Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Sativa Shakes non-dairy protein powder

I’m always especially pleased to review products from small, UK companies – so I’m happy to introduce Sativa Shakes: a friendly, growing protein supplement company who, it turns out, are local to me here in Kent. They produce non-dairy, plant protein powders including hemp protein and a plant protein blend.

They specialise in lactose-free (and vegan-friendly) protein powders. There are two main product lines – “Viva Sativa” hemp protein and “Viva High Pro” plant protein blend (hemp, pea, rice and soy). At the moment, there are four flavours across two product ranges: toffee, chocolate caramel, strawberry and banana, and kiwi and lime. They are all non-GM, organic and naturally sweetened with Stevia (a calorie-free sweetener derived from a plant – rather than from chemicals) and use raw plant protein, minimally treated and processed. Take a look at the ingredients lists – teeny!

I tried them all: straight-up as shakes, with my PWO banana (mashed up and frozen, like icecream) and stirred into my porridge oats. All were great! Because they’re plant proteins, the powders are rich and creamy and so they make quite thick shakes and go particularly well with oats. I loved all the flavours except for the kiwi and lime – I hoped to love this one as it’s unusual and not a flavour combo I’ve come across in any other protein powder, but I’m afraid I didn’t like it. This might be because, at the moment, this is the only one in the range which contains artificial flavour (the Sativa Shakes folk tell me they are working to find a natural replacement). I thought all the others were absolutely delicious, though.

The strawberry and banana, chocolate caramel “Viva High Pro” plant protein blend is a mix of pea protein isolate, soy protein isolate, hemp protein, brown rice protein, flavouring, cocoa powder (in the choc version) Stevia and xantham gum (a thickener) with citric acid.

Per 30g serving you get around 105 kcals, 22.3g protein, 1.3g carbs (0.4g sugar) and 1.2g fats (including a good mix of omegas). The amino breakdown is different to whey, as you’d expect with this being a plant protein – check out the full nutritional stats on the Sativa website. The stats are very slightly different across the flavours.

The “Viva Sativa” toffee flavoured hemp protein is simply raw hemp protein, natural flavouring, xantham gum and Stevia. The kiwi and lime version of the hemp protein does – at the moment – contain artificial flavour. Per 30g serving: 130 kcals, 13.7g protein, 4.5g carbs (1.6g sugars) and 3.7g fats. Again, you get a good dose of omegas and fibre, and of course no lactose – these being dairy-free protein powders.

They’re ideal for vegans but you don’t need to be a vegan to try them! I really did like these, particularly the toffee and chocolate caramel flavours, I think because the taste goes really well with the rich, earthy, nutty flavour of plant proteins.

I’m not indulging in any protein-baking at this stage in my prep diet but I think that I’ll try these in a cake or muffins at some point. I reckon they’d be a great ingredient with the rich flavour and the thick nature of the powders.

If you’ve been looking for a non-dairy, vegan-friendly, lactose-free protein powder, or if you just fancy trying a new protein product, I recommend giving Sativa Shakes a go. If you’re not sure which to try – here’s a handy guide!

Keep an eye on Sativa Shakes on Facebook as they often run offers and discounts. There are some special offers here, too.

Thank you, Sativa Shakes people! Find them online here Sativa Shakes website or on Facebook Sativa Shakes on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Now I’ve made myself hungry so excuse me – time for dinner!

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Sativa Shakes non-dairy protein powder is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

TheFitDog on fitness video shoots

*This is a blog post from Frankie the office dog*

Hey guys! It’s been ages since I blogged but I know you’re all interested in what I get up to (can’t blame you) so I thought I’d put paw to keypad and tell you about yesterday.

Most of my working days are pretty boring really, sleeping in my bed whilst Nic types, or sleeping in my bed whilst Nic is at meetings, or helping Nic think by whining or chomping loudly on a chew. But some days I really have to step up to the plate and basically be Nic’s assistant.

(^^^ my thinking face)

Yesterday we drove to East Grinstead to help out on a DVD and photoshoot for Muscle & Fitness magazine. It was really cool and I thought you should all know what happens on one of these days.

