptions—and some information to help put your mind at ease if you are considering using donated eggs.

Misconception #1: Using an egg donor is for older women

This is partially true. With each passing month, women lose some of their egg stores. Generally, women are born with close to a million eggs, and by age 30, only about one-eighth of them remain. By age 45, only one percent of women can conceive naturally. On top of that, older eggs are more prone to genetic abnormalities.

However, there are other reasons a woman might need a donor egg. Some women have fought through illnesses, but have impacted their fertility with medications. Others experience decreased ovarian function or even early menopause before age 40. Other women simply experience unexplained infertility.

Misconception #2: Anyone can be an egg donor

A common belief is that egg donors are just looking to make some extra cash—and therefore, they must be uneducated and economically disadvantaged. However, almost all egg donors have completed high school or are pursuing or have finished a college degree. While these women are compensated for their time and for treatment, most donors agree that they primarily want to donate in order give parents the chance to experience the joy of having a family.

Additionally, becoming an egg donor is not as simple as filling out a quick application; all egg donors must pass a rigorous screening that includes medical, genetic and psychological testing prior to being selected to donate. Of the thousands of applicants that egg banks get each year, only about 10 percent meet the standards to become an egg donor.

Misconception #3: Frozen donor eggs are riskier than fresh donor eggs

Although using a frozen donor egg to complete IVF is one of the newer assisted reproduction technologies available, the technology is no longer in its infancy stage. Previously, a slow-freeze process allowed ice crystals to form inside eggs during freezing, damaging them and leading to fewer viable eggs after thawing. Now, the most successful clinics use a technique called vitrification to freeze donor eggs by immersing them in liquid nitrogen—in other words, flash freezing them. With vitrification, frozen eggs produce almost the same likelihood of pregnancy as fresh donor eggs.

Misconception #4: Using an egg donor takes a lot of time and coordination

This is really only true for those who choose a fresh egg donor. For a fresh egg donation, the donor and the recipient must both be ready at the same time. The donor has to take medications to stimulate egg production, the recipient has to take medications to prepare her uterus for the forthcoming embryo, and both women have to get their monthly cycles in sync so that when the eggs have been retrieved and cultured, the mother-to-be is ready for implantation. And if the egg donor is not local to the recipient, traveling back and forth to the clinic is another complication. Not to mention, some donors do not respond as well to the medications, and it’s impossible to predict how many eggs a donor will produce.

When using frozen donor eggs, many of these steps are eliminated. Donors have already been through their egg retrieval, and a recipient can simply select a donor who meets their needs and can begin the IVF procedure when the timing is right for them. Additionally, the recipient is informed up front how many frozen eggs they will be receiving.

Misconception #5: The baby won’t look or feel “yours”

It’s heartbreaking to think that this is such a common fear for women who so very desperately want a baby. On the practical side, many couples often choose a donor that looks similar to mom, and use the father’s sperm, when possible, to have a genetic tie. On the emotional side, from the moment that little embryo burrows into the uterine lining to the moment the umbilical cord is clipped, mom and baby will share an unmistakable bond. To have two hearts beating inside the same body, to share nutrition, to feel each other’s movements is to forge a connection that is hard for non-moms to understand. And from birth on, you will have decades more time to connect with this new member of the family—who may inherit more from you than you may think. Genetics, after all, are not the only thing that determines a family.

Follow:

So you’re single again. Sometimes, breakups happen for a good reason. Other times…blame it on timing, stress, fear or sheer impulsiveness. Whatever the reason, you now find yourself without a boyfriend.

But you just can’t stop thinking about him.

Whether he broke up with you, or you dumped him, you just know that the split was wrong and you tell yourself, “I’m going to get my ex boyfriend back.” That sounds good in theory, but before you take charge and get back into his life, make sure that you’re right by looking for these simple signs:

Everyone Thinks You Should Get Back Together

You know that you and he belong with each other. Sure, you could be wrong, but then your best friend mentions how good you two were together. And then your mother does, too. Heck, you ran into his father at the grocery store and even he mentioned it. Yes, it seems that everyone knows you should get back with your ex.

While the opinions of a group of people are not always necessarily true, in this case, it’s a good sign. The people in your life have your best interests at heart: they don’t want to see you get hurt or make a terrible mistake. If your loved ones are telling you that you and your ex were good together, then it’s safe to use that as confirmation of your own feelings.

The Thought of Being With Other People is Crazy

You broke up, moved out and moved on, convinced that the future is bright and another perfect guy is right around the corner. But…you can’t imagine yourself with anyone else. Try as hard as you can, you can’t see yourself with that cute guy from the gym or the veterinarian your friend set you up with. No matter how hard you try, you can only see yourself with your ex.

And you can’t imagine him with anyone else, either. Not because of mere jealousy, but because no one knows him like you do. You know his favorite things, his quirks, his turn ons and turn offs. These thoughts are good signs that you miss him and have genuine feelings for him.

Just do not confuse these thoughts with rosy nostalgia: be honest with yourself about your relationship and make sure your are not convincing yourself of them out of the fear of being alone.

You Don’t Regret The Time You Spent Together

Breakups can make a relationship seem like a waste of time. What was it all for? You’re a little older and now back to square one, on the dating scene…it would have been better to not get involved with your ex at all.

But when you think about the relationship with your ex, it makes you smile. You remember that, sure, there were bad times, but the good ones far outnumbered them and you were genuinely happy together. You know that the relationship was not a waste of time, but a part of you that, even after breaking up, would be just as good now as it was then. In fact, being away from each other has made you realize all the more that the two of you were good for each other.

That doesn’t sound like regret. That sounds like true longing for what was.

The Breakup Was Cordial

If the breakup was bad, or you caught him in Amsterdam’s red light district or something, then these points are moot: you obviously broke up for severe reasons and you should let your ex go.

If, however, the breakup was amicable, then there is always a chance it could be saved. Perhaps the two of you have stayed in touch, or even remained friends that can still go out together with friends and have drinks, or run into each other at a party and not feel awkward. Cordial behavior toward one another is a good sign that there are truly no hard feelings and that the relationship may still be salvageable.

If you have not stayed close, reach out to him and see how he feels about the breakup. Chances are, he will be honest with you either way: if he is angry, he will show it by being short with you (or, really laying into you!), and if he is receptive, then he will love hearing from you. Either way, you will know how he feels and it will give you a good idea of how to proceed from there.

Not all breakups are permanent, so pay attention to these signs to see if your should try again, or just let it go.

Amy Banks works as a relationship therapist. She writes on topics of the heart for a selection of publications both online and offline.

 

Follow: