GET OUT MORE: KEEPING FIT IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS OCTOBER2019
RUN IN CLEAN AIR
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CHEST AND SHOULDERS UPPER-BODY BLAST Mind and Body Benefits of Open-Water Swimming
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EDITOR'S LETTER ISSUE 233 OCTOBER 2019
EDITORIAL Editor Isaac Williams Art Director Xavier Robleda Editorial Director Christina Neal Editorial postal address: Kelsey Media, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent, TN16 3AG ADVERTISING TANDEM MEDIA LTD Managing Director Catherine Rowe 01233 228750 catherine.rowe@tandemmedia.co.uk Account Manager Ben Rayment 01233 228752 ben@tandemmedia.co.uk Ad Production Manager Andy Welch 01233 220245 mensfit@tandemmedia.co.uk MANAGEMENT Managing Director Phil Weeden Chief Executive Steve Wright Chairman Steve Annetts Finance Director Joyce Parker-Sarioglu Publishing Director Kevin McCormick Retail Distribution Managers Eleanor Brown, Steve Brown Audience Development Manager Andy Cotton Subscriptions Marketing Manager Nick McIntosh Head of Events Kat Chappell Publishing Operations Manager Charlotte Whittaker Senior Print Production Manager Nicola Pollard Print Production Manager Georgina Harris Print Production Controller Alicia Stewart DISTRIBUTION Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT seymour.co.uk. Tel: 020 7429 4000 PRINTING William Gibbons & Sons Ltd COVER Model: Mark Thomson (W Models) Photo: Eddie Macdonald
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Kelsey Media 2019 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties. Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information on our privacy policy, please visit kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy. If you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk.
Making waves: turn to page 40 to discover the many mind and body benefits of wild swimming
GET OUT MORE
This issue MF is championing The Great Outdoors and, specifically, the many fitness opportunities that exist in nature’s playground. On page 40, author Joe Minihane takes you on a deep dive of open water’s open secret: wild swimming. Take the plunge, he says, and enjoy an icy tonic for both body and mind. Away from the water, there is plenty for those who like to keep their feet – and their wheels – on solid ground. For this issue’s Big Interview, we sat down with James Golding, the cancer-surviving cyclist whose journey from near death to arguably the world's toughest bike race begs the question, what’s your excuse? Elsewhere, we run the rule over London’s first-of-itskind ‘Clean Air’ running club – which utilises cutting-edge tech to take its members on pollution-free routes across the capital – and of course you can expect the usual muscle-crafting workouts, nutrition know-how, kit reviews and must-read news to help you reach your fitness potential.
Editor Isaac.williams@kelsey.co.uk @IsaacWilliamsHQ
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OCTOBER 2019
3
CONTENTS
47
58
UPDATES 09 News
Beat the heat with these hot-weather training tips
12 Mind
24
Social media's good side, and why we need to get out more
15 Sole
Nike’s new Metcon 5 is the trainer in the spotlight
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28 Style and Substance Iconic gym trainers that have stood the test of time
34 Big Up Yourself 40 Go Wild
PERFECT FIT 22 Trail Shoes
Get off the beaten track with these off-road runners
24 Fitness Jackets
15
IN FOCUS
The science, and performance power, of positive self-talk
14 Body
Reasons to take a stand, and ‘bigorexia’ warning signs
“A REPORT EARLIER THIS YEAR HIGHLIGHTED TOXIC CONDITIONS IN ALMOST 2,000 LOCATIONS”
Lightweight, durable and fit for any outdoor pursuit
26 Tech Talk
Home fitness tech for your housebound workouts
Diving into the mind and body benefits of wild swimming
47 Breath of Fresh Air Introducing London’s all-new Clean Air Run Club
52 Rest, Is It Best?
Not according to proponents of ‘active recovery’
58 No Easy Ride
The cancer survivor taking on the 'world's toughest bike race'
ISSUE 233 OCTOBER 2019
80
FUEL 66 Nutrition News
How the climate crisis will affect nutrient availability worldwide
68 Recipes
Endurance eats made with Tour de France cyclists in mind
72 Micro Management
Are vitamin and mineral supplements a waste of money?
76 To the Bar
Nine of the best protein bars to fuel your recovery
94
68 72
98
TRAINER 80 Strong-Arm Tactics Ten moves to torch your triceps and build your biceps
86 Upper-Body Blast A circuit to craft your chest and sculpt your shoulders
92 What it Takes
MF meets Matt Gotrel, professional 'grinder' for SailGP
94 Shape Shifter
From debilitating back pain to rolling with the punches
96 Code of Conduct
Changing room etiquette all gym-goers need to know
97 PT Corner
Kettlebell technique and a killer session to boost your fitness
98 Tough Enough?
Test your mettle with our back-of-the-mag workout
OCTOBER 2019
5
NEWS⁄MIND⁄BODY⁄SOLE
SET FOR SUCCESS
Photography Shutterstock
How frequently you train a muscle group is less important than the number of sets and reps you can squeeze into each session, according to new research published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The study looked at the effects of training every muscle group twice a week, for a total of eight sets per session, compared to training each muscle group once a week, for a total of 16 sets per session. And in keeping with the confusion around which approach is best for size and strength, the researchers concluded that, after respective eight-week programmes, both study groups gained similar levels of muscle mass, strength and power. In short, quality sets and reps – not the generic training plan you found online, or the approach your mate Dave swears by – are the key to progression.
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OCTOBER 2019
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NEWS
SLEEP TWEAKS Just a few small
27
Photography Shutterstock | 1. Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) 2. fitrated.com 3. Sleep Medicine
per cent of British gymgoers say they would feel annoyed if they couldn’t connect to the internet at the gym.1 How anyone is supposed to maintain focus without watching a midset dog video is absolutely beyond us.
BRITS NOW GO TO THE GYM.
362 41 it to taking photos and per cent of male gym-goers adm them to Instagram videos while they train and posting men. Hopefully the – compared to 33 per cent of wo soon, because as remaining 59 per cent catch on ta it did not happen. everyone knows, if it’s not on Ins
times more bacteria can be found on free weights than your toilet seat.2 But there’s also more bacteria on your phone screen, and your laptop, and just about every surface in your house, so the key takeaways are: wash your hands after lifting, and stop using your toilet as a barometer of hygiene.
changes can turn ‘night owls’ – those forever late to bed – into morning people within a few weeks. A study involving 22 night owls, whose average bedtime was 2:30am with a wake-up time 10:15am, found the benefits of consistently getting an early night included feeling less stressed and depressed, as well as less sleepy during the day.3 To change their habits, they were told to get plenty of daylight early doors, eat lunch at the same time every day and dinner no later than 7pm. The results showed an increase in cognitive (reaction time) and physical (grip strength) performance during the morning, while peak performance times shifted from evening to afternoon.
OCTOBER 2019
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NEWS
BEAT THE HEAT LOOK AT THE TRAIN TIMES If you train in the middle of the day, or even later on in the evening, the chances are the gym is going to be hot and the environment isn’t going to be a pleasant place to train. Think about switching your sessions to early morning when temperatures are lower and the sun hasn’t reached full strength.The additional benefit of training early is that you’re less likely to skip the gym – a real risk when the sun’s out and the temptation of beers and barbecues is tricky to resist. SWITCH TO A COOLER GYM Training in the heat has actually been shown to bestow positive physiological adaptations on athletes, and improve cardiovascular fitness. However, for most regular gym-goers training in hot conditions won’t be a pleasant experience. If you feel the heat will impair your performance in the gym, or you just don’t want to end up a sweaty mess but your gym doesn’t have any kind of air conditioning, maybe it’s time to look for another place to train until the heat subsides. TRAIN MORE EFFICIENTLY You don’t want to be putting yourself through long, drawnout training sessions at the best
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of times, least of all in the heat. At Ultimate Performance, we find workouts of between 45-60 minutes are optimal, before intensity and performance tails off. If you follow a straight-sets workout, you might want to consider looking at a training protocol like German Body Composition training, which utilises upper/lower paired sets or supersets.The benefit of this protocol is that you can effectively get more work done in less time, by pairing upper body exercises, like a pull-up, with lower body exercises, like a split squat. STAY HYDRATED Dehydration is responsible for downregulation of nearly every cellular process in the body. Muscle protein synthesis can also be affected and even three per cent dehydration can impact your strength and power output in training. For anyone with a fat-loss goal, the liver will metabolise less fat because it has to take over some of the functions of the kidneys when
dehydration sets in. We always recommend clients drink at least one litre of water during training and three to four litres over the course of the day. Equally important, however, is to ensure electrolytes – like sodium and potassium – lost through sweat are replaced with an electrolyte drink. GET THE RIGHT GEAR When it’s hot, the last thing you want to be training in are skin-tight t-shirts, baselayers or long-sleeved tops. Wearing light, loose-fitting or breathable clothing is a must if you want to better regulate your body temperature and not end up in a puddle of sweat. Something like a singlet and shorts is an ideal choice, but wear whatever you feel most comfortable in that is going to keep you relatively cool.
WASH IT OFF One great trick to keep cooler in the hot weather is to take a cold shower before your workout. Taking a cold shower for several minutes before you work out is going to help lower your body temperature from the start so you don’t overheat as quickly. ‘Pre-cooling’ is a trick professional cyclists use, but it’s just as useful for the average gym-goer. The bracing shock of a cold shower is also a good way to get yourself feeling fired up if you’re lethargic.
Photography Shutterstock | Tips courtesy of Elliott Upton (@elliottupton), personal trainer at Ultimate Performance Marbella
HOT-WEATHER TRAINING TIPS FROM ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE
MIND
Brain
GET OUT MORE A mere 77 minutes is the amount of time the average person spends outside on a typical day. That’s despite numerous studies linking sunlight to an increase in serotonin – the mood-boosting hormone – as well as solid evidence to show being in green spaces provides tangible stress-relief and a heightened sense of wellbeing.
per cent of employees in Britain’s small and mediumsized businesses have experienced work-related stress or anxiety, according to research commissioned by AXA PPP healthcare. The same study found eight out of ten of those very same businesses do not have a health and wellbeing strategy in place. AXA PPP healthcare CEO Tracy Garrad said, “Burnout is now recognised by the World Health Organization as an occupational phenomenon. It’s becoming a workplace epidemic."
4 out of 5 12
OCTOBER 2019
£39.95, neuroptimax.co.uk
The negative aspects of social media are well documented. One 2016 study led by the University of Copenhagen, for instance, found ‘Facebook envy’ – jealousy arising from other people’s Facebook posts – is a very real phenomenon. But it’s not all bad. Researchers at Edge Hill University, Liverpool, have recently found that spending time interacting with people on WhatsApp is good for a person's psychological wellbeing. "There's lots of debate about whether social media is bad for our wellbeing, but we've found it might not be as bad as we think," Dr Linda Kaye, a senior lecturer in psychology at Edge Hill University, told The Independent.
dog owners walk their dogs for the primary reason of getting a bit of peace and quiet.1 Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 73 per cent also said getting out with their dogs is vital for de-stressing and forgetting about the worries of day-to-day life.
Photography Shutterstock 1. YuMOVE
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HEADS DOWN THUMBS UP
A new supplement has been launched with the brain in mind. Neuroptimax™ Pro is claimed to be a brain health and enhanced performance supplement designed to aid recovery, focus, performance and cognition. Currently used by a number of MMA athletes, including UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman, it contains a blend of clarity-enhancing nutrients for optimum performance.
