Priceline's What's Your Health Age Test and Free Health Checks

I am a huge sucker for online health age tests. I've done the Medibank Private one, which is available only to members, the Bupa one, and the Blackmores one. So, when I got an email from Priceline saying that they've launched their own health test, I made a bee line to it.

(Source)

Truth be told, it's not bad. It's not as constructive as the Medibank Private one, which gives you health action plans, and a wealth of online courses you can sign up to to meet your health goals. But it's certainly much better than the Bupa one, which told me my biggest health risk was death and that I could have better health by having children (nice one, Bupa!).

So, without much ado, here is my health age, according to Priceline.

(Source)

Haha, apparently my stress levels have aged me 4 years. While I think that's rather harsh, my stress and anxiety levels have been very high over the last month or so, particularly with juggling uni and full time work. I've felt overwhelmed multiple times, which was why I rated my stress levels a 4/5. Since I'm 'fessing up, nutrition hasn't been great for me either. I've been so time-pressed trying to keep everything together (work, housework, study, exercise) that I've had to cheat with food a little, and I've resorted to using some sauces out of the jar and packets, and some oven-ready meals. I figured it's only a temporary sacrifice while I complete my studies, so I'm ok with that.

Now for the great bits about the test. Until January 31st 2014, if you complete the survey, you can stand to win a $200 Priceline voucher! How great is that?

And another surprise bonus, Priceline and Revive Clinic are also holding free health checks at selected Priceline venues throughout Australia. The health check will comprise of blood glucose checks, blood pressure checks, BMI measurements and discussions about your health and lifestyle plus individualized recommendations.

So, check out the test, and let me know what your health age is!

What you should REALLY listen to when you exercise

Everyone knows that music makes workouts more productive. But do different types of music yield different results? Which genre should you be pumping through your speakers? 

If you've ever wondered about that, today's your lucky day! I voluntarily subjected myself to different genres of music while exercising to see which ones are the best tunes to workout to. You can thank me later. 

Here's my hypothesis! 

The genre of music that boosts performance the most is the subject's most favourite genre. 

In my case, that genre would be alternative/metal. I think it sounds like a perfectly plausible outcome, so let me get into the method of the experiment. 

The fitness challenge is to exercise on the stationary bike for 16 minutes on the Fat Burner mode set at Level 10. The exercise is to be done first thing in the morning after waking up at 7.30am, before breakfast, to a 20-minute playlist of a chosen musical style, and to a control of exercising without music. 

Before much ado, here are 

Now that you've mocked/admired my musical selection, let's get into the nitty gritty. Despite my favourite genre being alternative/metal, all the songs in the playlist are songs that I enjoy, and of fairly upbeat tempo.

Results were measured based on the number of calories burnt, distance cycled (km), and how motivated I felt during the workout. I've also picked out songs from each genre that got me really pumped (Power Songs).

Here's what I discovered:

Genre	Distance	Calories	Power Song	Motivation
Orchestral	7.62	132	Surprisingly everything (Explanation below)
Hip Hop	7.62	131.5	Pump It Black Skinhead Real Life
Pop/Indie	7.51	126	Sacrilege
Electronica	7.46	126	Party Rock Anthem Scare Me
Alternative/Metal	7.41	123	The Infected
No Music (Control)	6.71	106

The results are pretty close, but in general, the more Power Songs there were, the better the performance and the better the mood. While the Power Songs were in different genres, they shared similar characteristics:

• A strong bass ~ This activates a primitive part of our brain that then stimulates the adrenal glands. 
• Anthemic ~ It's like being a superhero with a theme song!
• Speed ~ It needs at least 120 beats per minute 
• Something you enjoy ~ It doesn't have to be your favourite song, but it shouldn't put you off either. 

I'm disappointed alt/metal ranked last, but the playlist I chose definitely lacked Power Songs. Sadface.

Why did Orchestral music score so high? 

Bear in mind, I'm a Classical musician, so these results reflect that. The Orchestral pieces were anthemic, evocative, rhythmically-driven pieces, but had the added advantage of creating a strong emotional response. My mood was euphoric, the music was accompanied by strong imagery in my mind, and I felt like I was soaring.

Be warned, it won't work for everyone, so don't jump on the Mozart bandwagon just yet.

Can you identify with my experience? What's your Power Song? 

Liebster Award

I was tagged to do this a while ago but I've been given this award again by the lovely Hailey from The Beauty in Life.

Head over to Hailey's to check out her lovely beauty blog. Here are the questions that she's posted: 

Tell me your biggest beauty blunder?