Remember the time I went to The Training Lab gym, met WBFF World Champ Shaun Stafford and was sick on the floor ? That was for a photoshoot and magazine article (inexplicably, the magazine didn’t want me in the photos – I am still waiting for the Editor to get back to me with exact answers on that).

It was the same yesterday, I wasn’t so much required to be in the DVD but, like Nic, I was a very important part of the behind-the-scenes activity.

Nic’s jobs:
- to sit down
- to write stuff down
- to talk to people and ask them things
- to remember all the funny things that were said and write them down for later
- to think a lot

Well now take a look at my list of jobs and I think you’ll start to see that I’m just as important:
- to lie down
- to get patted by people and try to lick them
- to watch all the funny things happening
- to think a lot (whilst sleeping)
- to guard the gym door so nobody came in during filming
- to guard the camera equipment
- to not get in the way
- to be a team mascot so all the people being filmed were chilled out and happy

Um… HELLO… how can a day like that happen without me? I haven’t asked Muscle & Fitness what my fee for the day is but I’m sure they’ll let me know in due course. Probably they will add it on to my fee for the other time when I was so helpful with the photoshoot.

Every time I do one of these jobs I make lots of cool new friends. Me and Andy McKenzie, who owns and runs The Training Lab gym, are basically best friends now. Especially since I wasn’t sick on his floor this time!

But also yesterday I met a man called Nick “Headhunter” Chapman, who was really big and sort of scary but secretly I think he’s not that scary at all, it’s just his job (he is an MMA fighter, which means Mixed Martial Arts). I caught him smiling at me when he walked past and he said “hellooooo there!” which really wasn’t very scary. But shhh don’t tell anyone, in case any of his MMA opponents are reading.

I also met a nice man called Mike who is very clever and invented a thing called a Unikurve (which is the fitness equipment we were making the DVD about). He showed me photos of his own dog and even gave Nic some advice on my bald patch (too embarrassing to blog about), thank you Mike.

Finally I met a cool dude called Wayne who gave me lot of cuddles, here is a picture of us (sorry I am a bit blurry, I was very excited). Wayne used to be in a TV show called Gladiators where his character was called Doom, but personally I think that’s silly because he wasn’t Doomy or Gloomy at all. And I know just how annoying it can be when strangers only refer to you by your stage-name (I am so famous all around the town for my dog-coat modelling, sometimes I just want to free myself from the shackles of fame and cry out “but my name is Frankie!”) So I was very respectful to him and didn’t call him Doom once, just Wayne, which is his proper name.

Anyway that’s enough chit-chat for today. I will be back soon with a more fitness-themed post, probably on the topic of powerwalking and why it is my cardio of choice.

I hope you enjoyed this unique insight into what it is like to be a dog working in the fitness industry.

Until next time, bye!

TheFitDog on fitness video shoots is a post from the Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Giveaway winners – Kinetica Sports protein

Just a quick one to announce the two winners of the Kinetica Sports protein giveaway. Thank you to all of you who entered, I wish I had enough samples to send something to you all! Sadly only two people can win and they are:

colm bourke and Mattay Dunn

(I used an online random number generator thingy this time – Frankie says he is too tired to select the winners this time)

You both win a sample of the Complete and the Oat Gain.

Congratulations Colm and Mattay, please email me (there’s a contact me box top right on the blog home page) to give me your postal address.

Thanks to everyone for taking part

Giveaway winners – Kinetica Sports protein is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Giveaway! Kinetica Sports protein

It’s cold, it’s dark and it’s Friday. Perfect excuse for a little giveaway!

The folk at Kinetica Sports recently launched a few new products and sent them over for me to try. Trouble is, a couple of them don’t quite “fit my macros” (as the cool kids say) so I thought you guys should have them instead. Simple!

