Author Archives: Da_Davies

10 Effective Gym Exercises to Enhance Your Running Performance


Running is a fantastic cardiovascular workout that not only strengthens your heart and lungs but also engages a variety of muscle groups. While pounding the pavement or trails is essential, incorporating gym exercises into your routine can significantly boost your running performance. In this blog post, we’ll explore 10 exercises that can help you become a stronger, more efficient, and injury-resistant runner.1. Squats:

Squats are a staple in any runner’s gym routine. They target your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, helping to build lower body strength and stability. Strong legs are crucial for maintaining proper running form and powering through tough terrains.


2. Lunges:
Lunges help improve balance and coordination while targeting your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. These muscles play a pivotal role in maintaining stability and generating power during your runs.


3. Deadlifts:
Deadlifts are excellent for strengthening your posterior chain, including your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. A strong posterior chain provides better support for your spine and improves your running posture.


4. Core Work:
A strong core is essential for maintaining a stable torso while running. Incorporate exercises like planks, Russian twists, and leg raises to strengthen your core muscles and prevent fatigue during long runs.


5. Hip Thrusts:
Hip thrusts are great for targeting your glutes and hip flexors. Strong glutes help generate power and maintain proper hip alignment, reducing the risk of overuse injuries.


6. Calf Raises:
Calf raises help strengthen your calf muscles, which are crucial for propelling you forward during each stride. Strong calves can also help prevent common running injuries like Achilles tendonitis.


7. Step-Ups:
Step-ups simulate the movement of running uphill, engaging your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Incorporating this exercise helps build the strength and endurance needed for tackling inclines.


8. Leg Press:
The leg press machine is an effective way to work on your leg strength without putting too much stress on your back. It targets your quadriceps and hamstrings, contributing to better overall lower body strength.


9. Resistance Band Exercises:
Incorporate resistance bands for lateral leg movements, such as side leg raises and clamshells. These exercises help stabilize your hips, improve hip strength, and reduce the risk of IT band issues.

Here are my recommendations for resistance bands available on Amazon –

https://amzn.to/44gaZJM


10. Plyometric Exercises:
Plyometric exercises like box jumps and burpees can enhance your explosiveness and power, which are essential for quick sprints and improving your overall running speed.

Conclusion:
By incorporating these 10 gym exercises into your training routine, you can elevate your running performance to new heights. Strengthening key muscle groups, improving stability, and enhancing power will not only make you a more efficient runner but also reduce the risk of injuries. Remember, a well-rounded approach that combines gym exercises with regular running sessions is the key to becoming a stronger, more accomplished runner.

Good Luck

How to promote your children’s book on Amazon KDP

To increase sales of children’s books through Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), consider the following cost-effective and productive strategies:

  1. Optimize book listings: Ensure your book titles, descriptions, and keywords are optimized for search engines within Amazon. Use relevant keywords that parents and readers would likely search for when looking for children’s books.
  2. Eye-catching covers: Design an appealing and visually engaging cover that attracts attention. Children’s books often rely on captivating illustrations or colorful designs to catch the reader’s eye.
  3. High-quality content: Ensure your book’s content is well-written, engaging, and appropriate for the target age group. Positive reviews from satisfied readers can significantly influence potential customers.
  4. Price competitively: Research the market and price your books competitively to attract buyers. Consider offering temporary promotions or discounts to generate initial interest and gain momentum.
  5. Leverage Kindle Unlimited: Enroll your children’s books in Kindle Unlimited (KU) to reach a broader audience. KU allows subscribers to access books for free, providing potential exposure and royalties based on the number of pages read.
  6. Build an author platform: Establish an online presence by creating a website or blog dedicated to your children’s books. Engage with your target audience through social media platforms, newsletters, and collaborations with other authors or influencers in the children’s book genre.
  7. Solicit reviews: Encourage readers to leave reviews on Amazon after reading your books. Positive reviews help build credibility and attract more customers. Consider offering a free copy of your book to reviewers in exchange for an honest review.
  8. Advertise strategically: Utilize Amazon Advertising to promote your books directly on Amazon’s platform. You can target specific keywords, genres, or even specific age groups to reach your intended audience effectively.
  9. Collaborate with schools or libraries: Contact local schools or libraries to organize author visits or book readings. Such events create awareness and generate interest among potential readers, teachers, and parents.
  10. Continuously evaluate and adapt: Monitor your sales data, customer feedback, and market trends. Adjust your strategies accordingly to improve your sales performance over time.