Easy! My biggest beauty blunder was this time when I had bought one of those electric razor wands and thought... wouldn't it be a great tool to groom my eyebrows with. Shaved off half my eyebrow in less than 2 seconds, and had to fill it out for about a month while it was growing out. Certainly learnt my lesson though!

Eyebrow bane

What annoys you most about the Australian beauty industry?

What annoys me about the international beauty industry is false advertising. Airbrushed models, using false lashes in mascara ads... and so on. Kudos to Dove though and their wonderful body awareness campaigns. 

Did you ever destroy any of your mums makeup as a child? If so, what was it?

No, I wasn't ever interested in makeup as a child! I was quite a tomboy, and wouldn't be caught dead with makeup. 

What is the one beauty product you struggle to apply?

False lashes. I lack the fine motor skills to put them on I think! 

What is the weirdest beauty product you have ever seen?

Hands down it's snail cream. I have a snail phobia... and the thought of rubbing snails all over me grosses me out. I know they're good for the environment, but they can stay in the garden where they belong :P

Snail cream. Because snails never age.

What is the best beauty advice you have ever received?

Less is more. 

You have an unlimited amount of money to buy just one beauty product, what would you choose?

I would never really splurge on any consumable, and this includes beauty product, even if I did have an unlimited amount of money :P But, even though it's not a product, I will splurge on a yoga retreat getaway for perhaps a month, maybe to Gwinganna. De-stressing helps with beauty no? 

What is your least favourite part of your beauty routine?

Having to put on moisturisers. I'm very impatient, and love getting things done in under 1 minute. Some people call this efficiency. Others call it haste. I just call it being me. 

You are being shipped off to Mars but can only take 2 makeup or skincare products. What will they be?

Body wash, and moisturiser (I know I just said that I hate moisturising... but hearsay tells me Mars is quite dry!) 

What is your favourite thing in the whole world? (doesn't have to be beauty related)

I'm guessing favourite thing has to be an object, so I'm going to go with my computer. How terrible! 

I know I'm supposed to nominate a whole bunch of people with less than 200 followers but I have done this before in the previous tag so I'm passing up this time. And therefore, like a damp squib, I won't be posting my 10 questions.

A damp squib or a damp squid? Hmmm 

Thank you Hailey for this lovely nomination. It was a lot of fun answering your questions! 

Challenge: Parkour Generations Shock Absorber Workout

I haven't been able to post much since returning from my holiday, because as these things go, I am now sick. I think I caught some stomach virus towards the end of my holiday, and now I have everything from chest pains to this wonderful blessed gift of eating-very-little-only-to-feel-sick-anyway-and-wished-I-hadn't-eaten-anything. 

I haven't been able to workout, except to do some gentle yoga every now and then. So I haven't been able to try out the challenge below, but it reminded me so much of Ryan Higa's Daily Life of a Ninjahinja.

My favourite part of that video is the "Art of Surprize". Hilarious.

Ok, back on topic. I have so much respect for people who do parkour, especially ninjas. Check out the challenge image below, or view the challenge on Tribesports.

Click for a larger image, or go here for the full article.

You can even do that workout to that Parkour song in that Ninjahinja video. Just a suggestion :P

The Bupa Online Health Assessment

So... I really wasn't planning on doing a post till 2013, but I recently did this Bupa online health assessment  and the results were too hilarious not to share.

I like doing these tests, as evidenced here and I've also done a similar Medibank Private one, which is only available to members which is why I haven't posted it publicly.

Without further ado, here are my results. All pictures are screen grabs from Bupa's result page.

I'm quite flattered. That's the best result any of these assessments have ever given me. But wait... there's more...

Here's how I can improve my health.

That's right, by having kids. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty drastic move there to improve my health... Well, looks like the BF and I had better get crackin' O.o

But wait... what are my health risks? What chances do I have of getting breast cancer?

Apparently, not a lot. But, I do have death looming overhead as a leading cause of ... death. Glad to know that when I go, it's highly likely because I died. Thanks Bupa.

Oh, and that bit of red next to breast cancer is meant to indicate the risk incurred due to lifestyle. I tried to work out what in my life could be elevating my chances of getting breast cancer, and then I realized it's because I don't have any children.

Tsk tsk. Me and my unhealthy child-less ways!

My verdict? Probably one of the least helpful assessments that I've done. Seriously! It's given me the best rating for health, and I know for a fact that I'm not a perfect picture of health. That being said, it has given me the most giggles.

If you try the test, let me know how you went and what you think of it. It takes about 15 minutes so make sure you have plenty of time to spare!

Challenge: 12 Days of Christmas

Here's a fun challenge for the festive times. 

