All posts tagged: Other Article

How to choose a sports bra, with advice from a bra fitter, netball player and scientist

How to choose a sports bra, with advice from a bra fitter, netball player and scientist

Published by Sam Flores

How do you tell if a sports bra is the wrong size? One of the biggest mistakes shoppers make is assuming that if a sports bra feels tight, that’s enough. In reality, support comes from the right fit rather than simply compressing your chest. Cardwell advises thoroughly testing a sports bra by moving in it in the same way as you will during the sport you will be doing. “Your breasts don’t just move up and down,” she says. “They move all around – circles, up, down, left, right. We want to try and restrict that as much as possible, but not to the extreme where you’re not able to breathe.” What is a high impact sports bra? High-impact sports bras are designed for activities where your breasts experience the greatest movement, such as running, HIIT, tennis and netball. Their job is to minimise breast movement in every direction, helping reduce discomfort while allowing you to move more efficiently. To measure how high-impact a sports bra is, Wakefield-Scurr asks women to run in a laboratory, …

‘Comfortable sportswear should not be expensive’

‘Comfortable sportswear should not be expensive’

Published by Sam Flores

What sports shoes do you recommend? Robert, South West The sports shoes that I’m currently wearing are from Puma. They’re very comfortable and have support. I actually wear a basketball shoe at the minute to have more support up the ankle. A lot of the girls wear Asics as well, which I know is the netball shoe. I’ve worn Puma for the last four years, so I would recommend them. But honestly, whatever works best for you, you have to try them out. Whatever is best for your instep and whatever is comfiest. And if you need more ankle support, you can put some ankle braces on. How has playing for Manchester Thunder helped you develop as a player? Jason, London Manchester has massively helped me develop as a player. I’ve been playing here since 2012. As a young girl, it created me as a person, to be honest with you. It’s such a family environment that I think a lot of my values come from this club. So my family values, being connected, creating …

Help us test coffee machines and give your verdict

Help us test coffee machines and give your verdict

Published by Sam Flores

If you can’t start your day without a fresh cup of coffee, or you carefully select which beans or grounds you use, we want your help. At Telegraph Recommended, we test hundreds of products each year, and we rely on our community members to help verify our experts’ findings. Anyone can join the community, but Telegraph subscribers also have the opportunity to test products for us at home and join our testing days. We currently have an exciting opportunity to test the latest coffee machines on the market. Ben Moss, a barista trainer, and Silvana Franco, Telegraph food writer and Recommended tester, will be hosting a testing day in Shoreditch, London on July 28 and 29. Selected subscribers will be invited to Origin Coffee’s Shoreditch training centre and cafe, where Ben and Silvana will share what to consider when buying coffee beans and how to make the best coffee at home – as well as answer your questions. Source link

How to clean a vacuum cleaner in five simple steps

How to clean a vacuum cleaner in five simple steps

Published by Sam Flores

If your vacuum cleaner is looking rather sad, seeming to have lost suction and leaving dust and debris in its wake, hold off before replacing it immediately. In my work as a professional cleaner, I have found that it probably just needs a good clean. I’ve cleaned hundreds of vacuums in my time. While it’s something that may seem complicated, following a few simple tricks can return your vacuum cleaner to work with minimal effort and mess. You won’t have to wait days for its filter to dry either. Below is my video guide on how to clean a vacuum cleaner, or keep reading for more information. If this still doesn’t work and you do want to invest in a new machine, along with a panel of Telegraph readers, I’ve found the best cordless vacuums to consider. My favourites are linked to at the bottom of this article.  Source link

How to get a full-body workout using resistance bands, from chest to glutes

How to get a full-body workout using resistance bands, from chest to glutes

Published by Sam Flores

Although they don’t always look particularly impressive, resistance bands are an underrated workout tool. They’re inexpensive, often costing less than £20 for a set, and take up very little space. Plus, with so many different strengths of resistance bands available, they suit everyone from beginners to experienced users – and are particularly useful for midlifers. Maintaining muscle mass helps protect bones and joints, but it will naturally start to decline by three to five per cent each decade after turning 30, a figure that sharply accelerates after you turn 60. Adding tension to exercises with resistance is a low-impact but effective way to counteract this, which also makes them good for anyone returning from injury. Unlike with dumbbells, the resistance you work against is constant throughout the movement, so muscles are working even harder, without placing the same stress on joints as heavy free weights. A review of eight studies in Sage Open Medicine found that resistance bands build just as much upper- and lower-body strength as weights and machines, provided you follow a well-designed …