KENNY BELAEY
BODY
52,000
is the number of extra calories you can burn per year by standing, rather than sitting, at work. A number of small studies have also linked standing to a decreased risk of heart disease, lower blood sugar levels, reduced back pain and – one for any employer’s reading – improved productivity.
per cent of young men eat an unhealthy amount of food in order to bulk up. That stark stat comes as a study out of the University of California found teenagers who perceive themselves to be ‘puny’ are at a greater risk of ‘bigorexia’ – the condition characterised by obsessive over-exercising, a rigid diet and an extreme preoccupation with physique – when they’re older. "Some eating disorders can be challenging to diagnose," said study first author Jason Nagata, MD, of the UCSF Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. "Unlike anorexia nervosa, which may be easily identified, disordered eating to increase bulk may masquerade as healthy habits...[so] it tends to go unnoticed."
TV health risks
Those guilty pleasure rom-coms could be bad for your heart as well as your search history, as new research shows that the passive, sedentary behaviour of bingewatching TV could pose serious cardiovascular risks. Regular exercise and a generally active lifestyle, however, can offset the dangers of sinking into your sofa; the risk being when people lead chronically sedentary lives.
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Research led by Aberystwyth University suggests some Fitbits overestimate the number of calories burned while walking by up to 50 per cent.
Photography Shutterstock 1. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic 2. Journal of the American Heart Association
The Varidesk Pro Plus 36 is available in white or black. £365, uk.varidesk.com
per cent of Brits admit they would be more likely to challenge themselves to do more physical activity if they didn’t feel so lethargic – the irony being regular physical activity has been proven to improve energy levels, as well as mood.1 Research conducted by the University of Georgia found a six-week lowto-moderate-intensity exercise programme increased energy levels among participants by 20 per cent.
SOLE
Meet Metcon THE SHOE NIKE HAS HAILED ITS MOST STABLE YET GETS A BIG TICK FROM MF
NIKE METCON 5
Designed with the help of three-time Fittest Man on Earth Mat Fraser, the latest iteration in the Metcon line has been dubbed Nike’s ‘most tuned’ version yet. Extra stability has been added for heavy lifting, while outsole traction ensures both speed and durability when called upon. The Metcon 5 is, says Nike, ‘your secret weapon for weightlifting and highimpact training.’
£114.95, nike.com
KEY FEATURES Weight: 377g Offset: 8mm A wider heel improves stability during heavy squats, snatches, cleans and shoulder-to-overhead movements. The haptic chain-link pattern on the upper can better withstand the abuse of rope climbs – the tongue also has more cushioning for better support and lock-down. Everyday athletes put the Nike Metcon 5 through more than 9,000 hours of testing. Grip, traction and abrasion-resistance testing was conducted at Nike’s Sport Research Lab to ensure the data validated the shoe’s design updates. A Nike Hyperlift insert gives an additional 8mm lift to further improve stability – the higher offset helps you to maintain heel-to-ground contact and balance, which can create strong stability during heavy lifts as well as high-rep squats, wall balls, thrusters and even rowing. The dual-density drop-in midsole is softer and more flexible in the forefoot, adding comfort and protection during high-impact moves like double-unders, box jumps, burpees and more. A new pattern on the outsole, made of a stickier rubber in the forefoot and a more durable rubber in the heel, improves linear traction during sled pushes and sprints – both rubbers add durability over weak points and prevent wear.
OCTOBER 2019
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PICTURE PREVIEW The packed peloton rounds a crowded corner during Stage 8 of this year's Tour de France, which tasked riders with a 200km race from Mâcon to SaintÉtienne, taking in 3,750m of ascent. Head to our Recipes pages to find out how a Tour chef ensures elite cyclists have enough fuel in the tank.
Photography Pauline Ballet
READ THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 90
WIN! ARE YOU READY TO SHINE® WITH A MAMMOTH MATTRES A luxury Mammoth Shine® mattress worth over £2,000 could be yours. Mammoth, experts in sleep health and wellbeing, are offering one lucky winner the chance to win a luxurious Shine® Plus mattress – worth over a whopping £2,000. Mammoth’s super comfortable Shine® mattresses are designed to boost your energy and health and help ease any aches and pains. The perfect rest partner no matter what your training leve As well as the latest in luxury tailoring, every Shine® mattress is bursting with the very best comfort technologies, fillings and fab including Mammoth’s naturally cooling Medical Grade™ foam, PostureCells® technology and zonal support. Scientifically tested and shown to improve sleep, it won’t overheat and neither will With three levels of comfort – firmer, medium pocket and softe Shine® is an indulgent sleep system from head to toe.
EVERY DAY GETS OFF TO A GREAT START WHEN YOU’VE HAD A MAMMOTH NIGHT’S SLEEP Those who enjoy better quality sleep experience improved performance and faster recovery making it a crucial part of any training programme. At Mammoth, it is our vision to help as many people as possible become the best version of themselves for longer. Mammoth is the go-to provider in professional sport and scores of professional athletes and sports people benefit from better sleep on Mammoth mattress. We have exclusive partnerships with Tottenham Hotspur, the Rugby Players’ Association, British Athletes Commission and very recently the Professional Cricketers’ Association and the Professional Golfers’ Association. Official Mattress Partner
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PERFECT FIT SUCCEED IN STYLE
DIRTY DANCING
5 tips for picking a trail shoe to get your off-road groove on Road-running shoes are made for regimented pavement pounding. They might look fancy, but they are as predictable as a line dance. Trail shoes, with their extra grip and hard-wearing exterior, are all teeth and personality. If you plan to strut your stuff on park trails, mountains and fells, grab yourself an off-road shoe and get ready to dance. Here are the steps you’ll need… 1. CHOOSE EXCELLENT BUILD QUALITY Trail shoes wear out in strange places. Look for reinforced areas around the toe box: this will stop holes appearing around your little toe, while also protecting your feet when boshing rocks out the way. Some shoes have excessive plastic in the heel that can wear through and cause blisters. Stick your finger in the shoe and have a good poke around. 2. DOUBLE-DOWN ON GRIP Wet grass, slick rock and slippy mud needs grip. Consider where you’re most likely to run off-road and choose your grip appropriately. Really aggressive off-piste running will require rubbery studs. If a bit of morning dew in the park is the worst of your worries, a beefy road-running type tread will see you right.
Words Matt Maynard | Photography On Running
3. GO BIG ON THE TOE SPACE Trail runners are a pedicurist’s worst nightmare. Mashed up feet are never pleasant. Choosing a shoe with ample space in the toe box gives your feet a chance to breathe and gives you a fighting chance of coming home with your toenails intact. It will also help you spread your weight out, promoting a more balanced and responsive running style. 4. GO EASY ON THE MIDSOLE Trail runners might spend longer on their feet than roadies, but the ground is softer and you won’t always be striking it with the same uniform impact. Trail shoe midsoles offer anything from wafer-thin ‘barefoot’ thickness to ‘maximal’ water-bed support. The choice is largely personal. Whatever your poison, assess the shoe’s flexibility by grabbing it at either end with both hands and twisting. Anything over a 90-degree twist will provide a smooth, floaty ride. Anything less will provide more lateral support – well suited to anyone just getting into the sport. 5. FORGET THE HIGH HEELS Unlike road shoes, trail shoes tend to have less ‘drop’: the difference in the natural raised position of your heel from your toes, measured in millimeters. Zero drop has become trendy in recent years, promising a more natural and responsive running style, but don’t believe the hype too much. A dramatic change from your 12mm+ road shoes could cause an injury; 8mm is often the sweet spot but test what works for you.
OCTOBER 2019
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TRAIL SHOES
GET A GRIP Take to the trail with our pick of the best off-road shoes
G
et into nature and off the beaten track with these trail shoes designed to withstand mud, rocks, roots and all. Comfort, durability and traction are three of the most important things to consider when finding the off-road shoe for you, but every runner is different, so be sure to try before you buy.
INOV-8 TRAILROC G 280 £140, inov-8.com
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Photography inov-8.com
Featuring a graphene-enhanced rubber outsole, the TRAILROC G 280 delivers outstanding grip over hard and rocky terrain. With increased protection both underfoot and around the toes, as well as added comfort and cushioning, this shoe offers the ultimate package for those running all distances over technical, hard-packed trails.
ASICS GEL-FUJITRABUCO 7 £115, asics.com
Light enough to be worn for laps of the park, but equipped with a rock protection plate for tougher trails, despite its 'serious runner' aesthetics this is a versatile all-rounder of a shoe that's as comfy as it is dependable.
ON CLOUDVENTURE WATERPROOF £150, on-running.com
Swiss brand On is better known for its uniquely cushioned road shoes, but with the Cloudventure it has taken its revolutionary 'cloud' outsole and applied it to a lightweight trail shoe perfect for moving quickly over tricky terrain.
MERREL NOVA
£100, merrel.com/uk The Nova combines road shoe specifics (comfort and cushioning) with a tough trail exterior, making it the perfect entry-level off-road runner.
RECOMMENDED
SAUCONY PEREGRINE ISO £110, saucony.com
Saucony's plush ISOFIT construction allows your foot to roll with whatever punches the trail throws at you, while the PWRFOAM midsole and PWRTRAC outsole ensure both impact-softening cushioning and a decent amount of grip.
COLUMBIA MONTRAIL F.K.T.™ II UTMB £140, columbia.com
A convoluted name belies the simplicity of a shoe that does the basics well: nicely cushioned, fairly flexible and – as you would expect from a shoe named after a 106-mile mountain race – grippy as anything.
NEW BALANCE FRESH FOAM KAYMIN TRAIL V2 £70, newbalance.co.uk
Blessed with typical New Balance good looks, this is the shoe for you if you're tackling trail and road on the same run. Underfoot, Fresh Foam provides a cushioned ride, and the outsole combines lug designs for off and on the road.
NIKE AIR ZOOM PEGASUS 36 TRAIL £114.95, runnersneed.com
An iconic trainer trades tarmac for trail, but maintains all the lightness and cushioning of the traditional Pegasus model. One for more moderate off-road routes where comfort and style can take precedent over more serious specifics.
SALOMON SUPERCROSS GTX £120, salomon.com
Light enough to move at speed, but with aggressive grip and a foothugging SensiFit design for tackling any trail with comfort and confidence.
BEST BUY
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SPORTS JACKETS
JACKET OF ALL TRADES
Outerwear fit for any outdoor pursuit
W
hether you're on the run, on your way to the gym, or supporting from the sidelines, style and comfort meet high-performance specs with these lightweight jackets suitable for wherever your fitness takes you.
NFL 100 REVOLVE FULL-ZIP JACKET £99, nflshop.com
Made to celebrate 100 years of NFL football, the Revolve Full-Zip – available with any team's branding – makes the cut for its softas-silk feel and practical waterproof shell. One for your winter commute. Performance
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OCTOBER 2019
BEST BUY
BJÖRN BORG AMINO WIND JACKET
PATAGONIA HOUDINI AIR JACKET
SALOMON S/LAB MF360 'SHAKE DRY'
SUNDRIED GRANDE CASSE JACKET
Made from a durable rip-stop material, this windbreaker features a chest pocket, draw cord on the side for size adjustments, reflective details on the back for extra visibility, and an easy-on full-length zip.
Made for long days on the trail when the weather can be difficult to predict, this Fair Trade™ jacket from Patagonia is light as a feather and highly breathable, but also tough enough to handle the elements.