Click on the picture for a bigger image, or view the challenge here

It's easy to forget to work out and to overindulge in all those delicious Christmas goodies at this time of the year. Trust me, teachers have it the worst! (all those chocolates we receive from students!) 

Not sure how this challenge works? 

Here's the song (pinched from the Tribesports blog) 

On the first day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
A challenging 1 minute plank.

On the second day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the third day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the fourth day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the fifth day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the sixth day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
6 push ups, Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the seventh day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
7 mountain climbers, 6 push ups, Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the eighth day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
8 squats-a-squatting, 7 mountain climbers, 6 push ups, Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the ninth day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
9 lads chair dipping, 8 squats-a-squatting, 7 mountain climbers, 6 push ups, Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the tenth day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,
10 lords tuck-jumping, 9 lads chair dipping, 8 squats-a-squatting, 7 mountain climbers, 6 push ups, Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the eleventh day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me,11 ladies lunging, 10 lords tuck-jumping, 9 chair dipping, 8 squats-a-squatting, 7 mountain climbers, 6 push ups, Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

On the twelfth day of fitness, my Tribesports set to me, 12 crunches crunching, 11 ladies lunging, 10 lords tuck-jumping, 9 chair dipping, 8 squats-a-squatting, 7 mountain climbers, 6 push ups, Fiiiiiiive star jumps! 4 full burpees, 3 minute bridge, 2 minute wall squat and a challenging 1 minute plank.

I'm up to Day 2 which means I'll be doing the 1 min plank and the 2 min wall squat today. 

So my lovelies, have a wonderful festive season! Let me know if you're doing this challenge :) 

Challenge: One Song Workouts

One of the lovely ladies on the Beautyheaven forums posted up these workouts and I think they are too good to pass up! 

I will try them all and we will see if I can do them to a song! (I am going to choose a longer song hahaha Crystal Method here I come!)

Workout 1: Contrary to my own advice of choosing the Crystal Method, I decided to use Anberlin's Feel Good Drag  (from Never Take Friendship Personal... they also have a 2003 song by the same name. What's up with that Anberlin?!) The song goes for 3:24, I fitted everything in except the last 30 Jumping Jacks, which I did anyway but to the next song on my playlist. To do these workouts comfortably, I think you'll need songs of about 4mins long. Definitely don't try to do it to Blur's Your Song 2 

Just for fun

The good people at Tribesports sent me a rockin t-shirt. One of the Tribesports challenges was to take an epic photo in your Tribesports tee. So I tried. 

Bird of paradise pose

Not a particularly epic background but oh well :P

If you are on Tribesports and would like to follow me, here's my profile page. If you are not yet on Tribesports, it's a really awesome community where you can find new fitness challenges to motivate you and meet other fitness enthusiasts. Warning: Not recommended if you get addicted to these things... 

Christmas Wish List

I know I'm not going to be receiving any of these for Christmas, because I've already asked for completely different things (that's always the way isn't it?). But I've come up with more things that I want and will probably end up purchasing for myself in the New Year! Let the wishing begin!

Written in the Stars from Beauty Bay 

Stila Written in the Stars Palette at beautybay.com $21.80 
How gorgeous is it! I just don't need any more neutral palettes at this stage, but once I do, this will be all mine!

Asics Gel Volt 33

A new pair of runners approximately $150-200
I'm thinking of going to a shoe store and get it all professionally sorted. Something like the Asics Gel Volt 33 (above). I think that looks trendy, as well as does its job.

Garmin Forerunner 10 

One of the Garmin Forerunner GPS watches from $200

I'd be happy even with a basic one like the Forerunner 10. The higher end models though look so good! Why do they have to be so expensive :( 

Codex costume from Halloweencostumes

Codex costume, whole set approximately $80
Because I love The Guild. And I love Felicia Day. And err... why wouldn't anyone want a Codex outfit in their wardrobe? It should be a wardrobe staple.

Toofaced Shadow Bon Bons from Beautybay

Toofaced Shadow Bon Bons $48 
Because I need more eyeshadow palettes!

Mice and Mystics from Boardgamegeek

Mice and Mystics game $80.50 
Available at Milsims, I just want this boardgame because it has rodents, and I like rodents. Nothing else is relevant, just my love for all things rodent.

Phillips Lumea

Phillips Lumea $600 
I've been wanting this so much for awhile. If it was cheaper, I would definitely purchase this in a heartbeat.


I think nothing sums up my personality and interests more than this wishlist... I'm sure it's helped no one with their Christmas shopping. I have a feeling I'll need to create another wishlist soon, browsing around for items for this list has put more on a future list!