Today sees me returning to work after 15 weeks isolating at home. It\u2019s been a very long time to be sitting at home and a great amount of time to allow me to get so much done. You\u2019d think so, right?<\/p>\n

Wrong. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019ve been doing, but it doesn\u2019t add up to much. I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re like but for me it seems the less I do, the less I get done. I started off with great intentions. I was working out at home and doing little fitness videos for Instagram but then I hurt my back and that took four weeks to heal and after that I just sort of lost my mojo! Anyone else?<\/p>\n

On top of that, we had lovely weather all through May so my excuse was that I wanted to take advantage of the sunshine whilst I could and so I spent a very long time sitting out on my balcony (and doing a little bit of gardening). Then when the weather changed and it rained all through the first three weeks in June, I thought I would use that time to get the house organised, the wardrobes cleared out, the cupboards tidied. However, each wet day just found me listening to music or watching old movies, because that’s what you do on rainy days, right?<\/p>\n

Admittedly, I really did get into my \u2018gardening\u2019 this year, which I have been loving. (I only have a balcony so it is all containers, but they have really flourished thanks to Richard Jackson<\/a>\u2019s incredible compost<\/a>, as well as his fabulous Flower Power<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>\n<\/a>\n

Everyone that I have \u2018Zoomed\u2019 from my balcony has commented on how good my Geraniums, Lavender, Pinks, Begonias etc. are looking.<\/p>\n\n

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By the way,\u00a0 if you still aren\u2019t sorted with fabulous plants and flowers for the garden this summer then check out the gardening section<\/a> of our website. All delivered direct to your door. Simple.<\/p>\n\n

So here I am returning to QVC today, full of the excitement of having some routine back in my life yet apprehensive about suddenly being around other people. By all accounts though, the systems that have been put in place at work are excellent and everyone is being very mindful and considerate and there are sanitation stations everywhere and even the directors are keeping a beady eye on how far apart we are from our guests, so I know I\u2019ll be well looked after. Still feeling apprehensive about it though.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I had the weirdest throwback to that last day of the summer holidays before you return to school. I felt like I should be laying out my new uniform with my new shirt and trousers and school shoes (I loved that bit when I was younger) and packing my new school bag with my brand new pencil case with all my new pencils and pens and my ruler. Who remembers that feeling? I loved all the new stuff but was apprehensive about the actual return to school itself. Well that\u2019s sort of how I\u2019m feeling now, but more excited than anything else. To be back at Q and being able to talk to you all again and to see my colleagues (though far fewer of them than before, as all those who can work from home are doing so).<\/p>\n

More than anything though, I have had a sudden reawakening in me for the need to get back into my fitness, which I am really glad about. I don\u2019t want to fall off the wagon again though, so I am looking for some help this time.<\/p>\n\n\n

Fortunately, we have a great Today\u2019s Special Value coming up on Saturday 27th June (launching on Friday 26th June) from Garmin<\/a>. It\u2019s the Garmin Vivoactive Smartwatch with GPS & Wi-Fi. It is the perfect choice for keeping track of all your activity and it even has a \u2018body battery\u2019 that lets you know when your body has the most energy and therefore when is good for you to get active! It has so many features I actually can\u2019t really do them all justice here, so I am just going to list all the technical details here so you can see for yourself. It\u2019s also available on interest-free instalments, by the way!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/a>\n

I will be on-air with it at midnight on Friday night, 26th June. I would recommend getting in early for this one. (I just had my birthday a few days ago and if this had been a Today’s Special Value before my birthday I would have asked for this as a birthday gift from the family!) It\u2019s going to be perfect to get me motivated again and not only get me going but keep me going especially as it has 20 pre-loaded sports apps and a heart rate monitor and a pulse-ox monitor too!<\/p>\n<\/a>\n

Here are all the details for you to check out for yourself:<\/p>\n

Garmin<\/a> Vivoactive 4S Smartwatch with GPS & Wi-Fi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tune into your body, and tone up with a smartwatch that can track it all and help you reach your health and fitness goals.<\/p>\n

BODY BATTERY ENERGY MONITORING<\/p>\n

See your body’s energy levels throughout the day so you can find the best times for activity and rest.<\/p>\n

PULSE OX SENSOR<\/p>\n

The Pulse Ox sensor gauges your blood oxygen saturation during the day and as you sleep to show how well your body is absorbing oxygen.<\/p>\n

