All posts by admin

Where to Buy a Hand Grip Strength Measure

Beauty & Personal Care, Health

If you were watching ‘Trust Me I’m a Doctor’ on the BBC recently then you will have seen an experiment designed to measure how certain exercise affects the body.

In this episode there were some surprising results using a hand grip exerciser and you may be wondering where you can get one similar to what was used.

The prime reason for the experiment was to test whether hard and quick exercise could get you fit or change any aspect of the body rather than having to exercise regularly at the gym doing moderate exercise.

There were 4 groups in this test and one of these groups was exercising purely using a hand grip exerciser.

The interesting thing about the results was that the group using this hand grip exerciser were the only people to measure a significant lowering of their blood pressure after using the exerciser for 4 weeks.

There were benefits also shown by the groups who used high impact exercise whether in a gym or at home, in terms of improving fitness levels. Those who did the moderate exercise, although they showed minor improvements, did not do as well as those doing high impact exercises at home or at the gym.

From the results that were measured it might be best to do both high impact exercise and the hand grip exercises to get the most benefit.

The hand grip exerciser that was used in the experiments was one that you could actually measure the strength of your grip quantitatively. You can therefore see how well you are doing and whether or not you are improving.

You can buy this kind of hand exerciser online and below is shown a very similar exerciser to the one that was used.

Obviously any kind of exercise regime should be thought about seriously and your doctor consulted if you have any health problems.

Where Can I Get a Waterproof iPod?

Computers & Electronics, Entertainment, Fun Stuff, Lifestyles, Music, Recreation, Shopping, Sports, Technology,

So I have recently taken up swimming as a great form of exercise both to keep fit and also to keep my back flexible and stop my back pain. I am not a great swimmer but I can keep going for a bit doing breaststroke and although that is not as good as doing front crawl I’m sure the swimming helps as part of my exercise regime.

However, the more I swim and the more lengths I do, the slightly more boring the swimming gets so I decided to see if I could get a waterproof iPod or some kind of music device to help stop the boredom and keep me swimming for longer.

I am a big music fan and I find that it helps in the gym, particularly on the treadmill to make the time go quicker. However, my everyday iPod will was obviously not going to be any good for swimming and so I had a look for a waterproof iPod, as I wasn’t sure if there was one, and found that there was indeed such a thing.

Actually there are two options for getting music in your ears while you swim and one is to buy a custom waterproof iPod or MP3 player and the other is to buy a waterproof case for your existing iPod or MP3 player. There are companies that take standard iPod shuffles and waterproof them with a 2 year guarantee.

Waterproof iPods

Waterproof iPod Shuffle options
 

Obviously there are pros and cons to each and it is a personal decision as to which one will be better for you but I would suggest the following:

If you are a frequent swimmer then maybe a waterproof iPod would be better then you don’t need to keep taking your iPod out of the waterproof case and also you can load up some songs that are perfect for swimming to. You can also get hold of a smaller iPod shuffle that is easy to attach when you are in the pool.

Waterproof MP3s can also be used in snow and for other watersports and not only for swimming. In fact obviously you can use them whenever but they are designed to work in water so you might as well use them for that!

The iPod can be attached to your goggles and you will also need waterproof headphones or earbuds to go with it. A waterproof iPod can also be used just like a normal iPod.

Waterproof Cases

If you just want to waterproof your iPod for going on holiday then think about getting a waterproof case, there are plenty available and the majority of these are cheaper than buying a waterproof ipod or MP3 player so you don’t have to shell out a lot of money.

You can also just get waterproof cases that will protect your iPhone or other smartphone for when you are at the pool or the beach so that your phone doesn’t get damaged by water.

However, if you are planning to swim with music then it is probably better to get something much smaller and easier to use than using your iPod or iPhone.

 

Sum Up Discount Code

Business, Discount Codes, Money, Shopping, Technology,

sumup_If you run a small business and want to take credit and debit card payments when you are out and about then you might be interested in one of the mobile card payment options that are available.

Sum Up is just one of the those that is available and below I have a discount code for you!

Personally I have been using Sum Up for around 2 years now and I find it really easy to use with only a 1.95% charge on transactions.  it enables me to take credit and debit card payments wherever I am with little fuss and the payments are sent over to my bank account within a few days.