The new products include:
- Pro-Release (a really smooth-tasting blend of whey isolate,milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate and egg albumin protein for fast, medium and slow digesting proteins) – I tried this in both strawberry sundae and chocolate brownie flavour and loved it. It’s a very smooth and rich casein blend, perfect for bedtime.
- a new banana flavour whey protein – I also tried this and wasn’t too keen on the idea, as I don’t usually like banana whey at all, but this was actually very nice, not overly sweet and a great flavour. Nice and thick too.
- Complete in banana smoothie flavour – this is a high-quality whey protein with organic virgin coconut oil, Creapure® (99.99% pure creatine monohydrate), a high-and low-GI carbohydrate blend and a digestive enzyme (Aminogen®)
- Oat Gain in orange and mango flavour – as the name suggests, this is more of a “mass gain” product, with plenty of carbs and cals from ground oats, MCTs (from organic virgin coconut oil) as well as a protein blend and Aminogen® digestive enzymes.

Giveaway

I wasn’t able to try the Complete or the Oat Gain myself but I’d love you to try them! Click through to the links to check that they suit your particularly goals at the moment. I have two sample sachets of each, so will send two readers one of both the Complete in banana flavour (30g), and the Oat Gain orange and mango (80g). You lucky devils!

To enter, follow Kinetics Sports on Twitter, tweet something like “I’ve just entered @thefitwriter blog giveaway to win @kineticasports samples” and include a link to this blog post. Then head back here to leave a comment letting me know you’ve done that, so I know to put your name into the hat.

That’s it! I’ll pick a winner at random on Monday 25th March at 9pm.

Giveaway! Kinetica Sports protein is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Three Hills Sports Park supports community sport in Kent

At the end of last year, I moved “back home” to Kent, where I grew up, after 17, er quite a few um… “some” years away.

It’s been strange to drive around the areas in which I lived and went to school. Familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.

And so it was with a mixture of nostalgia (for Folkestone of the 90s) and excitement (for Folkestone’s future) that I went along to the grand opening of the Three Hills Sports Park, just a short drive from my house. As you drive through the entrance, there on the right-hand side is the old cricket pavilion, the site of many a sixth-form “free period”. It was adjacent to the boys’ school and a supermarket, you see. Win/win.

If sitting on the clapped-out old pavilion and arguing the merits of Oasis vs Blur represent the past of the Three Hills site, the grand opening made very clear that its future is full of opportunity.

Three Hills Sports Park is an impressive and rather beautiful community facility available to people living in Shepway and the surrounding areas.

Entirely funded by a donation from the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust (with the land provided on a 125 year lease from Shepway District Council), the £7.8m facility is owned and run by The Cheriton Road Sports Ground Trust, a registered charity comprising volunteers from Folkestone Cricket Club and Optimist Hockey Club. The result is a centre of excellence for cricket, hockey and netball, with some of the best sporting facilities of their type in the country.

It will be home to Folkestone Cricket Club, Folkestone Optimists hockey, Folkestone Running Club, Folkestone netball and Folkestone Dynamos youth football teams. But Three Hills is also – in fact primarily – a community facility, available to anyone in the area who needs indoor or outdoor space to practice or play sport.

Rt Hon Hugh Robertson MP, Minister for Sport and Tourism, opened the facility, congratulating the designers for “a cutting-edge design that not only looks fantastic but really works well.” The Three Hills project began back in 2005, when we won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. In his speech, Hugh Robertson said that Three Hills embodies the Olympic Legacy – a term we often hear overused and misused, but don’t often see put into bricks and mortar. “I think taking sport to young people and helping them achieve their ambitions is exactly what the Olympic Legacy should mean,” he said. “Three Hills Sports Park brings a fantastic opportunity to young people in Folkestone that simply didn’t exist beforehand.”

I loved going on a tour of the brand-new facility, which includes a pavilion, sports hall, small gym, outdoor pitches, a function room (with great views) and facilities for disability sport. There were more than 300 primary school children there on the day, playing hockey, football and cricket indoors and outdoors. The place was buzzing and it was clear that every inch of the space will be a huge boost to grass-roots community sport in the area.

Freedom Leisure will manage the outdoor pitches at Three Hills, which are designed for national standard hockey, county and club cricket and regional netball. Freedom will also manage the indoor facilities (a first-class indoor sports hall supporting cricket, hockey, netball and other sports, a gym and a dedicated youth area). Three Hills is Freedom Leisure’s 34th site (its third in Kent).

