Pole dancing

Hi
I have a couple of pt sessions left ,very sad , but it's ok I'm going to keep them up and pay for the myself !
Still doing Zumba  in my zaggoras etc .

Just started a new venture ...I had my first pole dancing taster class last night and I loved it ! Signing up for the 6 week course later today . Only down side to pole dancing is I can't wear my zaggoras !

No it's not a change of career but it's always good to try something new .

Still love my hula hoop , waiting for my new led hoop to arrive !

Have a wedding to go to on Saturday
Have a pt this Sunday with Ayo
Always busy !

It's been a while

I have been training , just not blogging about it as much .

Still doing Zumba ,Bollywood now doing Caribsa ,and still training with Ayo . I hula hoop at home Have a session with Ayo tomorrow . Olympics started yesterday . Opening ceremony very good . GB team outfit was awful ! I have achieved my personal weight target of 9st 7 lb I am very happy my weight . It now fluctuates between 9st 8 and 9st 6 . BMI is approximately 23.6 . I am going to keep training . My funding for my personal trainer only has a couple more months then I think I will fund it myself as it has been very beneficial . I would and do recommend Ayo to everyone that asks . My Herat rate is improving it does not go as high any more ,I average at about 135 for high impact cardio which is an improvement. even at my highest rates I reach about 170 originally the highest I reached was 210!! So I must be healthier . I will try and write again soon Ps I'm also going to be a grandma in October. Lots of love nikki Yes I still wear zaggora hotpants , nudes, flares and my orange vivas . Can't exercise without them . I love zaggora Thank you.

what a busy week!

I have been so busy with work and training that I have not had anytime to update you.

Sunday 19th february

I went to my danSE16 class and learnt a new dance routine. Well tried to learn a new routine.

calories burnt 250
avearge heart rate 118
highest heart rate 160

Monday 20th no classes today

Tuesday 21st

Idid 2 classes today back to back .
I did a bollywood boxercise class at 7.15pm great music hard class

calories burnt 616
avearge heart rate 151
highest heart rate 192

Then at 8.15pm I took part in  zumba class with an instructor that I haven't used before.

This class was good but the instructor was so hard to follow .

calories burnt 557
avearge heart rate 144
highest heart rate 171

After these 2 classes I was exhausted but exhilarated . Well done me that was 2 high cardio classes back to back .

Wednesday 22nd

no classes

Thursday 23rd

I did my usual two classes for a thursday

I did zumba with the instructor I have been with for over a year

calories burnt 549
avearge heart rate 136
highest heart rate 169

My second class was hula hooping which I absolutely love .


calories burnt 389
avearge heart rate 124
highest heart rate 206

Friday 24th

no classes

Saturday 25th

I did a zumba class at 11am with another instructor which I like working with.


calories burnt 508
avearge heart rate 139
highest heart rate 164

Saturday night out to diner with friends lovely meal and company didnt get home till about 3 am !
All my exercise was done wearing either nudes, flares or hotpants!!

What I have noticed is that if I do 2 classes within an hour of each other my calories burnt are signifacntly improved, this is probably due to my metabolism already being high from the first class.

I set myself a target of 3000 calories for this week i missed the target by 131. a little bit annoyed but still good .
May try again next week.

Zaggora blog

Hi I'm on the Zaggora blog page !!! http://zaggoragirl.com/2012/02/17/the-how-and-where-of-hotpants/ I'm also on the Zaggora web page ! Www.zaggora.com I'm nearly ready to rule the world :0)

Spin not Zumba tonight !

