Last night I entered my photos into the Maximuscle Body of 2008 Competition, via their website. I'm very confident and pleased with the images I submitted. I'd love to feature in the Maximuscle magazine as I've trained really hard through the duration of maintaining this blog and tracked my progress and training methods along with different equipment I've used.

It would be a great achievement as I feel I’ve worked very hard to get to the fitness level I’m currently at. I ran into many difficulties along the way, including currently training without a gym! But all in all feel I’ve achieved many goals within the time frame I set myself.

I’ll hope to hear something either way... we’ll have to wait and see! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

So far my fitness equipment collection has risen very slightly, but with the lack of a gym to increase my fitness levels it's important to use what I have to develop my physique.

I want to prove to myself I can get bigger and ripped up without the sole use of a gym.

So far my fitness equipment collection consists of:

Hand Grippers

I think these are very important to my routine but I keep overlooking them and still haven't developed a fitness program to incorporate these on a weekly basis.

I think that this is the main problem with smaller bits of equipment like this. People just use them once or twice they've bought them, then when the fad wares off they live in the draw.

During my current routine I am going to try and incorporate these at least three times a week.

Fitness Mat

This is something that is vital to my fitness routine, I love the fitness mat as it's saved me many a back ache (excuse the pun) I have a very spiny back and find it near to impossible to do sit ups without this supporting me.

It's also great as it's easy to store (lives under my cupboard) and when I get the mat out I tend to do a full routine on it of sit ups, press ups and stretches.A definite must have for anyone into fitness.

18kg Adjustable Dumbbells

I ordered these yesterday and look forward to reviewing them, I think that the "18kg" weight is a nice sized weight and I can still build muscle off of this weight. Before leaving my last gym I was able to shift 3x12 on 22kg's but i'm expecting to start slow as I want to avoid injuries. From the reviews I read these seem like a good buy and also with an adjustable set of dumbbells there are many exercises I can do at home straight away.

This is a amazing piece of kit and overlooked by many, cheap and simple to store. After my runs I pull out the skipping rope from my bag and then do a intensive skipping set and then after use it as a cool down. My skipping ability has improved since I have been doing this and I recommend this to anyone, a cheap and very useful item.

Other items I'm looking at getting are some Stretch Cords and also some fitness "Rings" to aid with my pull up circuits and hanging leg raises.

Last week I managed to meet all of my proposed fitness targets which were:

This past week with my lack of access to a gym I feel the need for some more strength training. I'll continue doing the sit up, press up and pull up routines I just feel as though I should lift some weight to add some strength development exercises to my training.

I'm looking to buy some stretch cords and this morning I ordered some Body Sculpture 18kg Weights to get some strength training done at home as soon as they arrive! (can't wait!)

I hope to write a full review on the weights when they arrive!

This week I hope to continue my aerobic fitness through my running and my "Calisthenic" exercises.

I have written out my targets this week and feel this is what is helping me to push me along even though I have a busy schedule. If your targets are in physical form written down in front of you then it really helps you to achieve what you've set out to do, rather than just thinking "I'll get round to it".

My last post was all about posture, it is very important to get your posture right when at work or the gains you get from exercising won't be as great. It could even lead to problems if your muscles are tired and you're posture at work is all wrong.

So what is the best posture at work?

Well for many of us most of the day is spent sat at a computer screen or office desk.

The following information, along with tips on posture in my last post will help to get your posture into shape at work.

The Monitor
The monitor should be at eye level so that you only need to move your eyes to see the whole screen. Having to look down or up puts strain on your neck and muscles to your head leading to headaches.

Raise the monitor using a monitor stand or a selection of large enough strong books.

The monitor should be square in front of you. Not to the right or to the left but right in front. Looking to the side, together with other bad habits, will twist the spine and neck.

The Keyboard
The Keyboard should be straight in front of you and easy to reach. Your wrists should be fairly straight (see the red line in the picture above).

You may want to invest in a wrist support, which lays in front of the keyboard.

The Mouse
Keep the mouse close to your keyboard and work area. Your lower arm should be about parallel to your desk with your elbows just a little lower.

Don't let the weight of your arm rest on the underside of your wrist. There are special mouse pads with a gel wrist rest which provide great support.

The Chair
You should be sitting right back in your chair not perched off the front. Pull your chair right in so that your fingers comfortably reach the keyboard and so that your back and shoulders are straight and supported by the back of your chair.

Tilt your chair forward so that your knees are about 20-30° and as much as as 45° lower than your hips. (See the picture above) If you do not have a tilt option on your chair then sit on a wedge cushion to give some extra lift at the back of your seat.

Movement
Get up from your desk at least once every hour. Walk around or do a small chore to give your body some movement.

When sitting, change the position of your feet or rock about in your seat occasionally. This raises your body temperature just enough to help prevent tiredness.

It looks like finally spring has decided to visit UK - or at least London. It really wormed up and it seems like we can finally say "Goodbye!" to our winter clothes. But what if you don't fit in your last-summer dress/ T-shirt? Time to shape-up! - get rid of jelly bellies and make use of your muscles! How? Try swimming!

Water exercise is a great way to tone-up. But forget about "poolates" and such - I am talking real swimming here! I know, doing laps is sooo boring but look at it this way: water is 1000 times more dense than air and provides 12 times the resistance, compared to "land rat" workout. At the same time you feel weightless, as water density is very similar to density of human body. And you don't have to worry about your joints as swimming reduces the strain put on them by over 50%. Lest but not last - only 30 minutes of moderate laps burns 280 calories!

If you want to make swimming more fun, try using training aids. They are not just for the beginners - using kickboards and handpadles can not only improve your technique and turn into a pro in the process - by adding resistance they make your workout super-efficient.

So what are you waiting for! Swim yourself slim!!