This isn't a cheap item, but at least you'll have the best running jacket money can buy. Ultralight, waterproof and windproof, it's also made with fast-drying fabric, so a sudden shower won't dampen your day.
Sundried's sustainable kit is something we should all get behind, and when eco-friendly meets high-performance – like with this this sweat-wicking, heat-controlling, good-looking jacket – it really is a no-brainer.
£90, bjornborg.com
£150, eu.patagonia.com
£300, salomon.com
£60, sundried.com
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RECOMMENDED
INOV-8 ULTRASHELL
BEACHBODY ELEVATE TECH TRAINING JACKET
A ridiculously light jacket (108g) that's tailor-made for racing in the rain. It's fully transparent for race number visibility, and a breathability level of 10,000 B-1 means sweat moves through the shell to keep you cool.
£125, inov-8.com
£85, activinstinct.co.uk
NB ATHLETICS WINDBREAKER
£70, newbalance.co.uk
ASICS ACCELERATE JACKET
The technical spec says this is made from NILIT innergy fibres that reflect thermo energy back into muscle tissues to promote healing. Whether those effects are tangible is up for debate, but this is a fine jacket regardless.
The slick retro design is a nod to the iconic 1978 'Windcheater' jacket, but the Windbreaker is more than just good looks, with an athletic fit made from woven fabric and a mesh liner to keep out the worst of the weather.
ASICS' Accelerate is as lightweight and breathable as a jacket designed to 'run fast and long' should be, but it's equally blessed in the design department, with a slim fit and sharp all-black colourway.
£100, asics.com
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OCTOBER 2019
25
TECH TALK
HOME COMFORTS
Sensor-toting fitness tech that wants you to ditch the gym pass in favour of housebound workouts
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inding the time and inclination to trek to your local gym can be a test of motivation. But if you find just dragging yourself there is half the battle, help is at hand, because you can now get your daily fitness fix without leaving your house. From video-coached, interactive studio-style sessions, to rep-counted connected kettlebell drills, a new crop of clever gadgets is using the latest in smart wearable sensors, apps and video tools to give you the freedom to get your BPM up, no matter where you are or what time it is. Here’s the best of them...
BEST BUY
£45.00 per month/£120.00 per year including Fiit HR belt, fiit.tv Real-life turn-up-and-burn-up group studio sessions are hugely popular. They make busting a gut much more fun, plus most of us train harder when we’re barked at by a drill sergeant. Fiit takes that formula for trainerled sessions out of the boutique studio and brings it to the comfort of your front room. All you need is the smartphone app and a special chest strap, and Fiit beams ondemand, expert-coached fitness sessions to your TV – though you can also use your phone or tablet. There are hundreds of classes covering strength and cardio, as
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well as mobility with Pilates and yoga. Each comes with a useful difficulty rating and a breakdown of the drills you’re about to do, so you can see what you’re signing up for. If you’re working towards a fitness goal, personalised training plans stitch together different sessions to help you get there. The whole thing really comes to life when you pair the Fiit chest strap to unlock rep counting (provided your form is on point), real-time heart-rate readouts to keep you working in the right zone, and Fiit Points so you can compare how hard you’ve worked across sessions. You can also unleash your competitive edge with live leaderboard HIIT classes. The sessions are either 25 or 45 minutes
long, the instructors are pumped but not too cheesy, and the simplicity of firing up an app, sticking on a strap and smashing a workout pretty much anywhere is a powerful motivator. If we had one complaint, it’s that an increasing number of the workouts feature kettlebells, dumbbells and resistance bands, so to enjoy the full suite of sessions you will need to invest in a bit of extra kit. Motivation
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Words Kieran Alger
FIIT
ZWIFT RUNNING
Free (Zwift Run Pod, £29.99), zwift.com/en/run Running on the treadmill is sometimes a necessary evil. But Zwift Running can take at least some of the monotony out of spinning your legs on the hamster mat. A spin-off from the hugely popular virtual cycling platform, Zwift’s more recent running setup transforms your time on the rubber road to nowhere into something a whole lot more social, gamified and fun. Set-up is simple, though you will need a treadmill, a compatible footpod to track your mileage, and a screen – the bigger, the better, though TV, smartphone or tablet all work. The footpod tracks your strides and propels your avatar along the virtual road of either Wattopia, London or, you guessed it, an active volcano. You can also follow simple structured training plans, pair a heartrate monitor for added stats, and take on challenges and organised group runs. Motivation
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ACTIV5
SMARTROPE LED
JAXJOX KETTLEBELL CONNECT
A portable pebble to help you squeeze in an isometric-based strength workout wherever you can find enough room to swing a resistance band. The partner app features 100 seated and standing training drills, with video guides for each move and pressure sensors that measure up to 90kg of muscle force. There’s a neat gamification spin, too, whereby the pressure you exert controls a counter on the screen and matching the curve makes for the optimal training effect.
As well as a serious cardio workout, skipping is a form of brain training, aiding both hand-eye coordination and mental sharpness. But jumping rope endlessly and aimlessly isn’t all that inspiring. SmartRope puts a motivational twist on your fast-foot sessions using embedded LEDs and the motion of the rope to display your skip stats in real-time, in the air in front of you. You can track sessions, set daily targets, compete with friends and take on guided interval workouts.
Swinging the bell has become a staple of bootcamp-style fitness sessions for its ability to boost aerobic capacity, build core strength and enhance dynamic balance. But the technique can be tricky to master. JaxJox aims to make that much easier with this space-saving smart kettlebell that packs six selectable weights from 5kg to 19kg. Motion sensors inside not only track reps, sets and power, but let you follow guided workouts on your phone, tracking stats as you go.
From £120, shop.activ5.com
£79.95, apple.com
£394.80, jaxjox.co.uk
RECOMMENDED
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OCTOBER 2019
27
IN FOCUS TRAINER FASHION
AND
STYLE SUBSTANCE BAFFLED BY WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT IN THE WORLD OF FITNESS FOOTWEAR? MIXMAG'S DIGITAL FASHION EDITOR TAYLER WILLSON IS ON HAND TO REVEAL THE TRAINERS THAT PAIR PERFORMANCE WITH EVERYDAY STYLE
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ontrary to popular belief – and what your parents told you when you were younger – trainers aren’t just for exercise. Mad to think that after all this time, all those uncomfortable years of opting for a rigid pair of tanned, pointed loafers as casual wear were in vain, because in truth, your feet were always allowed better. Keeping gym and casual footwear separate has always made sense, mind. Sweat mixed with treadmill wear and tear doesn’t usually tend to make for a fresh-looking pair of trainers, but space, money and time halt the ability to own too many pairs – so merging the two is the logical choice. Such is the necessity to be more efficient, shifts in prevailing footwear trends and trainer technology mean there are now plenty of shoes that will perform both in the gym and on the street. While we aren’t suggesting wearing a clumpy pair of thick-heeled, grandad runners with a pair of jeans on a night out with the lads,
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we are saying there are trainers out there that can cater for both: that suit the dancefloor as much as they do the treadmill; footwear that looks as good with gym shorts as it does with a pair of tightly pin-rolled chinos. Gone are the days when gym trainers looked like the piss-ridden set your old P.E. teacher wore, or the beige suede duo your grandad donned when he played squash. It’s all different now. While the big boys in the footwear game have been making versatile sneaks for a number of years, the rest of the gang have now started to catch up. It’s not always easy to find the ideal balance between active and casual wear, though, with one slight design movement changing the dynamic of a shoe completely. One wrong colour, one wrong cap move and the shoe’s gone. Dead. Buried. Never coming back. There’s a fine line between getting it wrong and getting it right, but luckily we’ve found some of the perfect silhouettes that are firmly in the former. Iconic, stylish trainers that look as comfortable on the running track, as they do down your local Wetherspoons covered in Apple Sourz.
OCTOBER 2019
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Photo credit Cristo Sjostrom
IN FOCUS TRAINER FASHION
SALOMON SPEEDCROSS 5 £120, salomon.com
Born in the French Alps in 1947, Salomon is a brand committed to pushing the boundaries of mountain sports through the creation of innovative equipment that allows people to play, progress and challenge themselves in their chosen outdoor sports. And while the brand’s ethos remains the same (and it's doing it well), such is the ever-changing world of trainers that this off-road specialist has crept its way into high-end fashion. The Speedcross 5 – arguably the brand's most iconic silhouette – isn’t easy to upgrade, but that’s exactly what its done with the latest version. Salomon took the essence of the original Speedcross and used advances in technology to capitalise on the values that made it a legend in the first place. By adding attitude, it made the Speedcross attractive. Design-wise the changes are subtle, such is the desirability of a simple-but-effective trainer, but performance-wise it offers enhanced grip, a more dynamic upper for improved fit, and more stability – the makings of a good casual shoe. The sole has larger, more aggressive lugs with extra space between them and an updated geometry, delivering better push-off power and braking traction on all surfaces. The heel unit of the shoe creates a cradle for your rearfoot, ensuring clean foot strike and stability through the stride. It also has a completely welded upper, with dissociated Sensifit arms and increased toe volume, so it moves more naturally with your foot and dials in the comfort. The shoe’s appearance returns to its original silhouette with a higher shape and big heel counter, while also highlighting the aggressive grip. Although the particulars of a trail shoe sound perfect for, well, trail, they’re also suited to the modern-day sneaker. Simple, yet totally effective.
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OCTOBER 2019
NEW BALANCE 990V5 £180, newbalance.co.uk
Dubbed the ‘Ultimate Dad Shoe’, the original New Balance 990 was a game-changer for the brand. Making its debut in 1982 purely as a running shoe, its then-hefty $100 price saw it become one of the most soughtafter trainers of its time. Its superb performance on the track meant the asking price was justified and, naturally, the 990 became iconic in the footwear market and never looked back. The following decades saw the 99x series’ (as it became known) reputation for innovative technology, cushioning, performance and timeless appeal garner
a cult following with not only the hardcore runner, but footwear fashion enthusiasts. Almost 40 years on from its original release, the fifth iteration of the 990 is still just as sought after. The initial aim with the 990 was to provide the ideal balance between flexibility and support – something NB achieved through a series of processes, one of which involved creating the upper with a technique known as 'slip-lasting'. This required finishing the shoe with a single seam and then steaming it into shape. Underfoot, the 990’s midsole was embedded with a polyurethane footbed coined the ‘Motion Control Device’ – which is found in many trainers to this day. It was made for running way back
when, but the comfort, shape and aesthetics still make it a solid option either on the run or on the town.
ADIDAS ULTRABOOST 19 £159.95, adidas.co.uk
adidas knows all about good-looking gym shoes, and the Ultraboost 19 is hands down one of the best crossovers available. When the brand unveiled the initial Ultra Boost in 2015, it claimed it was ‘The Greatest Running Shoe Ever’ – a bold statement, even with the brand’s rich history of producing great footwear. While it was confident the shoe would surpass other performance options, what adidas didn’t know was that its impact would reach far beyond activewear and spill over into the world of fashion. It was worn by ‘sneakerheads’ globally. Born from a long line of adidas Ultraboosts (the clue’s in the ‘19’) the UB19 features a list of revolutionised silhouette benefits inspired by, and redesigned for, a new era of running and fitness. Granted, its hefty sole means it’s not a shoe you should be squatting in, but for running, rowing or benching it does a fine job. The colourway looks bang on the money when it comes to transitional style, too, and goes with almost anything outside of the gym. Lightweight, sleek and stylish – what more do you want?