Got my Zaggora nudes this week ! 
I've been wearing them to work every day. Love them ,they are comfy and warm and make  look and feel slim.  This week been a bit busy , did a class called Caribsa  ( see last post) on Tuesday .
 On Thursday Zumba/hula teacher was also sick !
So me and my bright self decided to book a replacement class somewhere else .
I sat in my lunch break scrolling through the online classes .
I found a spin class at 7.45 pm , I thought yeah I'll give it a try ,it's been a long time since I've done spin , maybe 5-7 years !
 I got to the end of my shift at work , collected my children from my Nan's house .
On the way home I thought I'm tired I need to sleep . 
 I arrived home checked on kobi the bearded dragon . He's been sleeping for a whole day .
Woke him up made sure he ate , locusts ! 
 My lovely hubby arrived home .  "you going Zumba ?"  "no instructor is sick so I might go spin instead , but I'm tired " "Well take a night off and rest " " yeah I might just do that " I said .
 I went back online to cancel my spin class but it was too late I'd missed the hour online cancellation slot .
So it must be a sign ... I was meant to go to spin class . 
 I got ready, hotpant flares on and went to class.
I arrived to a room full of bikes.
Not a packed class but it was the instructors 3rd class in a row . 
I found a bike the instructor came over and helped me adjust my bike she also asked if I'd done it before .
I told her a long time ago .
She smiled and said "just take your time ." I smiled and said "ok ."  
I got on my bike did the first 3 minutes and thought I was going to die !! Forgot how much hard work was involved .
I didn't even add the full amount of tension! 
 I lasted to the end of the class ! Yeah me  Legs feel like jelly , bruised inside of my knee as I must of bashed it when cycling and a sore bottom from sitting on the seat !
 It was a 45 min class by the time I arrived at class adjusted my bike , I did a 40 minute session
 Calories burnt 455
Average heart rate  154
Max heart rate 178
 I did enjoy the class and I would do it again as a replacement class .

3 sessions 1 weekend !

On the whole a very busy weekend . I think I made up for not doing classes in the week! Saturday 11am  Attended Zumba in dulwich with my friend Sarah . I wore my Zaggora flares ( love them )  Session 1 hr  ( +49 minutes sitting after class talking ) Calories burned 646 Average heart rate 119  Max heart rate 168  Sunday 12 o'clock   Met Ayo in the park ,very cold Ice still on the grass .  Hi we did exercises in the park !  Walking Lunges with Alex  Side Steps Triceps reverse dips Squats Sprint  Kettle bell swings  Stationary  arm lift in lunge position alternate sides  walking lunges without Alex .    All exercise done in groups of 12 or 15 and repeated 3 x for each side ! Hotpants on , flares still drying !! Total time 29 minutes 33 sec  Calories burned 363 ! Average Heart rate 162 per minute  Max Heart rate         194 per minute Sunday 1 o'clock  I followed this session with an hour Bollywood dance  with danSE16 1 hour session Calories burnt 441 Average heart rate 124  Max heart rate 161  I believe that calories continued to burn at a high due to intense work out  before !  It's been a fantastic day and I feel wonderful for it !  Thanks Zaggora for Ayo my trainer and also for inventing hotpants and flares !! Flares tomorrow for work as they are warm , hopefully dry ! 

Another great session !

It's that time of the week that I look forward to ! What am I going to do when my prize money from zaggora runs out ?  I best start saving from now as I love my sessions with Ayo . They are so  rewarding .  Thank you zaggora ! For my comp win and my hotpants and flares !  Love you !  My session begins in the park in the sun in the cold!!  I forgot the mat that Ayo gave me last time so no floor work this time . 12 Lunge  twist x3 Lunge walk x6 (distance of my normal sprints )  Side step walk x6 (as above )  Run squat jump twist run whilst holding ALEX ( distance as above) x10 12 lunge dips x 3 12 triceps  lifts squat position x3 12 Kettle bell lifts x3 None of these are in order , I have written them as I remember them .  Weather was the usual cold but dry .  Hot pant flares on this time much warmer as they cover the whole leg ... Great for out door training .  This was a 30 min session  I then walked home ,picked up my other trainers got in the car and drove to Canada water . Arrived at Canada water library just in time for my DanSE16 class !  Which was a class involving the use of Asian music  Great class  Calories Burnt ... Pt session. 371 cal in 30 mins  DanSE16.  273 cal in 1 hr not as high impact . 

My end of year photos in Hotpants 2011 !

Here are some of the pictures of events that I have shared with my Hotpants in 2011.

I am know the happy owner of 4 pairs of Hotpants!

1 medium which were my first pair and are now my back up emergency pair

2 small Hotpants love them

1 pair of Hotpants flares!!!! (still yet to be worn)

THANK YOU @ZAGGORA

Myself and Sonia after the first Hotpants outdoor training session in London
Nov 2011

left to right
my daughter, my mum, ME , Joyce and Lucy
all at the Hotpants launch party .
HOTPANTIERS!

Hotpants goodie bag !!

Finding myself at Hotpants launch party
Oct 2011

My mum and I in our HOTPANTS (thanks @zaggora)
getting ready for the Shine event 

My t shirt before i cut the sleeves off

Me and mum before the night walk

The route I powerwalked at night for charity
we started at the O2 walked to city hall and back again!!
Oct 2011

Hotpants on underneath patterned tights, frilly knickers and rain!!
whilst hula hooping in the London  Thames parade
2011

I  don't actually go on the laptop much, usually blog from my phone, so this is why you are getting all my pics now , but I think its more exciting in batches .