Jeff Hart, Managing Director of Freedom Leisure said, “We are delighted to be working with The Cheriton Road Sports Ground Trust to operate the Three Hills Sports Park. It offers first class sporting facilities for the local community, nearby schools and sports clubs as well as national and international athletes. It is an exciting development and we are looking forward to fulfilling its many objectives.”

If you work with kids or have kids of your own and live in Shepway or nearby, take a look at Three Hills Sports Park’s website, Three Hills Sports Park on Twitter and Three Hills Sports Park on Facebook. It’s a great facility and we’re lucky to have it.

3 Hills Sports Park supports community sport in Kent is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Giveaway winner! Razzy roo hairband (don’t forget 20% discount for all)

Evening!

Just a quick one to announce the winner of the Razzy Roo hairband giveaway

Sorry I know I said I’d do it at 9pm but I’m not sure I can keep my eyes open!

I thought about doing some techy online number generator thing but opted for something much funnier (to me, at least): the canine name-selector.

Frankie donned his favourite Razzy Roo headband to survey the names.

Then swapped to another to select the winner (by lying down on the bits of paper with his nose on one).

I opened it to reveal:

FI!

Well done Fi, please email me (top right of the homepage) or contact me any which way and I’ll put you in touch with the folk at Razzy Roo

Everyone else – thank you for entering – and remember there’s a great 20% discount on offer to blog readers. Just put the code THEFITWRITER in at checkout (code will expire on 1st April 2013).

You can find razzy roo on Twitter and razzy roo on Facebook as well as their own website.

Giveaway winner! Razzy roo hairband (don’t forget 20% discount for all) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Giveaway! These are a few of my favourite things: the hairband edition

People will often ask me where I get my supplements, food, workout gear etc from. I have a few discount codes for some of my favourite companies, and am generously supported in one way or another by some others. Then there are the companies, brands and products which I just straight-up love, without discount codes or freebies! I thought I’d start a blog series telling you about these “favourite things” – and extending the discount code to you where one exists. All these “favourite things” posts are on one page.

Ladies (or metrosexual males!), I’ve got a giveaway for you today. Let’s brighten up this dreary drizzly day.

I rarely venture to the gym without some kind of headwear. It just doesn’t feel proper. A beanie hat, a peaked cap or, if I’m feeling particularly snazzy, a sparkly hairband.

My absolute favourite place to get my sparkly hairbands from is Razzy Roo. I don’t care that they’re in the USA. I love their hairbands and have loads of them. I’ve bought them for friends, for Secret Santa gifts and even for my sister (you know something’s good if it makes it onto the list of “Stuff I Give My Sister”.)

I sent one to my “Fitness” Secret Santa at Christmas, and she says, “I love mine thanks to you! So pretty!” Here she is having just completed “Hot Pursuit” – an obstacle course race – hair perfectly in place!

Take a look at the Razzy Roo website. They do thin, medium and thick sparkly glitter bands (my favourite!) and a range of patterned ones. I love wearing two of the thinnest sparkly ones together.

I love these hairbands not just because there are so many colours and patterns to choose from, but because they’re so well made. They’re elasticated (and none of them have lost their elasticity despite a lot of use), and the inside of the band is a lovely velvety material so it won’t snag or rough up your hair. And they keep your hair in place really well.

I always have at least one Razzy Roo hairband in my gymbag or handbag, and I’d love you to have one too.

Giveaway

The lovely ladies at Razzy Roo have agreed to give one blog reader a free band (of your choice) and they’ll ship anywhere in the world (although they do point out that international shipping takes a little longer than within the USA).

To enter, follow razzy roo on Twitter or like razzy roo on Facebook, then leave a comment on this post letting me know you’ve done so. If you’re on Twitter, tweet a link to this giveaway and put something like “I’ve just entered @thefitwriter blog giveaway to win a @razzyroobands hairband”

That’s it! I’ll pick a winner at random on Monday 11th March at 9pm.

20% discount

Everyone else can make use of an exclusive 20% discount on website prices – the code to use at checkout is THEFITWRITER. It will expire on 1st April 2013.

You can find razzy roo on Twitter and razzy roo on Facebook as well as their own website.

