Category Archives: Sports nutrition

Why you shouldn’t get exercised by the prospect of a holiday workout

With the summer in full swing most people’s thoughts are firmly fixed on their upcoming holidays and the chance to finally unwind and take a break from their work…and workouts. And I am no different. It can be absolute bliss to be lazily soaking up the sun while sprawled out on a sandy beach with a good book and a cold drink by your side. But you will also probably not be surprised to hear that I believe that fitting in some exercise whilst on holiday can be the absolute making of it.  

Now before you stop reading this and skip to the recipe bit of the blog, I am not at all suggesting that every holiday must be an ‘active’ holiday. Although I may be a massive proponent of multi-activity adventure holidays and even guilty of going on running holidays that involve racking up enough serious mileage to go well into the triple figures, that’s clearly not for everyone. I am not even saying that you are not entitled to take a break from your routine workouts, runs or training plans. After all, putting in sufficient recovery time from training is essential to prevent injuries and illness particularly if you have just run an event. If you can manage to time your recovery in with a planned holiday, it can be the perfect opportunity to fully recharge yourself. But if instead you are one of the masses of people who are just hoping to not lose too much fitness while taking a break somewhere scenic, you could have much more to gain if you take advantage of your different surroundings with a workout.   

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Running injuries bite

With life comes risks and that is never so true as when it comes to running. Because being a runner means that you have to accept the risk that one day, you may injure yourself. But all runners know that the benefits of running far outweigh any risk of injury. Otherwise they’d never lace up. However, that does not mean that being injured is any easier. In fact, as someone who has been forced to take a break from running due to a badly injured knee I feel like a grizzly with a sore paw. Impossible to reason with while equally despondent and impatient by not recovering soon enough. Who wants to RICE all the time when they feel in every bone in their body (apart from their sore paw) that they really should be running? Not this grizzly!   

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Scoring a health warning for Euro 2020 sponsors

After a dismally soggy May that gave us record levels of rainfall, we seem to be finally enjoying the start of what could be a long, hot summer…interspersed with the odd unsettled, wet day. After all, it wouldn’t be a British summer without a bit of weather uncertainty. Nevertheless, all the signs are here. Whether it’s the competing wafts of boho BBQs, the relentless tunes of circling ice cream vans or the sheer number of adults adopting flip flops as outerwear, the British public are truly embracing the summer with both arms. But while some are resolutely heading outdoors, many others have their eyes firmly fixed on their tvs watching the long-awaited Covidly postponed UEFA Euro 2020 competition. I have to say that while I am enjoying the chance to finally go for some runs in mostly decent weather I am also glued to the footie and the drama on and off the pitch. However, something that has also caught my attention while following the Euros happens to be a real bugbear of mine. Once again, we have a tournament showcasing some world class sportspeople that is sponsored by one of the world’s largest soft drinks company. But I’m not the only one who isn’t happy about it. Just ask Ronaldo.

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Why a running holiday is better than a holiday from running

As the Covid restrictions ease further in the UK, many people have become practically obsessed with the all-important subject and First World problem of where to go on holiday. I’ve noticed, however, that most people seem to fall into one of two very distinct camps of thought. Up first are the holiday optimists, who have their eyes fixed firmly on the travel traffic light system like a personal beacon of hope. They grasp their passports while waiting on tenterhooks and praying out to anyone listening to get the green light to safely travel abroad to sunnier horizons. A fringe sub-set of this group will settle for amber. Then there are the holiday realists, who have taken a much more cautious and slightly pessimistic approach. They think that traffic lights systems should be left for the roads. They believe that the only safe and sensible option of any vacation is that it takes place within the confines of the temperamental British shores. End of. But no matter how divergent and contentious the opinions of these two camps are, they wholeheartedly agree in the essential need and indeed, urgency for a break from this Covid-shaped year.

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A race to find the secret to running happy

While reading the recent update of something I like to follow about all things running, I couldn’t help but notice the results from this year’s Barkley Marathons. The winner was…the Barkley Marathons. Yes, you read that right. The event beat the contenders. Again. Renowned as the toughest ultramarathon race around, the Barkley Marathons involves running 5 times around an unmarked course completely off piste through the mountains in the state of Tennessee. With nothing to guide you but a map, a compass and your wits, it is not for the faint-hearted. Since the course was made even more difficult and was stretched to the current ‘100 mile’ distance in 1989, there have only been 15 finishers and the most recent was in 2017.

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