Remember, success may not come overnight, but with persistence and continuous improvement, you can increase sales of your children’s books through Amazon KDP.

This book made my kid smarter…

When my son was in year 3, he was obsessed with space; not just Star Wars, although that as well. But anything space related.

You’re taking planets, shuttles, stars, asteroids, the works. We’d be watching SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ rockets on YouTube over an over.

Then I watched Hidden Figures; a true story of the African-American women helped NASA get men on the moon – my son fell asleep ten minutes in, after all it’s hardly The Force Awakens to 7 year old.

I’d written 2 books already ( I Wish I had a Dinosaur and I Wish I had a Unicorn – both available on Amazon) and knew what I wanted to do next; a story book but with all of the facts mixed in with the prose.

I’d not really seen it done like this before but I set to work and soon came up with I Wish I Were an Astronaut.

Sure, it wa tough finding rhymes for words like Ganymede within the context of the story but I think it all works rather well.

But the most amazing thing was when I read it to my son, he was bothered that the main character was a black girl, he just saw the same desire to want to be an astronaut some day. They had the same goal and so that resonated with him.

Not only that, but he learned many of the facts from within the story as part of the story within realising I was throwing all sorts of information at him. And it all kind of stuck.

Not only that but I’ve had so much feedback from adults saying how much they learned from the book as well. Some of it may have lay dormant from when they were in School, but so much was genuine new information.

My next goal is to write a book that deals with self esteem and anxiety for children so they can work through that each bedtime as part of a routine. Hopefully out by summer this year.

David Davies

I Wish I were an Astronaut is available on Amazon on the aff. link below

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BFVRLZ48/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_SXEWPNWT1YKHSF33E4RM?linkCode=ml2&tag=davedavies-21

I Wish I Were an Astronaut

So last year, I released my third book ‘I Wish I Were an Astronaut’ and my Amazon sales are finally starting to pick up.

I’m staying grounded and I’ve got nothing to go crazy about just yet but I finally believe I can (eventually) make it as a children’s author.

To get a copy of my paperback book (soon to be ebook as well) his the Affiliate link ⬇️

https://amzn.to/

Seen as it’s International Women’s Day…

Last year, after being hugely inspired by the Hollywood movie Hidden Figures, I wrote and self published my 3rd book ‘I Wish I Were an Astronaut’

It’s a story about a young girl who makes a wish on a genies lamp whilst on a school trip.

Most protagonists have their wishes granted near-instantly but not Aurora, that’s the main character. She has to work hard for it. Learning about each planet and other facts about space until she reaches adulthood when she achieves her dream of becoming an astronaut.

To order a copy hit the link here – https://amzn.to/3Zywow6

My children’s space book

Last year after releasing my third children’s book I had some major setbacks but since Christmas one of my book I Wish I Were an Astronaut has been surprisingly popular on Amazon,

I’ve provided an affiliate link below in case you we’re considering any children’s books about space or astronauts.

https://amzn.to/3II6lN7

Or search ‘I Wish I Were an Astronaut’ on Amazon.

My next book ‘I Wish I Had a Dragon’ is currently in review and hopefully will be released by Friday this week,

Thanks for reading

1 step forward, 2 steps back.

I was feeling proud of myself. Really proud of myself if I’m honest. I’d hit my own goal of self-publishing my own children’s book – I Wish I had a Dinosaur. The story I had written whilst my son underwent surgery on his partially amputated finger.

Then I hit my second target. A second book within 6 months – I Wish I had a Unicorn. This book, however derivative, was inspired by explaining death of my father to my son; albeit with an innocent twist.

In this time I had started to build a small following. Some on Facebook based on my author life, and a completely separate following, unusually on TikTok posting mostly superhero-themed humour. This had got to a modest 1 million likes and close to the monetised target of 10,000.

I had also been sharing my affiliate links like a madman.

My fitness, which is an important part of my life, was pretty good I had just completed a PR half marathon time of 1 hour 38 mins and I felt good – physically and mentally.

My third book I Wish I were an Astronaut came out less than 7 months after my first. Complete with a range of children’s learning aids to compliment each story – reading log books, journals, spelling books, drawing pads, notepads. I was even thinking of toys and a marketing campaign for each book.

Then the dominoes began to tumble.

My TikTok account was banned. Apparently sharing copyrighted content. Although I can’t be sure. No more half naked dancing for me.

