NFL Super Bowl XLVIII

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 48 - 8 DENVER BRONCOS

To put it in a nut shell, if you didn't watch, it was like watching lions play mice at rugby - it was fierce, the Seattle Seahawks were on fire and the Denver Broncos were limp. 

I had to watch it on Channel 4, as I have broken my Sky Go account, so I missed out on a lot of adverts, however, the David Beckham for H&M commercial was broadcast (and I am currently very gutted that the full version is not available to post on here from YouTube yet, but click on the link for the H&M channel for the full version). He was just kind of running round, quite awkwardly in boxers, don't be thinking he's all macho, because he wasn't. Less impressed. 

Anyway, I turned on Channel 4 to see Vernon Kay in the commentary box, how bizarre, but he then disappeared and was replaced by a pre-Denver Broncos player. Vernon Kay just kept laughing at everything anyway, but he seemed to really know a lot about NFL! 

The Channel 4 intro of the Super Bowl included New Yorkers saying what was great about the place. Its triumphs (namely, Wall Street Stock exchange, wealth, etc) and its tragedies (9/11), and how proud the city was as a whole and how nice everyone is. Mainly, how cold the place is at this time of the year. I have been to New York in December and it is freezing. Even as a 15 year old in my Golddigger jacket - yes, really. 

The Broncos have won the Super Bowl twice already and have featured six times, it was the Seahawks' first time. Although they were favourites to win. 

The players came out of the tunnel, the Broncos led by a huge white stallion and the Seahawks by a hawk. The Star Spangled Banner was sung by Renée Fleming,
a Grammy-winning, soprano opera singer, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. 

Then it was play time, Seahawks won the coin toss - conducted by Joe Namath (Former American Quarter back) in a Macklemore thrift shop coat - and Seattle were well away into their 1st and 10s and 1st downs and field goals and a lot of touchdowns! - Watch some highlights because they were unstoppable. 

I'm gonna pop some tags

Half time saw Bruno Mars begin with a drum solo - showing off his talents then he was met by his band (all of the same height - impressive) where he sang "Locked out of heaven", "Treasure", something with topless Red Hot Chili Peppers and "Just the way you are" - it was quite an epic performance, and it unfortunately out did Beyoncé's performance the previous year, seeing as the stadium lost its lighting... 

The second half kicked off with the Seahawks 22-0 up, the Broncos were looking tired and just generally un interested in fighting back - not what I like to see, the first touch down was two minutes into the 3rd quarter - far too easy for the Seahawks. 

By this time I was in bed, eyes drooping, trying to stay awake to finish the 3rd quarter, but it didn't happen and I fell asleep with the tv on. 

I was awoken at 7:30am by road works, quickly checked the score and the Seahawks won 43-8 - I was very impressed, so to celebrate I had an early morning run...

So, not great commercials, although, unlike Sky, C4 didn't have breaks every time out, so I'm not surprised there weren't loads, although Snoop Dog featured on a money supermarket advert, and Lynx created a "make love not war" special edition advert...

Next year sees the 49th Superbowl, with the season starting again sometime towards the end of the Summer. I am hoping sometime to go and see a Super Bowl final but considering they said you were lucky if you got a ticket for less than $1000, I think I need to save up for a while. Although, like most sporting things, the TV shows the best coverage, but in the midst of all that American pride the atmosphere must have been incredible

RHS x

Fitness Thursday #1 Fat burn and Abs

Here we are, the 1st of August. 

Pinch, punch... 

Now, if you're like me and still are yet to get away from the homeland of England you're still trying to get "summer body" 

- Whatever that is nowadays. 

Anyway, as a very VERY (too) keen fitness fanatic (I did warn you) I have put together some of my favourite exercises to tone every area of the body (I know, I'm amazing, thank me later)

These really aren't quick fixes though, although after a week or so you will find that after each session you will notice a difference because your muscles are tense, however this does wear off after an hour or so...

So if you know you're hitting the beach - fit a few planks in before you head down! 