“When the brand unveiled the initial Ultra Boost, it claimed it was ‘The Greatest Running Shoe Ever’” OCTOBER 2019
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IN FOCUS TRAINER FASHION
Fashion Faux Pas 5 things to avoid when trainer shopping
NIKE AIR TAILWIND ‘79 £79.95, nike.com
The aesthetic appeal of Nike’s Tailwind runner is simple yet striking. With a one-piece mesh upper with suede reinforcements and a classic (and comfy) foam tongue, detailed only by a single Swoosh to each side, the Tailwind is one of a kind. There is, though, more than meets the eye with this iconic trainer. Concealed within the white midsole is Nike’s first example of the springy sole technology that originally propelled the brand way back when. This technology: Air. Nowadays Nike Air is a household name. It’s squeaked across courts and bombed over finishing lines for decades, yet all of these feats began with the Tailwind. Nike’s Tailwind ‘79 was originally introduced during Hawaii’s marathon season in 1978. Back then it was known simply as the Tailwind and came in a sleek grey and blue colour scheme. It was big news in the world of performance footwear; not only was the Tailwind a looker, it also featured that game-changing Air technology. This stylish retro runner and its new tech revolutionised the sneaker game. The line remained active, with various Tailwind models being churned out over the years, but the original silhouette was largely forgotten about. However, in 2018, thanks to a deep dive into the Nike archives, a 1-1 remake of that first shoe hit shops, rebranded as the Tailwind ‘79. It was a runaway success and the Tailwind’s heroic status was restored. The reason we and the rest of the world love the Tailwind so much is that it’s a fantastic paradox of a sneaker. It’s basic, yet impactful. Restrained, yet bold. Simple, yet advanced. This is a shoe that offers so much, while demanding so little in terms of attention and fanfare. It’s a subtle Swiss Army knife of a shoe. It’s also a joy to style. The Tailwind’s retro look and simple design makes it highly versatile and capable of working with everything on the casual dress side of your wardrobe.
“This is a shoe that offers so much, while demanding so little – it’s a subtle Swiss Army knife of a shoe. It’s also a joy to style”
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OCTOBER 2019
It’s easy to forget that we don’t all have the same taste or preference when it comes to trainers, but there are a few glaringly obvious no-nos that should be adhered to whatever your style – especially when looking for a multipurpose shoe. 1. Bad laces. Can ruin the entire aesthetic of a trainer; keep it simple and let the shoe do the talking. 2. Oversized tongue. Not only looks bad, but makes your feet sweat, too. Bad move all round. 3. Odd shape. There’s a reason odd-shaped trainers never catch on. Stick to the basics. 4. Fluorescent colourways. All well and good in the gym, but having the ability to successfully match an outfit with them in casual wear is a different story. 5. Chunky soles. In at the moment, but some take it too far. Soles like the New Balance 990's are good, but any bigger and you’re wearing platforms.
ASICS GEL–QUANTUM 360 5 £150, asics.com/gb
Japanese brand ASICS is widely renowned for its work in activewear. Whether it’s running, swimming, mountain climbing, netball or anything in between, its association with sport is unbreakable – which is why its inclusion in a piece about fashion might come as a surprise. ASICS’s black Quantum has training pedigree, with a GEL cushion that makes it suitable for a range of movements as well as social situations. ASICS was one of the earliest makers of athletic footwear designed to be worn as streetwear, yet despite the design tweaks, its product never sacrifices any of its specialties. This shoe present a more futuristic and dynamic aesthetic than ASICS has released before, with a criss-crossed embossing and a logo with a gradient effect. The letters found on the tongue and heel are inspired by Japanese calligraphy, and the symbols are a reinterpretation of the word ‘infinity', in a nod to the name of the model. A trainer that finds itself firmly in the sportswear category, but is also spotted strutting the streets of London Fashion Week is obviously doing something right. OCTOBER 2019
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IN FOCUS SELF-TALK
THE POWER OF
POSITIVITY Performance psychologist Dr Josephine Perry reveals how to raise your game with mantras and self-praise
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SEPTEMBER 2019
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ith just three little words you can paint some powerful pictures. “She said yes” brings us a feeling of joy, an un-squashable smile and a shiny diamond ring; “We did everything” invokes doctors’ scrubs, a lonely waiting room and many tears to come; ‘Bus Replacement Service’ induces dread. Advertisers are well attuned to this power. In the UK we grew up knowing to cross a road we must ‘Stop, Look, Listen.’ Aussies grew up having to ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’, and across the world most of us know that Nike wants us to ‘Just Do It’. Great speeches are full of three-word statements, whether it’s Obama with his 'Yes we can' or Shakespeare’s ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen,' These phrases that shape
our culture are powerful for a purpose. Our brains have a craving for rhythm, simplicity and patterns. Three, the smallest number required to make a pattern, is easy to digest, making us more likely to remember it.
THE MAGIC NUMBER
This knowledge about the power of three is something that elite athletes use regularly. They use it when they talk themselves into high performance. Researchers have found it makes a massive difference. When they have run experiments to see the impact of using motivational self-talk, like these three-word mantras, they have found people last much longer on fitness tests before they hit exhaustion. One study found this time to exhaustion increased by 18 per cent, another by almost 40 per cent, indicating that simply repeating a phrase like 'Push through this' helps with perseverance. Other studies found the behaviours of athletes towards the end of time trials, when they were really fatigued, changed when they used motivational self-talk, and they were also able to produce significantly more power. Why does it work? No-one is 100 per cent sure. Some
SEPTEMBER 2019
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IN FOCUS SELF-TALK
researchers have found it helps athletes increase their tolerance of exercise-induced pain, perhaps helping us buffer out the psychological crises we hit when we push ourselves hard and get the frustrating, and unhelpful, realisation we could stop the pain by quitting. One group studying this area thinks it could help us see stressful situations in a more helpful way, another suggests it enhances our confidence and belief in ourselves. All of these may be true, as they would see our mantras helping to reduce our perception of effort. When we’re under pressure in an athletic performance we are held back from pushing harder by lapses in our motivation and the effort we feel we’re putting in. When we remind ourselves of our motivation, our efforts feel easier and the same workload suddenly feels less strenuous – we can go further, higher and stronger. Self-talk covers lots of elements: reframing those pesky negative thoughts most of us have when pushing ourselves, giving us an instruction when technique starts to fall apart, or having a cue word to use when we lose concentration mid-training. The one which we all need, though – whatever our sport, ability, or personality – is the motivational mantra. And this is where those three magic words come in. Working
“Working out which three words work for you will help you to remain positive, stay focused and keep on going” out which three words work for you, and using them in your sport or fitness challenges, will help you to remain positive, stay focused and keep on going even when everything seems to be working against you. Everything seemed to be against Finn Cristo (now 40) when, in 2014, he and three friends took on a 3,000-mile rowing challenge across the Atlantic. Their journey was beset by crises: parts of the boat broke, sharks were spotted, and the friends argued – with two even refusing to continue rowing. On top of all these pressures, Cristo had a deadline: his wife’s due date gave them only 59 days to complete the voyage. A big believer in self-talk, Cristo picked a mantra to get him through the trip, and he still uses it to this day: 'Stay strong. Focus.' “I wrote it on the inside of our cabin wall,” he says, “so I would see it every time I went inside. I found it really helpful.” The mantra worked, and Cristo made it
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OCTOBER 2019
Tough talk: Finn Cristo credits a simple three-word mantra with helping him to cope when times were hard
Ultra prepared: long-distance runner Ian Sharman uses mantras to manage the more difficult miles
Make an impact
sport psychology researcher Alister McCormick has developed the 'IMPACT' tool to ensure you’ve chosen a mantra that will really work for you
identify what you want to achieve. match the mantra to your needs. practise different mantras consistently. ascertain which one works best for you. create a specific plan for when to use it. train yourself to use those plans automatically.
home in time to see his baby being born. His next challenge is a 100-mile trek across frozen Mongolia, and he expects to bring that mantra back into play.
LISTEN TO YOUR THOUGHTS To create a mantra that really works for you, sport psychology researcher Alister Mccormick is the go-to guy. He suggests you first notice your current self-talk while exercising and how that affects how you feel. You may know instantly what mantra you would use; you may be unknowingly using one already. To find out, you can use a psychological technique called ‘Thinking Aloud’, which simply means recording yourself while training. You do a regular training session with a small dictaphone attached to your kit and narrate your thoughts for the whole session. When you listen back you may be able to identify what you were saying when you performed well. This could be something you can adapt into your mantra. If you don’t have something obvious, Mccormick suggests you figure out why you want your mantra: “You should identify brief and memorable self-talk statements that ‘feel right’ for you and that are purposeful for achieving your aim. Trying these statements during training, reflecting on their usefulness, and then keeping the helpful ones will be your next step.” He suggests you don’t just have one, OCTOBER 2019
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IN FOCUS SELF-TALK
marathon mantras
A 2015 survey of 483 marathon runners found 88 per cent used some kind of selftalk in their races. The mantras could be categorised as BELOW… Cristo approaches the end of his epic 3,000-mile cross-Atlantic row
“A lump in the throat or butterflies in the stomach will tell you that you have hit on something powerful” PERSONALISED POSITIVITY The key to getting the right mantra for you is emotion. We are not looking for you to be fighting off tears, but a lump in the throat or butterflies in the stomach will tell you that you have hit on something powerful enough to make a motivational difference. Our personality traits, upbringing, experiences, environment and values mean we are all motivated completely differently, so this emotion cannot be borrowed from anyone else. It needs to be based entirely on your own reasons for competing. Most of us love winning stuff, having trophies to show off, medals to hang, or a t-shirt to show we took part. These external motivations are great, but the powerful stuff comes from inside. This is our intrinsic motivation, and identifying it will lead to a mantra that works brilliantly: something sustainable even if we’re having a poor time on the pitch, or have plateaued in the gym. It reminds us of what we want to achieve and, most importantly, why we want to achieve it.
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Booze boost: "Two more miles, then a beer" is an example of an incentive-based mantra
Specific body parts: “My legs feel strong.” Positivity: “I can do this.” Countering negativity: “Don’t be pathetic – it's not that hard.” Instructions: “Knee high, foot forward.” Incentives: “Two more miles, then a beer.” Mini goals: “Just get to the next aid station.” Distraction: Counting backwards, or counting each step. Spiritual: “I’m lucky to be doing this when others can’t.” Motivational: “Make yourself proud.”
Photography Shutterstock / Drymax Socks
but maybe a couple for different moments when you are struggling with different things. And as you go along, his advice is to “plan, practise, reflect and then adjust.” Ian Sharman is a British ultra runner based in the US. He has run over 200 ultras and marathons, and won over 50 multi-day races, road marathons, trail and adventure races. He has a huge amount of time in races to think, and risk the negative thoughts taking over, so has become a big advocate of using a positive mantra. He uses his to ensure he doesn't give up when the going gets tough. “If someone is on my heels or just ahead, I keep repeating in my head, ‘Just keep pushing,’” he says. “It stops me from easing off even a little, so that if the terrain gets easier, I kick it up a notch.”
