460 CC Driver Review.

I've just bought myself a whopping 460cc Cube driver by Dunlop. Apparently it's worth £99 but I know the £30 I paid for it is more realistic. It looks and feels like a good club, although it is definitely at the budget end of the market.

Anyway, I went a gave it a whack today and to be honest, if all these drivers are like this one, there are not all that great. It's a very light club, but the air resistance on the face as you make a downswing makes it feel as if you're swinging through custard. I was knackered after hitting only a few balls!

It didn't add any distance to my drives either. If anything they came up a little shorter.

I'm much better with the Taylor Made driver I also use. It's obviously a better club and a lot more expensive. With that I can make a full blooded swing and still keep it fairly straight. So my advice is - get yourself a quality driver, learn to use it and stick with it.

(If you've got a driver that genuinely gives you longer tee shots - let me know)

Closer Shaving with a Big Saving

If you've been dragged into the razor war lately, that is the more blades you've got, the better the shave, then this is the blog post you.

Firstly, throw out all the 5 bladed razors and buy a cheap twin edge razor and blade. They are about 4cm long by 2cm wide and have 2 blades. One one on each long edge. They come in plastic packs of about ten and cost a fraction of price.

Then wash, shower or bath. The longer the better. Next dry your face almost completely and apply a good shaving oil. Although olive oil would work just as well.

Next, just shave as normal. Rinse your face after but don't use any soap, as the remaining oil leaves the skin really smooth and moisturised.

Give it a go and say good buy to cuts and burns for good.

Mixamatosis - Don't Ignore It!

Today was a sad day in our house. It began with one of our rabbits developing what looked like an eye infection and ended with the poor thing having to be put to sleep. Fortunately our other rabbit seems OK and has now been vaccinated. However, this is apparently no guarantee of protection from the disease.

Surprisingly it isn't passed from rabbit to rabbit. It is spread by biting insects that carry the disease.

So if you've got bunnies, get them sorted, especially with all the wet and warm weather around this year. The bugs just love it.

R.I.P

Honey.

Died 3.10.07

Teaching Children Basic Punctuation.

For a long time now I've been searching for a method of teaching basic punctuation to children. Yep, they all know what a full stop (period) looks like. They even know to follow one with a capital letter. But what they do not know, is when to use a full stop.

There doesn't seen to be much advice out there, apart from the obvious stuff. However, this method is pretty good.

Begin by looking at simple sentences with your class. Explain that they are just single thoughts or pieces of information. Work on a few exercises where they explain what the info is in various pre-prepared sentences.

e.g.

It was raining outside Bob put on his boots.

This contains two thoughts and so should be two simple sentences.

From there, progress on to letting the children write at length, but stress that each sentence should be simple and contain one thought.

They'll probably struggle to be brief enough and write sentences which are too long. From here, let them repeat the exercise, but insist that no sentence be more than eight words long. It must still make sense though!

When they get to grips with this (which they will!) every time they write at length, give them a calculator and have them divide the number of words by the number of full stops they have used. This will tell them their average sentence length. Eight to ten words is perfect.

Get them to read their work out to the class. They will really be able to hear the difference in style between 8-10 average and those which are higher.

The children can now rework pieces or writing, trying to lower their average sentence length when necessary. It's a challenge most of the children I teach enjoy.

Try it teachers - you'll be amazed at the difference it can make.

Diet That Works

As I explained earlier, I've spent a bit of time experimenting with different workouts and training techniques.

Something else I've also explored is diet and the healthiest and most effective form I've come across (and still broadly follow) is the GI diet. It's easy, apparently healthy, and has taken me from 210 pounds down to 175 in less than a year. I also feel I managed to increased my strength power and build new muscle at the same time.

It goes like this...

Certain foods convert to sugar and absorb into the system faster than others. Having loads of sugar rushing around your bloodstream is bad and so to compensate for this fast absorption, the body releases insulin, which converts the sugars to fats and stores them. Then the blood sugar levels stabilize.

This increase in blood sugar is usually accompanied by an energy kick, but after the insulin does it's stuff, the blood sugar plummets and leaves you feeling tried, lethargic and with a huge craving for more food.

To stop these spikes of blood sugar and insulin release, dietitians advise only eating food that converts slowly and gradually into sugar. Foods with a low Glycemic Index (GI). Thus providing a slow and steady supply of energy throughout the day.

Here's the general rules that I stick too:

• Avoid refined or processed foods.


• Go for wholegrain breads over white and even wholemeal.


• Don't get hungry. Eat every couple of hours. Even if you don't feel like it. Go for fruit, nuts, anything with a lowish GI.


• Eat a quality cereal breakfast.


• For an extra weight loss kick, eat omlettes for breakfast but remove some or all of the yolks before cooking.


• Get used to brown rice and brown pasta.


• Pasta isn't that bad as some may think. Most people's biggest mistake is they eat too much in a portion. One grabbed handful is enough.


• Only eat potatoes in moderation. Avoid fried potatoes of all kinds.


• Cut down on pasta and potatoes by upping the amount of protein and vegetables in your meals - you'll soon hardly notice the difference.


• Little or no carbs after 4pm.


• Weigh yourself every morning and take note of what you ate the previous day and what the scales are telling you.


• Don't diet. Don't make any changes to your eating habits that you won't be able to keep up forever!


• Don't obsess about weight - thin and light does mean you're healthy and looking good.


• Give yourself two days a week - for me it's Friday and Saturday - and go for it. Eat what you want, when you want! It'll stop any cravings creeping up on you. After a while, you'll get sick of processed junk anyway and will stop wanting it as much.


• Get some protein after exercise and with every meal. It lowers the overall GI level of the meal itself.


• Avoid alcohol, but don't deprive yourself. It is almost indigestible and all the body can do with it is store it as fat. Plus it makes you hungry.

Again, these is only my opinions. I hold no qualifications in this field at all, but it seems to work for me. Thanks for dropping by.

Effective Exercising That Works

As promised then. My take on proper exercise and my attempt to get more people onto the bench press and off the cross-trainer.

I'm not going to list a load of exercises here with specific sets and reps. You can find out what exercise does what from any gym instructor or exercise book.

My point is, aim to do 3 sets of whatever movement you do. Make sure the most you can possibly perform is 7 reps. As soon as you start making 8 and 9, up the weights. After a few weeks at it, up the sets to 5 too.

Train two body parts at a time, choosing combinations from back, chest, legs, biceps and triceps. Work the abs in every session.

Don't train more than 4 days a week. And never work a muscle group that's still sore. So if the triceps are hurting, stay away from pushing exercises.

Take a good protein supplement before and after training, and during the rest-day after exercise. It does make difference.

A session should last no longer than 45 minutes (an hour tops) without rushing. It might not sound long. You might not feel like your working very hard, doing low reps with high weight. That's OK. Just remember - you are eating into your energy stores, not breaking down the muscle and fitness you already have.

NB These are just my opinions based on my own experience. Everyone should consult a qualified expert before exercising.

Workouts That Work.

I love gyms. I've been using them now since I was about ten years old. I've been a member of back street spit n' sawdust boxers' gyms, right up to £1200 p.a. members places, so I feel fairly well qualified to comment.

The one thing that continues to amaze me, is just how few women use free-weights and resistance machines and relentlessly pound away on the C.V stuff for hours on end. I can only assume it's the female fear of becoming muscular and thus "manly".

If this post gets a few hits, I might expand on this a little and include a bit of advice on resistance exercise, based on my own experiences. I definitely believe it's an untapped resources for female gym users. Especially those looking to train smarter not harder. Watch this space.