All you need to use it is the terminal and a smartphone to connect to (and 3G/4G/wireless) and you can take payments from most cards including American Express.

This can be really useful if you are somewhere there isn’t a cashpoint nearby or even if you sell stuff that is at a price point where people may not have that much cash on them.

So anyway, if you are interested in taking a look at Sum Up then you an get a £20 discount on the price of the terminal if you follow the link below:

Sum Up Discount Code

Summer Holiday Cheats – Cheap Cinema Tickets

Children, Entertainment, Recreation

If you are looking for things to do with the kids in the summer holidays then one thing you may not have realised is that a lot of the cinemas have special screenings for kids (and their parents!) at really great prices this summer.

Often these screenings are in the mornings as this is a time when the cinemas are normally closed and also is a good time for younger children to venture out to the cinema.

Not all of the cinemas in the particular group show the same films to it is worth looking around to see what is on where.

Check out the information below for details for the larger companies:

Cineworld

cineworldCineworld has 82 cinemas in the Uk and over 800 screens and they offer morning showings of child friendly films at around 10am during the summer holidays and selected weekends.

Their promotion is called Movies for Juniors and prices for a 2D film showing are £2.00 or £1.80 if you book in advance with a Cineworld account. 3D films cost £3.50 again with a 10% discount if you book online.

Odeon

odeon-kidsOdeon have over 120 cinemas in the UK and also have special movies in the summer holidays and weekends through their “Odeon Kids” scheme. These films are £2.50 for children and adults and can be (and are advised to be) booked online in advance as they prove pretty popular.

Vue

vue_logo_headerVue has 85 multiplex cinemas in the UK and offer a similar scheme known as “Mini Mornings” which cost from £1.99 for 2D and £2.79 for 3D films at weekends and during summer holidays.

 

Empire

empire-jnrs.bmpNot as big as some of the cinema chains but Empire have their “Empire Jnrs” movies for all the family every weekend. So these are not specifically for summer holidays but if you have an Empire cinema near you this could be good at weekends.

Ticket prices are not specified on the Empire website but said to be at ‘pocket money prices’ but when we tried to book a price of £1.75 per adult and child was quoted for the particular movie and location we chose.

So on a rainy day this may be a great option to keep the kids occupied for a few hours. Summer holidays can be an expensive time and although obviously this is not a free activity it is certainly a lot cheaper than normal screenings which are becoming out of reach for some parents on lower incomes.

Where Can I Get Alginate?

Beauty & Personal Care, Food & Drink, Health, Science,

Recent studies have found that a substance that is found in seaweed, called alginate, can have inhibiting effects on the absorption of fat into the body. Here we look into where you can get alginate.

In 2014 research at Newcastle University found that alginate can stop the body absorbing fat. Alginate is found naturally in seaweed and this has also been used in Japan as a weight loss supplement for a few years now.

If the body does not absorb the fat, then the person does not put on the extra weight that would be caused by the fat. Instead the fat is passed straight through the body.

Research is still going on to see if this can be made into a bonafide weight loss supplement but in the meantime people like Jamie Oliver have put down their weight loss to eating seaweed.

So the best way to get hold of alginate is by eating seaweed itself. But obviously this may not be an option for many people so they may be looking for an alginate supplement that can be taken with food.

There are a couple of options at present that contain alginate but are not sold as specifically weight loss supplements. Care should be taken with any kind of supplement and you may wish to consult your doctor before taking them.

In particular seaweed supplements are used to support thyroid function so if you have any issues with your thyroid you should certainly seek advice.

So you can get hold of seaweed (or kelp) supplements online and below are a couple of options (in either tablet or powder form)  which purport to contain alginate so could be options to consider:
 

Another possibility is food grade sodium alginate powder. This is actually used in molecular gastronomy to form things like pseudo caviar.

Obviously this kind of product has not been tested in terms of its possible weight loss properties so there is no guarantee that this will have any kind of effect and it would be interesting to test how you could use it in an every day context!

So as discussed there is a long way to go with more testing and research required to see if alginate can be used as a weight loss supplement. In any case a balanced and varied diet, together with regular exercise is generally the best way to lose weight.