Music that will make you fit!

Everyone knows that music can have an effect on your mood. It has the power to lift your mood, make you cry or evoke an extremely strong memory. It has even been known to bring people out of comas!

But can music help you to get fit?

A recent study shows that listening to music while you exercise could actually increase he efficiency of your workout and improve your stamina and motivation.

Increasing the tempo of the music that you listen to while exercising has been shown to increase the distance covered by healthy cyclists as well as the power and pedal cadence.

So if you need to evoke a little enthusiasm while you exercise, create a playlist of motivating tunes that will get your heart pumping!

Why not invest in some great portable speakers to get you going during your daily workout.

This Deadmau5 portable speaker may be small but it packs quite a punch and it not only looks amazing with its light up LED eyes, but the quality of sound produced by this compact little speaker will blow you away!

Playing on your phone could help you be more productive at work!

If you think that the hours that you spend playing apparently ‘mindless’ games on your phone every week is just wasting your time then think again!

As reported today in The Daily Mail, a recent article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) introduced research suggesting that taking part in some activities we think are non-productive may be a surprisingly constructive way to spend time, particularly at work.

Jane McGonigal, a game designer and author of Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, referred to research suggesting these habits can make people better problem solvers, more collaborative, and less likely to give up.

‘In other words, they can make people more resilient,’ she wrote. As a result, she has made it a personal goal to ‘waste’ at least four minutes every hour.

She read scientific literature about resilience - which draws on neuroscience, medicine and psychology - and discovered there are four elements that help us bounce back: physical, mental, emotional and social.

So in fact, those few minutes that you spend playing games on your phone could make you a more productive employee and more able to cope with the stresses and strains of the day!

The possibilities are endless, with the number of game apps going up daily, but if you would prefer to play a more tangible game that is still fully portable, why not try out one of these fun app-cessories…

Appdrive turns your smartphone or media device into the ultimate driving experience! Just load up one of the compatible apps for a real racing feel. 

If you like fishing but can’t seem to fit the real thin into your lunch hour, try Appfishing and take the excitement of fishing to a new and totally portable level. With real casting and jiggling it uses the devices gyro to simulate real fishing experience. 

 

Give it a go and see if it helps you become a more productive worker!

How to dress for success

It is a well known fact that first impressions count- and rightly or wrongly- much of someone’s first impression of you is gathered from what you are wearing.  Which is why it is so important to project the right image when you are trying to get a new job or promotion. Here are some tips that could make a difference between promotion or demotion…

Stick to well-fitting basics in neutral colours that can easily be mixed, matched and accessorised to make different outfits.

This Asos pencil dress (£38) is smart and comfortable and can be accessorised with different blazer jackets, cardigans, jewellery and belts. Simple doesn’t have to mean boring- it is fine to add accents of your signature style to your basic work outfit.

This Zara blazer (£49.99) will go with anything and will instantly smarten up any outfit.

Tailoring should be well fitting but not skin-tight and hemlines should be to the knee.

Cleavage on show is always a no-no, as are sheer blouses.

Jewellery should be simple and never noisy- stand up and shake your arms- if it jingles, take it off!

Finishing touches are important. Get your roots done regularly (if you dye your hair) and keep your nails neat. Your shoes should always be clean. Your accessories say a lot about you- a scuffed old phone doesn’t project a very professional image. Invest in a smart leather phone cover such as this Fenice black PRADA iphone4 case. 

Add a bit of excitement to your life in three easy steps

It is Friday night and you are looking forward to an early night and maybe a trip to the garden centre tomorrow. Watching the X factor in your PJ’s has beome the highlight of your week! So where did it all go wrong? You used to be the life and soul of the party and Friday nights were just the beginning of an exciting pleasure-filled adventure when you never knew who you might meet or where you might end up! Now you look forward to the supermarket shop- what delicious bargains will await you this week?!

Well if you want to inject a bit of that long-lost Va va voom back into your life, here are three easy steps to get you back on track…

Be bold

It is easy to fall into a fashion rut- we all have our ‘safe’ items of clothing- black is slimming and goes with everything; that jumper is just so warm; the elasticated waist on those trousers makes them unbelievably comfortable- and there is nothing wrong with that. But why not try being braver with your accessories. The right accessory can turn an outfit from drab to fab. Invest in a statement necklace, a bright scarf or dress your phone up with a daring cover. This Fenice leopard iphone 4 cover is perfect for adding a bit of wild abandon to your dreary work wear!  

Be spontaneous

If there is a bar that you have always wanted to go to, or perhaps an activity that you have always wanted to do- Just do it! Don’t wait for an invitation. If you can’t find anyone to go with you, don’t be put off- go alone! Often we miss out on meeting great new people because we hide behind our good old safe friends.You never know who you might meet! 