These are a few of my favourite things: the hairband edition is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

These are a few of my favourite things: the hydration edition

People will often ask me where I get my supplements, food, workout gear etc from. I have a few discount codes for some of my favourite companies, and am generously supported in one way or another by some others. Then there are the companies, brands and products which I just straight-up love, without discount codes or freebies! I thought I’d start a blog series telling you about these “favourite things” – and extending the discount code to you where one exists. All these “favourite things” posts are on one page.

We all know how important it is to drink enough water, whether we do endurance sport, strength sports or no sport at all (everyone needs to stay hydrated). It’s about more than just not getting thirsty. Proper hydration carries nutrients to cells, helps prevent muscle cramps, keeps you alert and focused, nourishes your skin, assists your body in digesting food, improves your sleep, helps your body recover after exercise (or injury/surgery) and even helps you maintain healthy hormone levels.

I admit I never used to pay a great deal of attention to whether or not the water I drank was actually doing its job. I was then recommended elete hydration drops (thanks Andy McKenzie) and haven’t gone a day without it since. It’s such a simple little product, but I honestly think it’s so important. Not just for people doing sport, for everyone of all ages (although certainly if you do train for sports then you should definitely be taking this product!)

elete is an electolyte product you add to water which contains all four of the key electrolytes (magnesium, potassium, chloride and sodium) along with 60 other naturally-occurring trace and ultra trace elements.

It’s 100% pure and natural and contains no sugar, sweeteners, additives, preservatives or calories (like most “sports drinks”). It doesn’t need to – you just add it to your water (or any other drink) and that’s it.

And it’s such good value for money (working out at less than 20p per litre of water). It comes in a concentrated form so you can carry it about with you if you need to, or just add it to your water at home.

elete has been scientifically developed and is backed by numerous bits of research and peer reviewed published studies. And it’s got the Informed Sport mark of approval.

I tend to add one serving to a litre of water in the morning, and then again to water which I make sure I drink straight after training. It doesn’t taste of anything at all (although you can get a citrus version, but I haven’t tried it). Full recommendations of exactly how to dose it are on the website.

Drink up!

You can find elete on Twitter and elete on Facebook as well as their own website (including research, testinonials and FAQs)

These are a few of my favourite things: the hydration edition is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: BioBees Royal Jelly Elixir

I was recently sent some of BioBees royal jelly elixir, a zingy little pick-me-up which I thought would be great for this time of year when we’re all dragging a bit as we wait for Winter to finally be over.

BioBees by Bioceuticals has brought out a whole range of royal jelly products, including skin care and bee pollen, but it was the elixir which I tried out. The ingredients: fresh royal jelly, korean ginseng, guarana, bee pollen, ginger, liquorice, and extracts of damiana aphrodisiaca and sarsaparilla, have all been selected for their energising properties.

These little vials (which contain just enough to “down in one”) are therefore a great blend of vitamins, minerals and amino acids, helping give you a boost in concentration and focus, as well as helping your body fight off infections. Great for anyone needing instant energy (for the gym, for instance… !), people who seem to catch every cold going, and anyone generally running themselves ragged because of kids/work/life in general.

Royal jelly is a natural substance, produced by worker bees to feed and nourish the Queen Bee, and give her a healthy and long life. Sounds about right to me chaps! Bring it on. It’s high in amino acids, carotenoids, and vitamins B, C, D, E and K, it has been found to help boost the immune system, improve collagen production and increase cell rejuvenation. BioBees uses only fresh royal jelly in their products (not freeze-dried like you’ll find elsewhere).

My verdict? It was really tasty (very spicy, you can definitely taste the ginger and liquorice) and it did give me a definite energy boost before the gym, making me feel revved up and focused.

BioBees royal jelly elixir is priced at £23.54 for box of 10 vials and you can find stockists here.

Thank you, BioBees people! Find them on Facebook here or Twitter here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: BioBees Royal Jelly Elixir is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

TheFitDog on fitness photoshoots

*This is a blog post from Frankie the office dog*

Hey guys! Sorry it’s been ages since I wrote a blog post. Nic’s been hogging the blog with all that Olympics stuff. Anyway, I’ve kicked her off the laptop tonight (she says sorry, no Olympics-inspired blog post today) cos I’ve had a WELL exciting day and I think you all need to hear about it right now!

