Hardangervidda/Flåm/Jotunheimen trip

As I promised, I am coming back with little update about my recent weekend trip.

As 17th of May is Norwegian national day and it is free, as well as 20th of May, we had all 4 days for ourselves! :)

the beginning of Hardangervidda - national tourist road

We started our trip from passing Hardangervidda - mountain plateau, which - on this time of the year - is still covered in snow and ice. 

Hardangervidda in the mid of may ;)

 Hardangervidda is an extraordinary place, which will be ever more special for me now <3

Stalheim hotel and mountains around it. Photo from visitnorway.com

Stalheim hotel was another destination on our trip. The view from hotels terrace is amazing, as well as the route down (Stelheimskleiva) - the steepest route in Europe!

view from Stalheim's hotel

grill on our way to next trip destination

 

marinated chicken was on the menu ;)

grilled chicken sandwich

Next 2 days we spend in wonderful small city Flåm, which is a Norway in a nutshell for me. 

 

Flåm in the evening

It has fiord, beautiful and high mountains around, little wooden houses and many mountain pathways for hiking, cycling and skiing. 

Up in the mountains with the view on Nærfiord

 We managed to take a proper mountain trip which took us few hours and was approximately 10km long. And found local brewery very welcoming the same evening :) 
We felt so good in Flåm and the weather was so amazing that we had to force ourselves to leave this hospitable place... :)

beautiful view from Stegastein

 Aurland's viewpoint (Stegastein) was the next on our tour. The weather was perfect for climbing up in the hills (with car this time) and admire Nærfiord from above.

grilled salmon - yummy!

grilled salmon menu :)

mighty Jotunheimen Mountains

Last, but not least, we crossed Jotunheimen - the highest mountain range in Norway. This was spectacular! But, I have to admit, very scary at the same time! We were there almost alone and the scope of mountains was even overwhelming! On passing mountain shelters, we met professional Alpinists who were discovering Jotunheimen Mountains by foot (and skies).

waterfall in Jotunheimen mountains

Despite it were only 4 days, I totally relaxed, charged my batteries and had a wonderful, and very emotional :), time. It was all about relax, chill, love, celebration and splurging! Like a proper vacations should be :)

first ice creams this year ;)

"Nordic's kitchen" ;)

Up to the fiords!

And finally moment I've waited for so long, has come! We are about to leave Oslo for few days for mountain trip. Fiords are waiting! :)

Due to weather conditions, our trip to Trolltunga has to be postponed. Actually, conditions are good, but for those who want to ski ;) we were more into hiking, but with 20cm of snow, it won't be possible until mid of June.

So, we are starting our adventure from visiting Flåm - the best place in whole Norway, which is a 'Norway in a nutshell' for me. It has fiord, mountains, little Norwegian houses and outstanding nature all around. We will take for sure some mounting trip from there, since spring has already came to that region.

We are all packed, have lot of food supplies and positive attitude. I am about to relax and enjoy Norway!

For all of you who wants to celebrate 17th of may (constitution day in Norway) with some extra shopping deal  - check out MyRevolution's great offer for upcoming 3 days: 

Workouts in Torun

not-only-training -clothes picture

For few days I'm in Poland, at my home-place. Beeing away from work and Norway doesn't mean beeing away from my daily lean body routine. Exercising also helps me dealing wth hard time I'm having now.

my home workout equipment

I stick to (slightly modified) plan and I did:

* Thursday: legs&abs workout followed by 30 minutes of intervals on elliptic machine

* Friday: 30 minutes morning cardio

* Saturday: back&biceps followed by 30 minutes of intervals

plus each day some classic push ups.

I really enjoy the fact that I have own elliptical machine at home and few weights. This let me exercising on a daily basic without need to buy gym access for that week. 



Beside that I try to enjoy my stay (as much as it is possible) by visiting spa, eating delightful food and enjoying time with my family and good book. 

Little break from Norwegian reality.

Norwegian Easter

As far as I observed, Norwegian are all about celebrating and getting into right celebration mood. 
I think it is very good to celebrate tiny little things, to make your life more colourful - Norwegians obviously know that too!

Easter goodies - lots of chocolate and marzipan

Shops were filled with Easter goods for about two month ago. 
Easter treats, Easter eggs, yellow flowers - everything which is yellow, with bunny or egg has its priority place in the shop shelves.

So how Norwegians celebrate Easter (norw. påske)? Few things catches my attention:

present boxes in shape of eggs

• presents (most of the times candies) are packed in egg-shaped packages

• it is a time of cross country skiing and having mountain trip

  

  'typisk norsk' tour kit

• trips to country houses are the standard 

•  Kvikk Lunsj (chocolate waffle) and oranges are THE MUST on that trips

• it is more about celebrating outside than inside

påske krim - also on to-do list during Easter

•  at least one criminal novel has to be read during Easter time 

For me Norwegians are spending their Easter in a very active way which is one we should learn from them! :)

 

 

 

Exploring London

We have a wonderful time, here in London. No time to share everything, but at least I will put some memorable photos from last days. 

Thai kitchen for the first time! Dinner on Valentines Day <3

 

Amazing musical 'We Will Rock You' which we sow on Valentines Day

Exploring the city - China Town

M&Ms shop

Shopping at Holland&Barrett

amazing steak for dinner!

Active rest days and training periodisation

Photo by Aleksander Eilertsen

Do you train hard and you are devoted to each to your workout? Then you have to remember about proper rest day. An active rest day, we can called it. 

Why?

Your muscles needs time to recover! With reason weight trainings are normally split into parts - just to give your body time to repair each muscle you train drugining your workout. The time you're muscle have to recover after very hard weight training is approximately 48 hours. With lighter training, it can be 24 hours.

Training to much might be as harmfull as no training at all - no motivation&no progress

Why for?

To avoid mental and phisicall overtraining. If you train without breaks, your body will be stiff and you will loose the joy which came from working out. Even if you are in the 'fat burning machine' mood you have to consider giving yourself a break.
It also will prevent injuries. You want to train for years, do you? :)

Massage can be the most pleasant form of a rest day, however it costs, but it is worth considering! Your body will be gratefull for that! :)

How?

Taking a rest day not neccesary means lying all day on the sofa. Keep your daily activity in normal, but do not workout that day. You can take a walk, of course, but by avoiding working out I meant running 10 kilometers ;)
Sleep a little longer, have an relaxing stretch session, just enjoy your time :) 
If you have a possibility to take a massage, do it!

Recovery week

In a longer perspective, there is also good to give body some longer rest than just a day. 
You might consider a week off from workout each 3-4 months of your typical training session (also known as training periodisation). A one week break won't destroy your figure and progress (unless you won't eat all day long in McDonald ;), but might help with getting more energy for upcomming training which can result in even better progress than you thought! 

This chart might look complicated but in fact it shows how rest day can increase your progress after taking a little break from training

Just be carefull with your diet druning the receovery week. Your body won't need that much calories intake as in days filled with training.

An example of training periodisation

Always try to look at your trainings with a long-time perspective. It is what you do day by day which counts, but to plan ahead is also crucial here. 


I am spending my today's rest day at work and maybe with some 20 minutes stretch session :) Have a nice Saturday!

Shots of London - day four

Fish dish!

Mint tea

Sightseeing :)

Sightseeing

Evening friends

Shots of London - day three

Trying Diet Cherry Coke

Shopping in Organic Shop

Pimm's for the first time

A glass of Pimm's

Cesar salad

Wonderfull place for lunch and drinks!

Cheese time!