Get your adrenaline pumping

Try to do one thing that scares you every day- be that skydiving, paintballing or simply getting a spider out of the bath! Maybe you should give karaoke a go? Get some practice in beforehand with the appsing. It transforms your phone or media device into a fully portable karaoke machine, complete with lyrics on the screen and a built-in microphone!

Christmas Party Countdown Part 2

With less than 8 weeks left until Christmas and your diary rapidly filling with opportunities to dust off your party wardrobe, the panic is setting in. Will your ‘investment’ party dress that you spent a fortune on last year still fit? Well, check out our Christmas Party Countdown Part 1 for how to get started by setting realistic goals and keeping track of your progress.

As anyone will tell you, the fastest way to kick-start your weight-loss is not only to watch what you are eating, but also to increase the amount of exercise that you do. Again, it is important to be realistic with your exercise goals. If you do very little exercise and you suddenly start going to the gym every day for two hours, you are going to lose interest very quickly (and quite possible do your body some damage too!) Ease yourself into a new fitter lifestyle by setting practical goals that fit with your lifestyle. Take a brisk walk in your lunch break or walk to and from work instead of driving. Get your family involved by walking the kids to school or going on a bike ride together at the weekend. Find an activity that you enjoy and you are much more likely to stick to it! Even small changes will make a huge difference to your level of fitness and will help you maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.

If you need a bit more motivation to keep track of all of the positive changes that you are making, perhaps you should consider investing in a health tracker such as the Fitbit UltraWireless Tracker.

The Fitbit Ultra monitors your activity all day to provide you with real-time feedback on steps, distance, calories burned, and stairs climbed to encourage you to walk more and be more active. It wirelessly uploads your data to Fitbit.com so you can gain deeper insight into your daily or monthly fitness and sleep levels with free online graphs and charts. On Fitbit.com, you can earn fitness badges, connect with friends to share and compete on fitness goals, or join the Fitbit community for advice and encouragement. So you can get fit- one step at a time!

Colour your mood with your accessories

Expressions like “green with envy,” “seeing red,” or “feeling blue”, are commonly used in everyday conversations to express an emotion and in fact there is real evidence that colours can have a noticeable affect on our mood. 

Researchers at the University of British Columbia conducted extensive tests to establish whether cognitive performance varied when people saw red or blue. Subjects performed tasks with words or images displayed against red, blue or neutral backgrounds on computer screens. 

Red groups did better on tests of recall and attention to detail, like remembering words or checking spelling and punctuation. Blue groups did better on tests requiring imagination, like inventing creative uses for a brick or creating toys from shapes.

Another study in 2008 carried out by Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester showed that men considered women shown in photographs with red backgrounds or wearing red to be more attractive than women with other colours.

Colours have been used as therapy in many ancient cultures including the ancient Egyptians and Chinese and are still used holistically today. So how can we utilize colour to our advantage? Here are some ways to accessorise with colour that will say a lot about your personality and even boost your mood…

Red is the colour of passion. It denotes strong feelings and grabs attention. Red could be the perfect colour for you if you are looking to stand out in the crowd or increase a certain someone’s pulse rate! Choose a bright pink hue of red for a more playful and sweet shade of passion, such as this Poppy Pink Fenice ipad cover. 

Black is the colour of authority and power. It can often denote mystery and is timelessly chic. Vamp up your outfit with this Fenice Prada Black iphone 4 cover 

Blue is tranquil and relaxing. It can also stimulate creativity. Blue is also thought to be the colour of loyalty so is an excellent choice to wear to a job interview. Give off the vibes of trustworthy dependability with this Fenice denim blue ipad cover.

 Orange is uplifting and zingy. It is great for stimulating action and enthusiasm and relieving lethargic periods of inactivity.This juicy orange Fenice iphone 4 cover would get you moving even on the coldest of Monday mornings!

Self-healing smartphone screens are coming soon!

The BBC reported today that in the near future, self-healing materials may make the cracked smartphone screen a thing of the past!

In 2002 a study led by Scott White from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign saw huge leaps and bounds in the development of this field. The study infused a plastic-like poymer with microscopic capsules containing a liquid agent. When the material was cracked open, the capsules ruptured, releasing the healing agent. When the agent made contact with a catalyst embedded in the material, a chemical reaction bonded the two faces of the cracks together, recovering up to 75% of the polymers original toughness.

The development of this technology could not only mean terrific improvements in the technology available to the military, but also to the humble smartphone user like you or I!

However, before you get too excited, the technology is not available in smartphones just yet- so if you want to protect your smartphone screen from cracks and scrapes, it is probably best to invest in a protective cover such as the Fenice PRADA Black iphone case. This case fits securely onto your iphone and its robust yet stylish design is versatile enough to use everyday. It also comes in several different colours to suit your style or mood- now you can’t say that about a self-healing screen!