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IN FOCUS WILD SWIMMING
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AUTHOR JOE MINIHANE TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF WILD SWIMMING, THE BRACING PURSUIT THAT PROVIDES A WHOLE HOST OF MIND AND BODY BENEFITS AWAY FROM THE CHLORINATED CONFINES OF THE POOL
I
t’s January on Brighton beach. There’s snow on the pebbles and a stiff breeze blowing along the promenade. I unzip my down jacket, step out of my tracksuit bottoms and pull off my baselayer. My chest prickles with goose bumps as I tug on my swimming cap, slip on a pair of neoprene shoes and gloves, snap my goggles across my face and stride towards the sea. The air temperature is hovering around zero. The water is a positively balmy 6ºC. I feel something akin to an electric shock travelling up my legs as I wade out. I slow my breathing down before sliding my shoulders beneath the waves. My lungs empty immediately, but I push on into a steady breast stroke (it’s too cold for front crawl). I watch a seagull dip and skitter along the surface, briefly forgetting the chill of the water. After 50 strokes towards the horizon, I turn and swim back to shore – and the warmth of my towel. It’s not much of a workout, but as the endorphins fire through my system and I get dressed, I feel calmer, less stressed and ready to face the day. This is my daily ritual, and has been ever since I discovered the writing of naturalist Roger Deakin, whose book Waterlog explores the UK’s wild water with a sense of utter joy. It’s a journey I retraced in my own book, Floating. Wild swimming – swimming in open bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and the sea – has enjoyed a renaissance in the UK in the past decade. The Outdoor Swimming Society has seen its membership top 70,000 in the past two years, with organised events such as the annual Dart 10km oversubscribed. The water’s allure, though, is as much about reconnecting with nature and easing mental health struggles as it is about keeping physically fit.
FINDING THE FLOW
Photo Ben Cox
After starting to swim regularly in cold water, I noticed a positive effect on my anxiety, which I had been struggling with for much of my adult life. My mood would improve
Free as a bird: open-water swimming provides head space and a unique sense of calm
OCTOBER 2019
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IN FOCUS WILD SWIMMING
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OCTOBER 2019
“Cold adaptation has an antiinflammatory effect, and we know that inflammation is linked to depression and anxiety” Salt-water smiles: Joe Minihane credits sea swimming with helping to relieve his anxiety
Photo Ben Cox
in the hours after a swim, while I was able to gain a greater sense of perspective on any problems, thanks largely to spending time in nature, away from screens and the pressures of day-to-day life. But are wild swimming’s mental health benefits backed up by science? Dr Mark Harper, a consultant anaesthetist at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, and a keen sea swimmer, is trying to find out. Harper was part of the team that worked on a case report for the BBC’s Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs in 2016. The patient used in the study, Sarah, had suffered from anxiety and depression since the age of 17, but after two years of swimming in cold water, she had come off all medication, using swimming alongside counselling to help her mental health. While that case was anecdotal, Harper is in the process of starting a new study in Brighton, initially with 30 patients over the course of three years, to see how they adapt to the cold and whether they see any benefit for their mental health. He’ll measure this against patients who have talking therapy, or take medication. Harper says there is a theoretical basis that adapting to cold water can help with anxiety and depression: “We’ve looked at cold adaptation – how you adapt to cold and the response your body produces – and there’s an anti-inflammatory effect. And we do know that inflammation is linked to depression and anxiety.” Swimming regularly in cold water means your body can adapt to the stress which it causes. And scientists at Portsmouth University have found that in doing so, this can lessen stress responses in other situations. This is known as cross adaptation. Harper is hoping that after conducting his
safety tips
how to take a danger-free dip
a specific time, but by the time you get in, get your breath back and you’ve settled, that’s enough. You’re getting the full effect.”
COLD-WATER CALM
research, the NHS will be able to start socially prescribing cold-water swimming, much as they already do with walking in the Shetland Isles. “It is absolutely about social prescribing,” he says. “But funding bodies and commissioning bodies need evidence to prescribe it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has evidence to back it up, so does doing exercise. But I do think you get added value from the cold adaptation. You get the exercise, you get the outdoors, but you get more from the cold and from the anti-inflammatory effect.” And for those just starting out and unsure about the cold, Harper has good news: “You don’t need much time at all: two or three minutes. There’s not
The anecdotal evidence of wild swimming’s mental health benefits is also growing. In a survey of 600 people, conducted by the Outdoor Swimming Society with Mark Harper, over half said they were getting into the water to boost their mental wellbeing. It’s something Ella Foote can relate to. Known for her wild swimming adventures on Instagram (@ellachloeswims), Foote is an advocate for wild swimming’s positive effects. She became a keen swimmer after spending her childhood on the Dorset coast, but it’s only recently she’s realised that swimming in cold water has helped her mental health. “When I started river swimming it was more out of necessity than want,” Foote says. “I started doing swimming events in the sea, as that was the only way into open water in the early 2000s... it became a necessity because I couldn’t get to the sea after work.” Foote’s obsession grew. She started
GO IN A GROUP If you’re just starting out, it pays to go with a group of mates. A quick dip with friends can be a great social occasion and ensures there’s safety in numbers. BUILD UP SLOWLY If you want to swim through the winter without a wetsuit, you need to acclimatise. Start swimming when the water is at its warmest during the summer, and go regularly. DON’T BE A HERO Waves crashing in? River raging? There are no prizes for taking a macho approach to wild swimming. In fact, it’s dangerous. If it doesn’t look right, don’t get in. DO YOUR RESEARCH Read up on new locations using the Outdoor Swimming Society’s crowd– sourced swim map, at wildswim.com. Kate Rew’s Wild Swim is also a handy resource. LISTEN TO YOUR INTERNAL THERMOMETER Getting over the initial shock of the cold is a key part of wild swimming. Equally, it’s important to listen to your body. When you think you’ve had enough, get out.
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swim stash
head-to-toe wild swimming kit to maximise safety and comfort O’NEILL AQUA SHOES £21.95, wetcentre.co.uk Rocky riverbeds and pebble beaches can be tough on bare feet. These O’Neill shoes are made from neoprene and have a toughened sole, making it easy to get in and out.
KINAMARA TRUNKS £18, kinamara.com The Kinamara team designs swimwear inspired by their own wild swimming adventures around the world. These trunks are especially comfortable and won’t leave sensitive areas feeling scrunched. NABAIJI NEOPRENE SWIMMING CAP £14.99, decathlon.co.uk When the temperature drops, a decent hat is a must. This extra-thick neoprene hat will stop your head from feeling the chill. ZOGGS PREDATOR FLEX 2.0 From £30, zoggs.com Not all wild swims require goggles, but they are a handy addition. These Zoggs are a firm favourite with outdoor swimmers, with a wide field of vision and an easy fit. DRY ROBE From £110, dryrobe.com Getting warm, dry and dressed after a wild swim can be a challenge. Dry Robe’s waterproof zip-up towels make the whole process far easier.
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Photo Ben Cox
ZONE3 GLOVES £25, zone3.com It’s often cold hands and feet that will have you swimming back to shore first. These gloves are designed to mitigate against frost nip in those winter months. Dip A Day December: a winter swimming project that has seen her swim in lakes, rivers and the sea throughout the coldest time of the year. It was only after she did the first of these in 2016, however, that she realised she was putting all her energy into the project, but not addressing the reason why: her poor mental health. Since then, she has used Dip A Day December to raise money for mental health charities, advocating the water’s positive benefits, and using it to be more honest about how she’s feeling. “Over the years it’s been lovely to say that Dip A Day has been about the fact that I don’t like that time of year and it’s a tough time for me,” she says. Dave Jordan has also found peace in the water. A life coach and counsellor who runs Active Minds (activeminds.life), a business aimed at helping people open up about their mental health while spending time outdoors, Jordan went through a breakdown and realised that spending time outside, especially swimming, was helping him during a tough time. “I was left to navigate my depression myself,” he says. “I found it isolating. You had to navigate who to see. If you wanted a counsellor you weren’t in a fit state to find one. It added more trauma to the whole thing.” He says that once he found the energy to get out, the sea was where he headed.
take your pick
5 wild swimming spots in the uk HAMPSTEAD PONDS The three ponds on London’s Hampstead Heath are the ideal place to give wild swimming a go. The mixed pond opens from May until September and is great for first-timers. LLYN CWM BYCHAN, WALES Llyn Cwm Bychan is the ultimate Welsh lake. With shallow water in its eastern reaches, its banks are perfect for lying down and drying off on a sunny day.
Making waves: Ella Foote's 'Dip A Day December' project extolled the virtues of wild swimming
Photo Ella Foote
DOSTHILL QUARRY, STAFFORDSHIRE This spring–fed lake’s crystal clear waters are rich in magnesium, known for its therapeutic benefits. A handy 400-metre route around its perimeter makes for a gorgeous swim.
“I’m at my most calm when I’m by the sea. It’s like meditation or mindfulness for me, I don’t have to think, I’m totally at peace. I guess it’s the endorphins as well as the head space. And just being in nature is good for the soul. It’s so calming.”
Photography Shutterstock
SWIM SAFE While wild swimming’s resurgence is unquestionably a good thing, it’s a very different proposition to swimming in a pool. Conditions can often change, with tides turning, currents moving quickly and the weather often refusing to play ball. Like all outdoor activities, there are dangers to be aware of. But these can be overcome by checking maps, reading up on well-known swimming spots and, crucially, opting against a swim if you feel
uncomfortable in any way. In that way, wild swimming offers an important lesson about being less macho and more respectful of the situation, whether it’s churning waves or a fastflowing stream. The swimming itself feels different, too. With no lanes to follow it can be hard to swim in a straight line when doing front crawl, but the ability to stretch out your arms and legs to their fullest makes it truly magical. All abilities can give it a try, although less confident swimmers should always go with someone who knows what they’re doing. And that’s no problem either; the social side of wild swimming is a brilliant boost for mental wellbeing. The water might be cold, but when it makes you feel this good, there’s every reason to take the plunge.
HELL BAY, BRYHER, ISLES OF SCILLY Twenty-five miles off the coast of Cornwall, tiny Bryher is surrounded by pristine, white sandy beaches that slip away into icy water full of swaying seaweed forests.
JOE MINIHANE IS THE AUTHOR OF FLOATING, A WILD SWIMMING TRAVELOGUE EXPLORING HOW WATER CAN HELP EASE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION.
LOCH TARBERT, JURA, SCOTLAND Scotland is blessed with some truly wild swimming holes. This loch, which almost cuts the island of Jura in two, is remote and surrounded by steep– sided hills. JOE MINIHANE ALSO HAS A SWIMMING PODCAST. IT’S CALLED FLOATING: SWIMMING STORIES AND YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT ON AUDIBLE OR WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS.
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R A
W THERE’S A NE N, CLUB IN TOW S AND IT WANT THE TO CHANGE N WAY YOU RU
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IN FOCUS TENZING CLEAN AIR RUN CLUB
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unning is more popular than ever. Last year, in the UK alone, 240.7 million runs were recorded on activity tracking app Strava – up a staggering 46.2 per cent from the previous year. The sport is so popular because it is so accessible: unlike other equipment and kitladen activities, runners need a pair of trainers (some even forego those) and little else. In its simplest form, there are no memberships to pay or spaces to book; all worries can be left at the door. That, at least, is the theory. But the free-and-easy nature of running – particularly in urban areas – is under threat from a malignant, invisible enemy: pollution. While runners of the past could enjoy a care-free jog any time, any place, there are now parts of our cities so polluted that running through them could actually do more harm than good. In London, the most densely populated of all, air pollution is estimated to contribute to 10,000 deaths a year. But far from accepting this grim new reality, the capital is leading the charge in the fight against fumes. Earlier this year, the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, announced £6 million would be invested into 15 pollution-curbing projects, including the introduction of 250 car-free and pedestrianisation initiatives across 16 boroughs, as well as programmes to reduce emissions on the Thames and in the City.