STRESS TRACKING<\/p>\n

Find out if you’re having a calm, balanced or stressful day. Relax reminders will even prompt you to do a short breathing activity when you’re feeling stressed.<\/p>\n

MENSTRUAL CYCLE TRACKING<\/p>\n

Use the Garmin Connect app to track your cycle, log physical and emotional symptoms and learn about training and nutrition during each phase of your cycle. Even get cycle tracking information on your wrist.<\/p>\n

HYDRATION TRACKING<\/p>\n

Log your daily fluid intake as a reminder to stay hydrated. You can even have an auto goal for hydration that adjusts based on how much sweat you lose during activities.<\/p>\n

RESPIRATION TRACKING<\/p>\n

See how you’re breathing throughout the day, during sleep and during breathwork and yoga activities.<\/p>\n

ADVANCED SLEEP MONITORING<\/p>\n

Get a full picture of how you’re sleeping, with a breakdown of your light, deep and REM sleep stages as well as Pulse Ox and respiration data.<\/p>\n

WRIST-BASED HEART RATE<\/p>\n

The watch constantly samples your heart rate and will alert you if it stays too high or too low while you\u2019re at rest. It also helps gauge how hard you work during activities. Even underwater.<\/p>\n

MINDFUL BREATHING<\/p>\n

When you want to relax or focus, you can start a breathwork activity, and this watch will track your stress and respiration to help you get a better understanding of how you’re breathing.<\/p>\n

ANIMATED, ON-SCREEN WORKOUTS<\/p>\n

Easy-to-follow, animated cardio, strength, yoga and pilates workouts come pre-loaded on the watch, and you can download more from the Garmin Connect app.<\/p>\n

BUILT-IN SPORTS APPS<\/p>\n

Track all the ways you move with more than 20 pre-loaded GPS and indoor sports apps \u2014 including walking, running, cycling, pool swimming, golf and more.<\/p>\n

GARMIN COACH<\/p>\n

Get a personal running coach on your wrist, for free, to help you train for your next 5K, 10K or half-marathon.<\/p>\n

CUSTOM WORKOUTS<\/p>\n

Build your own workouts in Garmin Connect, and download them to the watch. Stay connected.<\/p>\n

SMART NOTIFICATIONS<\/p>\n

Receive emails, texts and alerts right on your watch when paired with a compatible smartphone. You can even respond to texts if you have an Android phone.<\/p>\n

MUSIC<\/p>\n

Download songs plus playlists from your compatible music accounts (subscription may be required). Use wireless headphones (sold separately) for phone-free listening.<\/p>\n

SAFETY AND TRACKING FEATURES<\/p>\n

When your watch and phone are paired, your live location can be sent to your contacts manually or \u2014 during outdoor activities \u2014 automatically with built-in incident detection.<\/p>\n

GARMIN PAY<\/p>\n

Breeze through checkout lines and select transit systems with Garmin Pay contactless payment solution through participating providers.<\/p>\n

CONNECT IQ STORE<\/p>\n

Add personality to your watch by downloading apps, widgets, watch faces and more. It’s easy and \u2014 even better \u2014 it’s free.<\/p>\n

Sticking with fitness, I will be on air on Monday 29th June with the truly fabulous Davina McCall. She and I will be having a one hour show together at 5 p.m. We all know Davina is super fit and has really worked hard on her fitness over the years so she is coming in to help all of us, me included, to get our fitness back on track and to find our mojo again, at home!<\/p>\n\n

We will have a Big Deal for you from Davina that I am very excited about. It\u2019s something I have been wanting to get for myself at home – it\u2019s a fold-up fitness bike. Davina will be showing us all how we can incorporate it easily into our daily, at-home fitness routine and then fold it up and put it away so it doesn\u2019t get in the way. Love it. I can already feel my fitness mojo making its way back!<\/p>\n

Have you lost your oumph? Has your mojo gone missing? Well don\u2019t worry, Garmin<\/a> and Davina are here to help.<\/p>\n

I look forward to having you all with me again after it\u2019s been so long. See you then.<\/p>\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n

Miceal Xxx<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today sees me returning to work after 15 weeks isolating at home. It\u2019s been a very long time to be sitting at home and a great amount of time to allow me to get so much done. You\u2019d think so, right? Wrong. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019ve been doing, but it doesn\u2019t add up to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":97709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[265,21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97699"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97705,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97699\/revisions\/97705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}