Have you ever been a fitness model in a fitness photoshoot? Nor had I – until today! Nic and I drove down to somewhere called The Training Lab which is a really mega-cool gym in East Grinstead because a magazine called Muscle and Fitness had asked her to write an article and be in the photos for it, too. (I have never read Muscle and Fitness but I don’t read much as a general rule).

Nic and a man called Shaun Stafford (who is an actual fitness model) had to do a workout and another man called Andy McKenzie (who is a coach) had to tell them what to do and then another man called Simon Howard (who is a photographer) had to take photos of them. It was a bit confusing for me, meeting so many new people, but I got it in the end. Andy was the one shouting at Nic and Shaun, Shaun was the one with loads of muscles and no top on, and Simon was the one who kept putting a camera in front of his face (I think perhaps he was a bit shy, I’m not sure).

We got there and I warmed up for the proper photos by posing outside The Training Lab

Then I lay down in my bed in the physio room and Nic tied my lead to a kettlebell so I couldn’t go off exploring by myself.

Then Nic and Shaun did lots of cool stuff like jumping over hurdles and putting chains around their necks – I really wish I could have joined in, especially the jumping (which I love) but Nic said no I had to sit in my bed

At one point I could hear everyone shouting and yelling at Nic and I got really angry so I pulled the kettlebell and wandered into the gym. I was so mad I was ready to bite them (even though I’ve never bitten anyone before but, you know, don’t push me!) But Nic laughed and said “it’s OK, go to your bed”. Apparently the shouting and yelling was to do with Nic squatting a bar with chains on?

What I learned today is that everyone has a role on a photoshoot. For example, today:

- me: artistic director. Basically what I did was sat on my bed and transmitted my excellent ideas for photos into Simon’s brain and then he did them. He was pretty good! My job was the most important, obviously, although many people might say you wouldn’t know it. That’s because I am a true professional and don’t like to make a song and dance about my high skill level.
- Simon: the photographer. This is a really important role in any photoshoot otherwise you have no photos and then the magazine gets really cross.
- Nic and Shaun: the models. Nic said I must point out that she isn’t really a model, she just pretended to be one for the day. Shaun however is a real one, it’s his actual job and he even won a big competition and got his Pro Card! And you could totally tell – he was way better than Nic. Plus I really like his hair.
- Andy: the coach. You don’t have to have one of these on a photoshoot but if it is a sport or fitness photoshoot then it’s a good idea, because the coach can tell the athletes what to do and make sure they are doing everything right and not hurting themselves. He was a really nice man too and even said I can come back again.

There was only one strange thing about the whole shoot – Simon only took one photo of me? I can only assume that the photo he took was so perfect that he didn’t need to spend ages asking me to do the pose over and over again. That is what you get for being a top model like me. I did offer Shaun some tips but he said he was OK thank you.

Luckily Nic made sure she took some on her little camera so here they are (these aren’t Simon’s, I expect they’ll be a bit better)

Everyone said I was really good today, for example let me tell you a few things they said:
- Hasn’t he been good?
- How cute
- Good boy
- What a lovely dog
- Aw he is cute
- Hello there fella
- Hello fatty (????)
- Very good

Again I can only stress that professional and experienced models like myself can expect compliments like these on shoots. Those of you who are new to the industry might have to work a little harder until someone calls you Good Dog or Fatty.

One last observation from today – being a fitness model is exhausting! I am really tired now and very thirsty. And on that note I am going to go to bed – I haven’t had any naps today and my brain is very sore from all the thinking.

It was lovely to meet Shaun Stafford, Simon Howard and Andy McKenzie and I really enjoyed visiting The Training Lab. If you’re nearby, you should totally go! Oh and you should wish my new best mate Shaun loads of luck in his upcoming competition which is the WBFF Worlds in Toronto (which is in Canada, which is abroad). I reckon he’ll win for sure but as I said to him today, if he’d like any last-minute tips from me on how to be really brown or how to have shiny hair, or how to get really muscley by sprinting after a football, I will be happy to oblige.

Goodnight!

TheFitDog on fitness photoshoots is a post from the Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.