Recieved my hotpants flares yesterday !
Looked at them and thought wow ... Are they actually going to fit ?
I tried them on and they felt marvellous :0)
But I only like wearing my hotpants to classes and my class this Thursday has been cancelled so I will have to wait to Saturday morning to start my new 2 week challenge !
I'll measure on Saturday and post the start results and let you know the final results in 2 weeks. Fingers crossed.

10 run sprints
Kettle side step squats with weight swing . 10 one way and 10 back x 3
Kettel twist jump ( forward swing lift jump left swing back to middle then to right !) 12x3.
Stationary Lunges x15 with 15 twist x3.on each leg 
Triceps 12 x 3 .whilst standing in a squat position . 
Press ups  20x 3
Sitting Side twist 20 x3
Cycle legs 20 x3
6 runs x3 
 Weather cold , hotpants on !sun still shining !!! 
Calories burnt 301 
Time 24.38 minutes
Average Hr 161
Max hr 181 

Thanks Ayo I always feel good after a session but normally in a bit of pain the following days ! But as they say no pain no gain :0) 

Thanks zaggora for my personal trainer !

Ayo is currently in training for the Helsinki marathon in the summer 

All exercise done using ALEX ! 
( see previous posts to find out about ALEX) 

All work outs are done in the local park with buses passing by , joggers and local football teams playing etc 

Hi
I got a new watch for Xmas and it monitors my heart rate and can then tell me how many calories I have burnt .
For my Thursday 5/1/12 Zumba(1hr)and hula hoop (45)classes I had an average heart rate of 132 and a maximum heart rate of 169 I also burnt 837 calories!
I think I did a good job ! :0)

On 2/1/12 during pt session I worked for 27 mins and burnt 281 calories average heart rate 148 maximum heart rate 183!

Hotpants on for every session that I do !
Thanks zaggora for my personal trainer :0)

Hotpants on !
Warm clothing on!
Off I go to meet Ayo in the park !
Yes it's cold but at least it's sunny .
This will be a good start to the new year 2012!


10 sprints longer distance than normal 

20 kettle bell(Alex) swings using alternate hands  x3
15 waist twist using weight(Alex) x3
15 rear leg lunges each side whilst using opposite arm to lift Alex from floor waist level. X3

8 sprints with a squat jump at the end of each length .

20 press ups (still doing box press ups, not ready for half press ups yet ) x3
15 rear raises using Alex behind my head ( sitting position arm above/behind my head ) x3
15 double crunches holding Alex bringing the weight in as I crunch . X3  

5 sprints at the end !!

Alex is my mate the 7kg weight 
Sprints were done over double the distance that we normally use , still not extremely long but long enough for me as I don't normally jog/sprint

Ayo said my rear raises we're my worst exercise ! I totally agreed and said they hurt my arms to much and that I have weaker upper body strength . 

Although we didn't train on the 1/1/12 I was still Ayo's first client of the year ;0) 2/1/12 

Back to work tomorrow ,gym open tomorrow as its a normal working day . Probably not going but at least I have the option . 
  

I'm doing a sponsored sleep out on London streets outside Southwark Cathedral!
its an over night event on Friday 2nd December to Saturday 3rd December.
PLEASE sponsor me the money goes to helping the homeless over this cold winter period !
thank you

Recieved an email today from zaggora asking if I would like to write an article for there blog page.So as I was at home with a sick child I thought that I would give it ago. This is what I sent them

Hi
My name is Nicola Powell  I'm aged 38 .
 I live in London . 
I work full time in a children's centre looking after 0-3 year olds. Im an Early years educator. 

I have 3 children of my own and husband , which makes 4 children lol. 