The best way to burn fat 

Interval training. Thats it. Its quick and its really easy for beginner to advanced levels; I always do interval training as part of my cardio routine. 

the red band is Athletic Conditioning (152-190 bpm), Orange is Endurance Training (130-152) - the AC band is what you want to aim for for Fat Burn, endurance will also burn fat but not as quickly

(PLEASE NOTE: YOUR MAXIMUM HEART RATE IS 220 - YOUR AGE. THEN YOU WANT TO AIM TO WORK BETWEEN 60-80% OF THIS - DO NOT OVER DO YOUR HEART!) 

The other day I was on the bike and the above picture shows my heart rate as I changed levels and speeds. 

You can see how when I worked hard my heart rate dropped a lot and quickly (this depends how fit you are), then I started hard and fast again. 

An example bike exercise:

• 5 minute warm up (effort level 3-5) 
• 1 minute either at a very high level so you cycle slow or a low level put really push your reps high (Effort level 7-9)
• 1 minute - 1.5 minutes rest (this doesn't mean stop - slow down, let your heart rate fall - effort level 4-5)
• 45 seconds hard/fast
• 1 minute rest 
• 30 seconds hard/fast
• 1 minute rest
• 45 seconds hard/fast 
• 1 minute rest
• 1 minute hard/fast
• cool down/rest and repeat 

I did a similar routine to this, when I measured my heart rate and burned nearly 200 calories in 20 minutes! 

This is also very good for the Treadmill too, as long as you increase your effort levels (run) and rest (walk) several times fat will melt - training on the treadmill will burn more calories than the bike. 

MEDIEVAL ABS 

- this is what Davina McCall calls it on one of her abs - its because the first time you do them its flipping hard! but bare with it and you'll be baring your abs. ahhh haha. 

plank - keep hips low, elbows under shoulders

1. PLANK - better than crunches because this targets your inner and outer abdominals 

This is Jeanette Jenkins from The Hollywood Trainer (From Nike Training Club App) 

Hold for at least 30 seconds - 1 minute (or as long as you can)

make sure lower back stays in contact with the mat

2. ALTERNATING LONG LEGS WITH ROTATION

A bit like bicycles - this will really tackle lower tummy, 

Lie on your back with your legs extended in the air, 

Lower one leg at a time and twist the opposite elbow to meet the knee, 

Inhale and bring everything back to centre and swap sides - 1 minute 

keep back straight to avoid strain 

3. RUSSIAN TWISTS (not vodka, unfortunately) 

Again, these are very good for lower abs - you don't need a medicine ball just ensure the correct position 

Steady yourself in a seated position with your feet off the mat, twist side to side - moving whole shoulder gurdle - 1 minute

4. TOE TOUCHES 

curl shoulder blades off the mat

These are great for upper abs (for wearing those summer crop tops!) 

Lie on the mat with legs extended up in the air, bring medicine ball (or dumbbells  or 2 tins of soup) to meet toes - contract with abs.

Release shoulders back to floor - repeat. Always keep legs straight up in the air - 1 minute 

- Repeat the circuit as many times as you can - aim for 3 - abs recover very quickly! 

Please do not overdo your workout, always warm up well before cardio and stretch before and afterwards - 

Listen to your body! Trust me - it will tell you when its had enough!

Later I'll be posting about toning legs and bums, making the best power smoothies and finding the perfect playlists.

Happy workouts!

RHS x

Confessions of an all girls' private school

We would frolic naked in the school grounds. 

The End. 

That was a joke, 

We only did that on special occasions, like Christingle. 

Its not what everyone expects

I went to an all girls' private school from 11 to 16 and I loved it, until I was in year 9. 

The bitchyness, the lack of boys (which meant everyone was after everyone else's boy - weren't they? - no.), there were snipes of "lock up your boyfriends" - yep. 

There were 36 of us in 1 year. 18 in one form. You can imagine what it was like when there were then 3 maths sets. 

There were lesbians, I will admit, but only a sprinkling, whether the school turned them that way, I'm not so sure!

The grounds says it all.

The location was the settlement, Ockbrook, 

the younger years were housed in the Mount, 

the middle years in the Grange and the upper school in the Main school, 

the hall was the Birtill hall, 

there was the Mullinuex centre and the Sports complex, oh and a swimming pool - Don't get excited, you were swimming in rat wee and spiders. 