It’s sounds strange but when this was removed it shook my confidence to the core. I had thought I was bulletproof. Impenetrable. Fucking unstoppable. Who was going to stop me? I was on the way up, right? Wrong. Very wrong.

Maybe this was sort it white, male privilege. Or maybe it was the confidence you get when you’re happy in life. Seemingly on the way up. Not just coasting but powering through it.

I stopped sharing my links, in fear of being banned, cancelled, shadow banned.

My fitness started to drop off, I stopped training, although never cancelling my gym membership, like a mug. I even stopped running. I started eating shit. Chocolate, desserts after nearly every meal and the snacking was getting ridiculous.

Some investments I had made had gone sour, and I essentially lost thousands of pounds I couldn’t afford to lose. Cineworld anyone??

Then Bitcoin crashed. Another grand or 2 essentially (or potentially) gone.

Then the worst thing happened.

9 months earlier whilst being sick with COVID I had published a notepad with a square, a triangle and circle on the front and listed it as a ‘Squid Game inspired notebook’ – this was a huge mistake. but it was only now I was to find out why.

The company I use to publish my books take this sort of copyright infringement extremely seriously.

But only now was I to find out how seriously.

They cancelled my account. The books I had written, drawn, had illustrated at great cost, and published were gone. As was the revenue for all books I had sold over the past 3 months.

My affiliate accounts were also cancelled. Lack of use. These only covered a few meals per week but that money had to come from elsewhere.

My full time job had simultaneously became much more difficult. A member of staff who I particularly enjoyed working with moved to Scotland. Then my Area Manager that I worked closely with and had a variety of similar interests also left the firm and was replaced with my old area manager who has the same energy as the bullies from my high school Design and Technology class that held me back for 18 months and I still despise to this day.

Without saying it out loud, I gave up. I can say it now. I wrote it off mentally. All of it. The investments, the crypto, the books, the money, my dreams.

But I still have a home. I still see my son. I still have my main job- which I couldn’t survive without.

So this post, this is the line in the sand. This is the moment the boxer (normally Rocky) draws his arm back for that haymaker that turns the fight.

The setbacks are just a set up for a comeback…

Watch this space…

Check out my first book here ⬇️

I wish I had a dinosaur

Children coping with loss

So, about 6 months ago I published a children’s book called ‘I Wish I had a Dinosaur’ on Amazon.

This is something I had wanted to do for a long time, as documented here in a previous post, but with my second book I wanted to touch on something I had been struggling to explain to my own son. How to deal with loss.

Loss of a pet can be incredibly hard for children, let alone to lose a family member. So, explaining this in a way where they can understand and not fear where there lived one will go is no easy feat. So I did what any crazed father would do and just write a story about it instead.

I don’t want to spoil it for you but it implies the idea of heaven and that someone you love remains inside you, even though they may not be present physically.

So, it’s out now and it’s called ‘I Wish I had a Unicorn’ and there’s a link here for UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wish-had-Unicorn-unicorn-children/dp/B09WH56C3X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2SCDJPRZD2YF&keywords=i+wish+i+had+a+unicorn&qid=1648583967&sprefix=i+wish+i+had+a+uni%2Caps%2C67&sr=8-3

Available in all territories though, search I Wish I had a Unicorn – David Davies (that’s me) and I hope you can enjoy it whether you’re explaining loss or just want to look at some pretty unicorns. And cats.

Thank you xx

How I get to sleep…

I’ve always had a strange sleep pattern.

Not sleeping at night and then dropping off in the cinema or during my lunch break. And on one occasion driving home from work.

The latter was the catalyst that decided I should prioritise a good night’s sleep.

The first thing I did was giving myself time to sleep. This may seem obvious I often work late or start early. Neither is ideal for a routine nights sleep.

Then I cut out caffeine. Not in the morning- I’m not a masochist. but after 6pm.

The next thing was to avoid working on the laptop or my phone too much in the evening. Family time is family time. Work time is work time. Jim Rohn speaks about this far more powerfully than I can.

Blue blockers seem to help too.

Then I started listening to deep sleep, nature and white noise sounds in the night. There are apps for this but I found that they were also available on YouTube.

In fact I enjoyed them so much I decided to make my own channel.

It’s pretty new, but I’ll leave a link and just try it for a few nights if you’re struggling, they may just help.

Please feel free to like and subscribe to support me and my family.

Thank you so much for reading …