I currently enjoy taking part in fitness classes after work and at the weekend. I do up to 6 classes a week ,zumba ,hula hoop, Bollywood dance ,Bollywood aerobics and Bollywood boxercise . 
I wear my hot pants to each of my classes so it's about 60-105minutes for each class for 5 days 
 
My weight has gone down by 5 lb in 2 weeks and I have lost a total of about 7 inches all over hip waist thighs !!   ( when I did the 2week challenge ). 
It has all stayed off! I got my hot pants in July !
I was a size twelve due to having chunkier legs ( small waist) I am now a size 10 ! 
How did I get my hotpants , I hear you ask ? 
It was originally a fluke, I had just started using my twitter account to do competitions. I'd had a couple of wins and came across the tweet
"Help us get to 1,000 followers! - Follow us and RT - to get a pair of Hotpants to try!"
I thought "ooh hotpants " not my usual outfit but could always wear at home or on holiday ! 
So like the other tweets I followed & retweeted! I had no idea what they were , I went on the web site and thought ok what ever, we'll see what happens . They emailed me ,I replied and then I waited ......& waited . I heard nothing, I forgot about them and then one day I thought let me email them and see what's happening , they apologised and my hotpants arrived in the post in the next couple of days. I was pleasantly surprised they were like the images on the web site and they were of great quality for a freebie . I was happy, now needed to read the website again properly and find out what they really did ! 
After receiving my hotpants I recieved another email  saying did I want another free pair for a friend !! Wow I thought , my friend just had a baby and was staying in Washington USA for three months with family . I gave her details and she contacted them and got her hot pants sent state side! She loves hers too . 

I also won a personal trainer from zaggora for a year it has been a god send , I love training with the trainer who caters the sessions to me and my needs . Thank you zaggora .
You can follow my progress at www.myptlife.blogspot.com 

 I also attended the very first hotpants photoshoot in London which was a lovely day out , photos ,food and meeting the zaggora staff ! I also made new friends , claire, Lucy , Lorraine ,Joyce ,Adrienne & Karen who were also successful hotpants ambassadors . We have all stayed in touch via twitter and Facebook , it's been wonderful . 

I always refer to my new hotpants friends as "hotpantiers " lol 
After the photoshoot we were all invited to the official launch party in central London.
When I arrived at the party I saw what they had used all the hotpantiers pictures for ... We were all projected around the room in the gallery on to the walls ! The photos looked fantastic ! We had cocktails & canapés and mixed with the media , lots of pictures were taken . 

I also attended the first hyde park fitness workout session with Jonny Sayle  trainer to the stars and Sonia Mkoloma England netball captain . Where I met a couple more hotpantiers ! Great session even got me jogging and I hated jogging !! Can't wait to do it again ! 
 
My husband hates my hot pants because it's not his idea of hot pants!! But he is loving the results he said he can really see the difference !!  

I started in medium hotpants I'm now in small hotpants !

Since receiving my first free pair of hotpants I have had to buy a small pair😊
My mum , sister,daughter and 3 friends have hotpants !! 

Twitter name: nicolamp 

They published it !!
But did forget to add in ....
On the 1st October I did a half marathon walkathon at night through London in my hotpants ! I did 14 miles in 4 hrs 13 mins with my mum and a friend all in hotpants . Boy was that a hot sweaty night !! ;0) 
The page they posted looks really professional , I'm very proud of whAt I've achieved /done this year !

http://zaggora.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/guest-post-workouts-in-hotpants-and-hotpantiers-with-nicola-powell/

Ayo changed time to 2 O'clock but I that was good because bbc 2 had a black and white movie on , the story of vernon and irene castle. I love watching black and white movies 

Got to the park same place as usual 
Work out began 


10 sprints forward and back 

Alternate leg lunges with weight held in front 20 times x3

Single with leg lunge with weight lifted up and down in the air 15 x3

Change leg repeat 15  x3

2 jogs  sprint  x3 

Squats/ star jump with weight  kettle bell swing lift x20 x15 x10

side twist mat with weight 15x3

Box press ups 15 x3 

Single leg lifts with weight on floor position  swing leg  in out lift weight with opposite arm under me (box press up position) 15 x3 each side 

4 jogs back and forth ! Finished

All in 30 minutes 
I did struggle a little with my breathing took my inhaler before but maybe the air was to cold .
But on the bright side it was sunny and looked like summer ;0)

My hotpants were on and kept me warm !!

Ayo was on time and ready to go . Grass a little damp but so be it . 
So far I've been lucky the weather has been good to me !

I've been a bit lazy lately ;0(
My hotpants are looking at me crying
"wear me , wear me!" I feel so sorry for them.
I was going to go zumba and hula Thursday just gone but I went to donate blood instead which means no strenuous exercise or activity for at least six hours!
But have no fear I have changed my PT session to today with Ayo as tomorrow it's an early start to go to a rugby away match in croydon ! I'll write later and let you know how it all goes , expecting aches and pains .

My lovely hotpants company have changed name no longer on twitter as @gethotpants they are now known by the company name @zaggora still a great company !