CAPITAL GAINS For runners, however, there is now a cheaper, more immediate solution, courtesy of natural energy drink company Tenzing. Utilising real-time data collected by the London Air Quality Network (part of the Environmental Research Group at King’s College London), along with GPS tracking from Strava, Tenzing’s innovative Clean Air tool – accessible via a phone app – provides users with an air quality score for their runs. There’s also a feature that allows you to map runs and check the air quality of your intended route. Once you’ve logged in through Strava, your score is automatically uploaded to your account. “At Tenzing we’re all keen runners,” says the company’s founder Huib van Bockel. “So when we found out there are places in London so polluted that it's more harmful than helpful to run, we wanted to see if we could help. We worked closely with King's College to map out all of London's air quality, and tied that data to our own running Seasoned runner Alan Li is a Clean Air convert
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GET THE TENZING CLEAN AIR TOOL BY SEARCHING TENZINGNATURALENERGY.COM ON YOUR PHONE
Founder Huib van Bockel says the Clean Air Club reflects Tenzing's ethos: good for body, mind and planet
Big Smoke Solutions
3 low-pollution routes in London
1. HAMPTON COURT LOOP 2. NORTH LONDON LONG RUN 3. TOWER HAMLETS 10K
platform and that of Strava. The result is that you can now map and run the cleanest routes in London – energy that is good for body, mind and planet.” Andrew Grieve, one of the lead researchers at King’s College – who gathered the data that makes the Clean Air tool tick – explains how it works: “King's [College] runs the London Air Quality Network, one of the most sophisticated air pollution networks in the world. As part of this, we run a real-time air pollution model for London that we call our ‘Nowcast’. This predicts the concentration of four different types of pollution across the whole of London every hour. It's this model that the Clean Air running tool runs on (as it were).” Grieve also touches on why ‘clean air’ routes should be a priority for all runners: “We know from studies we've done that respiratory function can be reduced by walking along busy roads, as opposed to parks, for example. City runners are at risk because the ventilation rate for running is much higher than for walking. One study, that looked at the cognitive benefits of running, found a reduction in that particular benefit if the runner was exposed to pollution.”
CLUBBING TOGETHER Off the back of the app, an entire community of runners, the Tenzing Clean Air Run Club, has been formed. With a weekly run every Thursday, the club has groups on Strava and Facebook for keeping up to date with the latest news and routes, and it’s open to all abilities. OCTOBER 2019
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“There are a few spots in London, like on the Euston Road, where you can literally taste the sulphur in the air”
“I’ve been running with the Clean Air Club for over a month now and love the vibe,” says 42-year-old Alan Li, a seasoned runner with some serious pedigree (he’s completed both the Marathon des Sables and the UTMB, two of the toughest and most prestigious races in the world). “Every runner is supportive of each other and, unlike in a lot running clubs or crews, there aren’t any cliques – it’s nice and welcoming.” With the aid of the app, Li’s also been given greater insight into the safety of his regular runs. “I’m more wary of the timing and the quality of air on the routes I use,” he says. “Each run is scored by a percentage – 100 per cent being the cleanest. So far, my runs have all been above 80 per cent since using the app, but once I have a reading below 80 per cent I will seek an alternative route.”
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RUNNING ON FUMES The club’s coach, James Poole, is no stranger to the realities of inner-city running, and he’s convinced clean air clubs are the way forward. “I don’t think you need to be an experienced runner to notice the difference in air quality,” he says. “There are a few spots in the city, like on the Euston Road, where you can literally taste the sulphur in the air. It’s pretty unpleasant and I try my best to avoid these areas as much as I can. “London is fortunate to have a vibrant running culture, and it’s possible to run with dozens of different groups across the capital. However, the Tenzing Clean Air Run Club is the only one that is actually educating people on how and where to train. I like to think we’re creating not just better runners, but smarter ones, too.” Backed by both science and glowing reviews, London-
Above: masked runners take to the streets for the first ever Tenzing Clean Air Run Club
based runners can breathe easy, safe in the knowledge that the Clean Air tool – and namesake club – are here to stay. But the capital isn’t the only city facing growing pollution concerns, so how long until runners across the UK can benefit from the Clean Air concept? “London is not the only place to suffer from poor air quality,” says Poole. “A report by Friends of the Earth earlier this year highlighted toxic conditions in almost 2,000 locations, including Leeds, Brighton, Coventry and Doncaster. While Londoners can use the Tenzing Clean Air tool to plan their routes, runners in other cities can limit their exposure to toxic air by simply staying away from high motor traffic areas and heading to parks for faster runs. But rumour has it the Clean Air tool may be elsewhere soon.” Fortunately, van Bockel confirms just that: “London is our trial city, but we are very keen to roll this out elsewhere – and will do so in the near future.” JOIN THE CLUB: THE TENZING CLEAN AIR RUN CLUB MEETS ONCE A WEEK AND IS OPEN TO ALL. FIND OUT MORE AT STRAVA.COM/CLUBS/TENZINGCLEANAIRCLUB
Clean Up Your Act
How to avoid high-pollution areas
Words Isaac Williams | Photography Matthew Walder / Shutterstock
AVOID RUSH HOUR “A lot of people run to work now, so this isn’t always possible,” says Grieve, “but if you can’t avoid peak traffic times our research suggests running just one block back from main roads can reduce your exposure to pollution by 50 per cent.”
Clean Air Club coach James Poole
GET OUT EARLY “In the summertime when we tend to get ozone episodes [periods with elevated ozone levels] on hot days, ozone levels peak in the late afternoon/early eve,” explains Grieve, “so if you are running on a hot day, do it in the morning when ozone levels are lower.” WATCH YOUR SPEED To avoid sucking in too many harmful particles, Poole says, “The trick is to run slowly in the pollution ‘hotspots’ and then do intense workouts in the green spaces where the air is much better quality.”
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IN FOCUS ACTIVE RECOVERY
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Call the P.O.L.I.C.E The rules of injury recovery are changing: rest, as Leo Spall writes, may no longer be best
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here shouldn’t be any rest period really: it’s detrimental, and not only with muscle strain injuries,” says Monika Bayer, as she calls for sports and fitness athletes of all levels to move on from received injury rehab wisdom. We’re discussing the best way to treat strains and sprains of various levels of severity, and the post-doctoral researcher from the Institute of Sports Medicine, Copenhagen, is very clear that time alone is not the great healer. “There’s a much longer time in pain for those athletes who have a rest period, meaning that the tissue repair is probably worse with this time out,” she says. “There are studies from decades ago indicating that ligament sprains show basically the same thing: that rest periods worsen the outcome.” If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen a range of health professionals over the years to sort out your aches, pains and tears as you work towards an event or fitness goal; you’re also bound to have been told at least once to simply quit the activity that makes it hurt until the problem goes away. The prevalence of the RICE protocol – Rest, Ice, Elevation, Compression – is likely to blame. The acronym was popularised by Dr Gabe Mirkin’s Sportsmedicine Book, which was published more than 40 years ago but is still widely referenced online. If anecdotal evidence is indicative, it’s used a lot by GPs, too. Mirkin has since questioned whether icing is the best way to tackle inflammation and there’s quite a debate on that issue in sport, but the philosophy persists in the NHS, with the health body still advising the same protocol – only with a ‘P’ added at the beginning for Protection (PRICE). Avoiding activities which increase the pain – protection for the injured area – is a good idea, but this should usually be a shortlived phase, and emphasising rest in RICE and PRICE seems to have seen many take this element too far, until the symptoms have gone completely. “The natural thing is to think, If I rest, it’ll get better,” says Sale Sharks prop Ross Harrison, who needed treatment on a calf tear last season. “If I was on my own, I probably would have just rested it to start with but that’s not what the club’s physios advised. Obviously don’t push into real pain, but you need to get the range of movement back.” OCTOBER 2019
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Pro rugby player Ross Harrison credits active recovery with a quicker-thanplanned return from injury
Harrison, who was called up for England’s victory against the Barbarians at Twickenham in June, was sidelined for just three games and was quickly back in Premiership rugby action thanks to the Sale physios’ more progressive approach to rehab. The original recovery timeframe was six to eight weeks. “The whole principle of RICE, especially the rest, needs to go,” says Bayer of the protocol that was only ever designed as a first-aid for injury rather than a rehab programme. “The recommendation must be that you have early, careful and guided mobilisation.”
ELITE-LEVEL REHAB Bayer and her colleagues have studied the most effective methods of recovery. Strengthening and mobilisation have emerged as key, with optimum loading – weight bearing of some sort – used once any inflammation has subsided, and that usually means within a couple of days of the injury occurring. Their research also suggests that with muscle and ligament problems in general, too long a layoff is bad for your body as well as your fitness. Such findings are widely accepted at elite level, where the speed of full recovery can make the difference between performing to your potential at a major event and missing a career-defining opportunity. Scott Jurek demonstrated this with painful persistence four years ago when recording the 'Fastest Known Time' (FKT) for completing the 2,189-mile Georgia-to-Maine Appalachian Trail. The legendary American ultra runner, in Hobble, limp, hobble: legendary ultra runner Scott Jurek's unique approach to recovery
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the twilight of his highly-successful career, took a little over 46 days and eight hours to get through it and, while his time may have been beaten since, the fact that he set the standard in 2015 after tearing a quadricep muscle early on adds to his feat and shows how determined he was. “That was some of the most brutal pain I’ve experienced in my life,” says the two-time winner of the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon, which starts in Death Valley and has subjected him to temperatures of 125°F. “I thought it was all over just a week in.” In his book on the FKT attempt, North, Jurek describes the way he rehabilitated like this: ‘Hobble, Limp. Hobble. Limp. Jolt. Burn. Jolt. Searing burn.’ There was a lot more to it, of course, not least because Jurek is also a qualified physical therapist. “The biggest thing was that I had to decrease stress to it,” he says. “I actually did not run for almost two days. The second day I started to run a little just to test it out. Running downhills or with high impact or more impact was not possible, so I literally walked it off. My body was able to recover with just the right amount of stress to it, where it was able to still maintain a healing phase. There are certain injuries you can’t push through…[but] over the years my training and competitions have helped me decipher what kind of pain I can push through.”
Strength coach Zach Long uses the Silbernagel painmonitoring model
KNOW YOUR PAIN SCALE Few have anything like the depth of experience Jurek has amassed, but there are ways around that. Strength coach Zach Long, otherwise known as The Barbell Physio, often uses the Silbernagel pain-monitoring model, which runs a 0-10 scale: from no pain to the worst pain imaginable.