People got D's at GCSE 

Yes really, there were those that didn't get a choice and had to take Foundation maths, and they got a D (I believe one question was how many sides does a triangle have - at a private school ha.)

We were the worst year for GCSE grades - sorry Mrs Steele (is she still there?...) 

The day our Head Mistress said you can't be pretty and clever

University challenge was in full swing and there was an... interesting... looking girl on there, she potentially wouldn't have won any beauty contests. 

Anyway, we were that age where we were posing in the toilets in the tiny mirrors with our Sony Ericson phones and judging each others choice of sunglasses. 

Mrs Steele wasn't impressed, she spent a whole 30 minutes during assembly (after we'd sung All Things Bright and Beautiful - think about it) telling us if we spent to much time on our looks we wouldn't succeed. 

THAT right there, was the motivation we needed. 

I got an A in maths *cough cough* 

3 male teachers and several hundred girls 

Yeah, what you're thinking is true, 

With one anyway. A science teacher, who was suspected of placing a web cam at the back of the class on the top of a globe and insisted on taking us into another room one by one to "discuss" our grades. 

I did only discuss my grades. 

After running club one lunch time he did ask me if I'd been to running club (I was in my P.E kit - good guess) 

Talking about P.E. kit - everyone had a Skirt with our full names embroidered and P.E. pants (grandma-ish), with a fully named tracksuit, the skirt then became a Skort, yep. 

An english teacher arrives to teach Set 2 GCSE English, I was in set 2. 

He was by no means attractive but that didn't stop him sleeping with a girl who had left the year previous. naughty. he now teaches abroad I believe - or was removed. 

Domino Effect

One girl does something unheard of (with a boy), so does EVERYONE else. Really. It was a big case of "keeping up with the Joneses" on everyone's side

And it got totally out of hand. 

People were accused of everything and I mean everything! 

If I was a rich girl (na na na na na na na na na na na na na na naaaaa) 

I'm not saying I went to Cheltenham Ladies' College (at around £23,000 a year!) but some girls had more than others and there was a hierarchy. 

There was an R form and an M form in every year. I was in R, the M's were always superior, in looks, wealth, grades, the R's had more fun though. 

There were three houses... Hugglepuff, Ravenousclaws and Griffins. 

Ha, sorry, they were Budowa, Commenius and Cennick, 

I was in Budowa, we lost everything, except sport 

In summary

Trip to NYC

There were girls who bought alcohol to school, some who bought in drugs, some who bought in STD's, some who became pregnant (SCANDALOUS!), some who left the building to go and see the "talent" across the road. He still lives there now, I believe - nice chap. 

There was bitchyness, there was teacher abuse, there was an hour and a half for lunch spent outside doing nothing, there were teachers who had degrees from African universities (that were made up), History teachers that had a soft spot for Neville Chamberlain, bought in action men and told us the answers to everything, there were Ski trips to America, trips to New York, trips to Venice, France and Germany, rituals of singing as loud as you could in the dining hall when it was someone's birthday and forgetting your hymn book was basically high treason and you were held accountable for death. 

Mad, bitchy, full of nutters. 

In September, its taking boys. 

Co-Ed. 

Ruined. 

RHS x 

and so I start a blog.

I've been putting it off for months, maybe even a year now. 

I was going to do it when I started University last September, but I guess the life of a fresher is far more important. 

Anyway, as we are in the middle of a very long (never too long) summer break I believe it is time. As recent events in my life are definitely worth sharing, its never been a better time. 

So here is it, the blog of Ruth Hannah Smith (not famous, yet.), the fitness addict, cake addict, all things Jane Austin addict (soon to venture to the Brontë's), modern day Mozart (ha), traditional waitress ("the sea bream is a river fish" - yes, really), business student (now 2nd year, it flies), Durham University, sister to non, daughter to two, friend to many (I hope), girlfriend to non, ever (and so it shall stay, through choice).

That's me, in a curly walnut shell. I'll blog anything and everything - this is basically me stretching out of my 140 character Twitter limit (crazy fools). Twitter you ask? - @RuthHannahSmith 

I know this is the start of something that will probably have me more hooked then Champagne - Veuve Clicqout Ponsardin (vintage), if you must know, its my 20th in December.  

Ciao, 
RHS x