Five cleaning hacks everyone should know

Five cleaning hacks everyone should know

Published by Sam Flores

Cleaning grout is another hated job. But if yours is discoloured or you see the beginnings of black mould, this homemade paste will restore all the original colour without you having to individually scrub every line. You will need the following ingredients: 1/2 a cup of bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda) 2 to 3 tbsp hydrogen peroxide 1 tsp washing up liquid Mix the ingredients together until they form a thick paste; add more bicarb if it’s too runny and a splash of peroxide if it’s too thick. Then, do the following: Apply the paste directly onto grout lines using an old toothbrush or cleaning brush. Leave it for 15 to 20 minutes. Scrub any stubborn stains with the brush. Remove the paste with a damp cloth. Rinse the area thoroughly with warm water. Bicarbonate of soda lifts grime and acts as a mild abrasive while hydrogen peroxide breaks down staining, mould and mildew. The washing up liquid cuts through grease and soap scum too, meaning the paste doesn’t sit on top …

Four things you need to know about portable air conditioners

Four things you need to know about portable air conditioners

Published by Sam Flores

Issue: In order to push out cold air, a portable air conditioner inhales warm, humid air and blasts it with refrigerant chemicals before running it over cool metal coils. The remaining heat is vented outside through its hose. This creates a vacuum, with the hot air removed from your room needing to be replaced. In my experience, what almost always happens is that more warm air from outside seeps back into the room through cracks in the floorboards or gaps above the door, counteracting the work of the air conditioning unit. As the exhaust pipe expels air outside, some residual heat may radiate back into the room, too. Solution: Position the air conditioner as close to a window as possible, keeping the hose short. Check your window adaptor too. If it achieves anything less than an airtight seal, hot air will start to creep back in. Most portable air conditioners come with a window kit included, but if it doesn’t seem reliable enough, then I would recommend purchasing a better one online. Dual-hose air conditioners …

What to do to avoid your smartphone overheating in a heatwave

What to do to avoid your smartphone overheating in a heatwave

Published by Sam Flores

Another component that generates heat on your phone is its display, especially when at full brightness. When your phone is being used in bright sunlight, it will kick into a so-called High Brightness Mode (HBM) that consumes more power and generates more heat. To toggle the Auto-Brightness setting off, head into Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text on iPhone, or Settings > Display on Android. You can then manually turn the brightness down using the drop-down Control Centre/Quick Settings menu without your phone fighting against you and turning it back up. Turn it off as much as possible Using your phone is guaranteed to generate heat, so in the event that your phone becomes uncomfortably warm to the touch, turning it off for a while will maximise the cooling process. Otherwise, consider activating Aeroplane mode for a while. This will switch off heat-generating elements like Wi-Fi, mobile connectivity and Bluetooth. It’s also possible to turn these off separately in your phone’s Control Centre/Quick Settings menu if you need one or more to remain active. …

The best camping equipment, according to a wild camper of 14 years

The best camping equipment, according to a wild camper of 14 years

Published by Sam Flores

Next, there’s nothing like a hot chocolate under the stars or a warm coffee while you listen to the dawn chorus, and for that you need a mug. It’s expensive, but I love the classic Kuksa, a hand-carved wooden mug made by the Sámi, an indigenous group who live nomadically in Scandinavia. I’d choose this every time over a metal cup, which I find leaves the liquid too hot and burns my tongue, whereas wood is perfect and water drunk from it tastes divine. To keep my phone running, I always take a powerbank. My cheap and cheerful Belkin model does the job and doesn’t weigh much. Everyone should take a water bottle to camp, but I always take a Sigg Traveller, because it conducts heat rather than contains it. Before I go to bed I boil water, fill the bottle, wrap it in a fleece and use it as a hot water bottle. Then by morning, it’s cooled down so I can drink it. The camping kit you can live without As long as …

Xanthe Clay answers your questions

Xanthe Clay answers your questions

Published by Sam Flores

What do you eat when you’re too tired to cook? Caroline, East of England Well, I often tell myself that if I have one biscuit, I’ll be fine. Twenty four biscuits later, clearly, that wasn’t the case. So I have to be careful about this. Bread, cheese and fruit are a great combination. Good bread, a nice, decent-sized chunk of cheese and a good British apple. Happy days. Sometimes I get caught short, so to speak, when I’m out on the road. Recently, Leon has reintroduced its superfood salad, and that’s a great, healthy option that keeps me going for a bit. Do you have any advice for those who want to improve their baking skills? Thomas, London Baking is almost not like other cooking. It’s a science, so make sure that your equipment is accurate. Get some good scales and weigh things carefully, making sure your oven is at the right temperature. Check it with the oven thermometer, or you can take a baking sheet and scatter a thin layer of flour over it. …