From 0-2 is the green-light safe zone, 2-5 the amber-light acceptable zone and 5-10 the red-light, high-risk zone. “The problem is that everybody’s pain scale is so wildly different,” says Long, a qualified CrossFit coach who has worked with two-time American weightlifting champion Jared Fleming. “So a lot of time I say, ‘You’re fine to exercise with a little discomfort but if it’s changing the way you move, making you feel weaker, hanging around for longer than 24 hours, then that’s too much’.” Assessing your pain and what to do about it can be tricky, and if you aren’t confident or feel your injury warrants expert help, you should get some. Harrison obviously had that on tap at Sale and, like many committed sport and fitness devotees, he needed it. After using an ice-compression product over the first 24 hours, the 26-year-old was on to controlled calf movements. The injury was in the upper, back part of the calf – the gastrocnemius – and single, straight-leg raises made him sore, so he worked on seated and two-legged
Understanding the Acronym Protection: if moving or putting weight through the affected area hurts a lot, ‘unload’ it and/or prevent movement. Optimal Loading: after 24/48 hours, gradually start to introduce gentle movement and load to a tolerable level. Ice: apply an ice pack to the injured area every couple of hours in the first day or two. Compression: put on a compression bandage or clothing to help reduce swelling.
hoto Luis Escobar
Elevation: keep the affected area up – above heart height if possible – to reduce swelling and maintain good circulation.
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raises, and strengthened the other part of the calf muscle: the soleus. “I’m always wanting to push and “I’m always break through it, almost, but the wanting to push physios are there and can tell where and break through you are at with the load you’ve been it, almost, but the physios are there working with,” Harrison says. “They’d and can tell where get feedback from me as well. “It wasn’t you are at with the a lot of weight on the injured area at load you’ve been working with” first and it was very controlled. We’d apply load to a level where it wasn’t painful. I recovered quite quickly: I was doing bodyweight exercises in two to three days, going quite heavy on the soleus, and with the gastrocnemius we’d have less weight and try to build it up.” Long’s approach is a far cry from the 'rest and hope it fixes itself' course that many people are advised to take. “The body adapts when challenges are put on it and that’s why my philosophy is to modify things to keep people moving,” he says. “If somebody is dealing with shoulder pain, for example, and they can’t repeatedly press a barbell overhead, but getting it overhead for one rep isn’t bad, we can encourage more active rehab: instead of doing 20 overheads, we do one and we do an overhead carry. We’re trying to keep the training stimulus as close to the activity as possible, but we’re not irritating injured tissues by repeatedly taking them through motion when they’re not ready for it. Or, instead of doing a barbell overhead press, you do a landmine press, so you just alter the angle at which you are working. You are staying out of that range of motion that’s irritated, but you’re still working the same muscles, with the same movement pattern.”
START EARLY Bayer and her colleagues published a study of 50 amateur athletes with severe thigh or calf injuries in 2017, in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine Science in Sports, and the New England Journal of Medicine, and it showed the Sale Sharks’ approach, and the thinking of Long and Jurek – even if the runner’s application was more extreme – is on the right lines. The academics found that starting rehab two days after injury, rather than nine, cut the time needed for the study athletes to become symptom-free by three weeks. The injuries that were rehabilitated were sustained during a wide range of sports, too, from general fitness work, to handball, rugby and football, and the 48-hour delay in giving them treatment was more to do with the logistics of recruiting test subjects for an academic study than because that was optimum timing. “The sooner you can start, the better, but you need that initial recovery period,” says Lee Herrington, senior physio at the English Institute of Sport, who insists icing does more good than harm immediately post-injury when tissues aren’t ready for mobilisation. “Even with a hamstring strain, you
Photography Shutterstock / Sale Sharks
"If somebody is dealing with shoulder pain, we can encourage more active rehab: instead of doing 20 overheads, we do one and we do an overhead carry"
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Recovery Protocol
Physio Lee Herrington’s 5-step process
"The mistake most amateurs make is to do nothing and then quite a lot, relative to what their tissues can cope with"
need 24-48 hours to allow the tissue to get through the inflammatory phase. The mistake most amateurs make is to do nothing and then quite a lot, relative to what their tissues can cope with. Then they get into a cycle with the muscle getting sore again, try to go back at too high a level.” Herrington works with sports across the board and his current focus is trying to keep Britain’s potential 2020 Olympians from getting injured. But he has used active rehab for a wide array of injuries, including after operations, and employs three general phases. “The approach is: allow the area to recover, put some basic abilities in place and then find the sweet spot for loading the tissue,” he says. “We’ve used this generally after cruciate ligament reconstructions, hip surgeries, tendon stitching, and we would use the same approach to a muscle tear or strain. The exercises look slightly different, but fundamentally we put things into those kind of boxes. We’ve applied this in combat sports, power sports, endurance sports – you name it. We had a powerlifter who totally tore his bicep and it was the same sort of approach.”
PEACE AND LOVE If you do nothing for too long after a soft-tissue injury – to muscles, ligaments and tendons – they heal in a “disorganised” way, according to Herrington. With the right mobilisation and load, they strengthen along the stress lines worked and become better able to deal with the exercises or sports you want your body to handle. “There’s too much stress and too little. It’s a bit like the porridge in 'Goldilocks "The art of rehabilitation is guiding somebody to stay in the sweet spot, where the loads are just right"
1. Take no more than a couple of days off, and apply ice and rest as much as possible. 2. Go back to the activities you were doing, but try to find a level of load and movement you can cope with. 3. Imagine a graph which shows where you are now and the level you want to get back to. Create a series of load and movement progressions to gradually work through. 4. The three pillars of rehab to work on are strength (starting with weights), static balance (from standing on one leg to doing so while performing movement with the other leg) and dynamic movement (landing and changing direction with control). 5. Remember, though, that the rehab graph line is never straight – even in the elite world it goes up and down. There will be setbacks. That's normal.
and the Three Bears': there’s too hot, too cold and just right,” he says. “People can get it wrong sometimes. The art of rehabilitation is guiding somebody to stay in the sweet spot, where the loads are just right. and keep challenging them.” Recovering from injury, then, may not be as simple as doing nothing, and you can get it wrong if you’re not cautious, but at least it’s not as complicated as the acronym factory it seems to have spawned. There’s been RICE and PRICE, but the Bayer prefers POLICE, which stands for Protection, Optimum Loading, Ice, Compression, Elevation. It doesn’t end there, though. Earlier this year, two academics from Laval University’s faculty of medicine in Quebec, wrote a blog in the British Journal of Sports Medicine calling for those treating soft-tissue injuries to prescribe PEACE and LOVE. These stand for Protect, Elevate, Avoid anti-inflammatories (because of suggestions they might harm the healing process), Compress, Educate (about avoiding unnecessary passive methods) – PEACE; LOVE spells out Load, Optimism (because, they say, psychological factors have an impact), Vascularisation (cardio work), Exercise (mobility and strengthening). The acronyms may be confusing but the message is clear: stay active to come back stronger. OCTOBER 2019
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N EASY IN FOCUS BIG INTERVIEW
DESPITE GEARING UP FOR THE TOUGHEST BIKE RACE IN THE WORLD, ENDURANCE CYCLIST JAMES GOLDING KNOWS IT WILL BE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE ORDEAL HE’S ALREADY OVERCOME
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J
ames Golding doesn’t look like your typical clean-cut bike rider. In a sport where the elite operators tend to be whip-thin and small boned – think Bradley Wiggins or Chris Froome – Golding stands 6ft 4, with broad shoulders and hands like a navvy. Viewed shirtless, his abdomen is enough of a mess to be a little disquieting. The puncture wounds dotting his ribs, belly and arms are complemented by two large scars – one circular and dark, the other long and jagged – stretching from below his navel to just beneath his sternum. A thoughtful talker and frequent smiler, the ultra-endurance specialist makes for pleasant company. Yet in common with many athletes who push the limits of human capability, he shows hints of darkness, too. The odd frown, a piercing gaze – it’s pretty obvious that James Golding has seen some shit. From Rugby, in The Midlands, Golding is unique in the world of competitive ultraendurance cycling. Not only is he the current seven-day distance world record holder, managing 1,766 miles in a week (over 250 miles per day) in June 2017; he is also a walking, riding miracle. Eleven years ago, at the age of 28, he
"The odd frown, a piercing gaze – it's pretty obvious that James Golding has seen some shit"
was diagnosed with a very rare abdominal cancer. The tumour eventually swelled to enormous proportions, with a diameter of 11.5cm at its peak. Golding pulled through and took up cycling for catharsis, only to suffer the heartbreak of relapse in 2011. But with the years of surgery and chemo now thankfully left behind, his sights are set on the infamous Race Across America (known as RAAM). Men’s Fitness caught up with Golding a few days after he completed Race Across the West, one of RAAM’s qualifying events.
“Cancer came along and just blew all that crap out of the water. I realised how absolutely none of it mattered”
Golding in action during Race Across the West
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Men’s Fitness Ultra-endurance sport hinges on dealing with pain and it’s a common theory that many ultra athletes have a history of trauma that allows them to withstand it. To what extent did your experience with cancer provide the motivation for what you do now? James Golding “Cancer really made me re-evaluate my priorities and start again. It’s a cliché but it was almost like being reborn. At my lowest ebb, all I could do was wiggle my toes. Basic skills such as walking and feeding myself took time to come back. I had to re-learn them. After I came home, the cycling was just a form of exercise to begin with. True grit: ultra-endurance bike races require super-human strength of character
MF It seems remarkable that you took up cycling relatively late in life but have managed to go so far in the sport. Did you also have an interest in riding prior to your illness? JG “I did, but not in a serious way. I was very into mountain biking as a kid and rode competitively in a number of events. Throughout my life, other than when I was ill, I’ve always been fit and physical. I got into the gym in my teens and early twenties, getting ‘shredded’ and making ‘gains’ as so many young men do. But in truth, for the last few years before cancer, my life was very different to how it is now. I worked as a land and estate agent. Everything was money, money, money: flash suits, nice cars, Tag watches, all that sort of thing. I had a group of friends who were all lad-about-town hedonists. I suppose I was a typical young guy, drinking, doing the odd illegal substance, partying and messing about. I had relationship problems, too, which got really heavy. Then cancer came along and just blew all that crap out of the water. I realised how absolutely none of it mattered.” MF So obviously the cancer element is a huge part of your story. A turning point in many ways. Exactly how bad was it? Did you fear that you would die? JG “Yes, it was definitely a turning point. Lance Armstrong, before his fall from grace, used to say that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to him and I know what he meant by that. Cancer cleared the way for me to live as I do now. But obviously at the time it was a hideous ordeal, and from the medical side the truth is that death wasn’t just possible, it was probable. The doctors and nurses maintain a bedside manner, so I was kept blissfully unaware, but I learned later that at one point, after diagnostic tests, I only
I was down to six stone and so weak, but I wanted to do something. So, I took a friend’s bike to a local reservoir called Draycote Water and rode around it, which is about five miles. It was unbelievably exhausting. I had to lie down for an hour in the car before driving home, but it made me feel good psychologically, so I went back a few days later and did it again. Before long All night long: there's no rest for the I rode two laps, then three. It became a wicked when covering thousands of miles compulsion and over time my cycling developed. As it did, I hit on the idea of using it to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. I did the Caledonia Etape (90 miles) then the Haute Route in France (500 miles), then John O’Groats to Lands End (874 miles). Everything went from there. A lot of my rides have been fundraisers, and so far I’ve been able to donate more than £3 million. In that sense, my experience with cancer has provided a very direct motivation for everything I do. I really want to give something back to the people and organisations who saved my life.”
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IN FOCUS BIG INTERVIEW
had a five per cent chance of surviving the night. My bowel was taken out of my body and left on my side. It stayed there for months. I could look down and see it if they propped me up on the pillows. There were tubes everywhere. I had drains in my back and cannulas in both arms. My diet was liquid only and they were dosing me up with such massive amounts of morphine that I hallucinated and burbled nonsense at anyone who would listen. It might sound crazy, but despite all that I never actually considered dying as an option. Internally I always felt I would get better and I think maybe, to some degree, that’s why I did.”
MF With a world record to your name and RAAM less than a year away, has your training begun in earnest for it yet? How exactly do you prepare for such a hardcore event? JG “I’m definitely already focusing on RAAM as a priority. It’s the point on the horizon which everything drives toward. Training numbers suggest I’m in with a great chance. I’ve just competed in Race Across the West, which runs 932 miles from Oceanside, California, to Durango, Colorado. It’s the main qualifier for RAAM. I finished third, so I’m in the big one and that means job done, for now. My training had been so disrupted due to the flu bug I had since Christmas, so third was pretty pleasing. On the last day I managed to hit 329 miles in 18 hours, with an average heart rate of just 114bpm – those kind of figures show what I’m capable of. From here the plan is to stay on the bike as much as possible. I’m warm-weather training in Portugal, which is crucial because so much of RAAM is ridden in scorching heat and we’ve integrated a schedule of events to help me step things up. I’m riding the Tour of Britain course in September, including all the transfers between stages, one day ahead of the actual race. That will equate to 2,000 miles in seven days (285 miles per day), meaning I should break my own seven-day distance world record.” MF And what is the experience of competing in these kind of events? They must require a lot of organisation, as well as mental fortitude?
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The RAAM will see Golding face temperatures as high as 50°C
Daily medication during his illness
JG “Oh, for sure, yeah. And that side is as important as what I do in the saddle. I’m very fortunate that I have some terrific sponsorship and a great team around me. They ensure that my bike set up is spot on and cater for my nutritional needs, which is a massive part of it. You need to be refuelling every hour, maybe every half hour in the heat, especially when you’re sleep deprived. Riders at RAAM often only catch an hour or two a night. Because of that, it’s important to have people around who you’re comfortable with. My coach Dean Downing is also a really close friend and that’s massive. When you have some time off the saddle between rides, you need that positive energy, so I’m very fortunate like that.” JAMES GOLDING IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 95% DEAD (PITCH PUBLISHING), DUE TO BE RELEASED NEXT YEAR. THANKS TO HIS SPONSORS, BREWIN DOLPHIN, RAINMAKER SOLUTIONS, AND TREK BIKES.
At his worst, Golding was given a five per cent chance of making it through the night
Words Mark Turley | Photography Joolze Dymond
MF How’s your health now, since becoming cancerfree? Your cardio fitness obviously isn’t in doubt. JG “Yes, I have good numbers. My VO2 max is high, as is my lactate threshold. Apparently my body naturally stores lots of brown fat, which contains more mitochondria than regular fat and provides a greater store of energy. Since recovering from the relapse in 2011, I’ve been in remission but because of my past, every time I start to feel unwell there can be a few lingering worries. I had a rough time with persistent flu at the start of this year, but fortunately that’s all it was.”
World’s Toughest Bike Race Held in June every year, Race Across America (RAAM) is considered the pinnacle of ultra-endurance cycling
The course is transcontinental, coast to coast: from Oceanside California, to Annapolis Maryland. At 3,070 miles it’s 33 per cent longer than the Tour de France. Winners complete the race in roughly nine days, as opposed to three weeks for the Tour. Riders traverse three major mountain ranges, comprising 60,000 metres of climbing, There are two deserts en route. Course temperatures in Arizona peak at 50°C. No Briton has ever won the race. Golding intends to be the first in 2020.
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GET FIT IN THE KITCHEN
GO GREEN
Photography Shutterstock 1. Health & Place
The wonders of nature are well documented when it comes to wellbeing and stress-relief, and new research has revealed greenery is also good for our nutritional choices. Researchers from the University of Plymouth found that exposure to green spaces can reduce cravings for alcohol, cigarettes and harmful food.1 The study showed that having access to a garden or allotment was associated with less frequent cravings, while similar responses were evoked from residential views incorporating more than 25 per cent greenspace.
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NUTRITION NEWS
C
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0 30 re, t u jus ess r y r e b d p you udy k t t o a nt blo oos ar s heir . i rie for nd b -ye ut t nds o l a ers r, a two t c ou m c r p a ily ark uga r a lf th 16 illia al fo a e f m s d t a ti ur r bio ood .1 Af e h ge o Dr. W ten alth o y ou bl lth , th ra d po r he ung t: g a e s a d y n e t v e o i l la e uc ove ol an ic h ipan an a dy st th scu in y rdic d r u l Re imp ster bo rtic lost t, st gge ova tion ’s ve ed, a a n ole et 3 p 00 ce su rdi tric MF ess a a s n s e m 3 c ch al g 14 by e La ding for c e re als.” proc efor ring r h ri du y- , b n e ne in ies pe ge volv lor to T se fi tag calo divi all tity am in y ca ing The van ate in inim uan e-h y k l c d r “ i q h m da pea aid, ial a ode ealt sh, han man t S r s s tan ng m ed h – fre er t rfo ol. u e s h i r a Kr sub ctis e-ag ality – rat lly p ont c a a pra ddl qu h c enti orie i i n f r o o l d m us ient- pot ca n a foc tr ing nu der si n co
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Sub-Standard Supplements A wide-ranging analysis of 277 clinical trials has found that nearly all nutrient supplements cannot be linked to longer life or protection from heart disease.3 "The magic bullet people keep searching for in dietary supplements isn't there," senior author of the study Erin D. Michos told Science Daily. "People should focus on getting their nutrients from a heart-healthy diet, because the data shows that the majority of adults don't need supplements."
Climate Crisis
Rising C02 levels over the next 30 years will dramatically reduce the availability of nutrients worldwide, according to a recent study.4 Significantly, protein will suffer a 19.5 per cent reduction, as rising C02 reduces the concentration of key micronutrients in crops. "We've made a lot of progress reducing undernutrition around the world recently, but global population growth over the next 30 years will require increasing the production of foods that provide sufficient nutrients," explained Timothy Sulser, Senior Scientist at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). “These findings suggest climate change could slow progress on improvements in global nutrition by making key nutrients less available than they would be without it."
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Chilli Concerns
An extensive 15-year study of 4 582 Chinese adults a ed over 55 has hinted at a link between a spicy diet and dementia.2 The study found evidence of faster co nitive decline in those who consistently ate more than 50 grams of chilli a day. Althou h capsaicin the active component in chilli has been shown to fire up the metabolism and aid fat loss this was the first study to look at its relationship with cognitive function. Howeve before you smash up your bottles of sriracha it’s worth noting 50 grams is the equivalent of an entire red chilli. Every single day. For 15 years. So don’t quote us but you’re probably safe with your monthly tikka masala.
Photography Shutterstock | 1. The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology 2. Nutrients 3. Annals of Internal Medicine 4. Lancet Planetary Health 5. Cell
a
3
of the Best
Meat-free burgers
THE BEYOND BURGER
£5.50 (pack of 2), tesco.com Our pick of the supermarket options, The Beyond Burger tastes great and packs in 19.6g of plant protein.
FOOTBALL
‘PLANT’ FROM HONEST BURGERS
FUEL
Your Sunday league is about to get serious, thanks to Fixture, a subscription service supplying pre-match nutrition boxes to footballers. Small enough to fit through the letterbox, each pack contains a selection of hand-picked products consisting of an optimal combination of carbs, protein, caffeine and hydration to maximise a player’s performance on the pitch. If you think it’s worth a shot, head to https://fixture.team
Did you Know?
£13.50, honestburgers.co.uk A beast of a burger with vegan smoked gouda, vegan mayo, mustard, red onion, pickles and lettuce. One for reluctant vegans craving a meaty texture.
It’s About Time
What time you eat is every bit as important as what you eat when it comes to your general wellbeing, according to recent research funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).5 When you eat at an unusual time of day, researchers found a protein called ‘period’ is triggered, which disrupts the circadian rhythm of cells and, in turn, increases the risk of a number of health concerns, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. For night workers, or jet lag sufferers, the researchers suggest timing your meals as consistently as possible.
NEW YORK MELT
£10.95, thevurgerco.com Made with a Beyond Meat patty and topped with double vegan cheese, gherkins and house-made burger sauce. A plant-based cheat meal to rule them all.
Quorn builds muscle better than milk protein, according to a recent study that found mycoprotein, the protein-rich food source unique to Quorn™ products, stimulates post-exercise muscle building to a greater extent than milk protein.
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RECIPES
ENDURANCE EATS
TOUR DE FRANCE-INSPIRED RECIPES TO HELP YOU GO THE DISTANCE
BANANA OAT PANCAKES Most riders tend to get sick of eating eggs every day, but this is a great recipe for getting enough protein and using those brown bananas hanging around. They work wonders for breakfast and are great for wrapping up with some hazelnut spread and eating on the go. INGREDIENTS (SERVE 2) 80g rolled oats 3 ripe bananas 4 eggs 1 pinch cinnamon 1 pinch salt Oil, to cook 400g strawberries, diced Maple/date syrup, to serve METHOD Blend the oats in a food processor until they form a flour. Mash the bananas in a large mixing
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bowl and combine them well with the oat flour, eggs, cinnamon and salt. Heat a non-stick pan with 1â „2 tbs of oil and add 3 tbs of batter from the mixing bowl. Fry for 1.5 mins on one side, then flip over and cook for another min until set. Serve the pancakes warm after topping with the strawberries and maple syrup. Per serving Kcals: 607, Protein: 19.6g, Fats: 20.6g, Carbs: 88.9g
COOKIE DOUGH CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS This is the fastest non-bake cookie bar you will ever encounter. It works wonders on the road – during both training and racing – and it can be eaten straight out the freezer. INGREDIENTS (MAKES 40 BARS) 160g rolled oats 2 tbs chia seeds 280g almonds ½ tsp salt ½ tsp cinnamon 25g natural protein powder (whey, hemp, rice, etc.) 600g medjool dates 2 tbs coarse cane sugar 80g dark chocolate chips/chunks
Press the dough into a cling filmwrapped container and let it set in the fridge for an hour or so, before cutting into desired pieces. Wrap in parchment and keep in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Per 4 bars Kcals: 440, Protein: 12.2g, Fats: 17.4g, Carbs: 67.7g
The 2019 Tour de France marked the 100th anniversary of the famous race for the yellow jersey. For more information on the race, and to download the official app, visit: letour.fr/en
METHOD Combine everything except the chocolate in a food processor, with the ‘S blade’ attachment. Add the chocolate and pulse 2-3 times. Make sure the chocolate doesn't melt.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hannah Grant is a Michelin-trained chef who has worked with a number of the Tour de France cycling teams, including Tinkoff Saxo, Dimension Data and Orica-Scott. Grant was also the chef in the Emmywinning Amazon Prime series Eat. Race. Win, which – along with The Grand Tour Cookbook – is the title of one of her bestselling recipe books for athletes.
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RECIPES
BIRCHER MĂœESLI WITH RASPBERRY AND BANANA You can add a bit of protein powder to this recipe to make it a full breakfast meal. Prepare your muesli in a to-go cup and take it with you to work, or make a double portion and bring it along for after racing.
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 2) 200g unsweetened muesli 200ml Greek yogurt 1 tbs chia seeds 1 medium banana, peeled and mashed 100g raspberries 150g diced fruit of your choice
METHOD In a mixing bowl, mix together the muesli, yogurt, chia seeds and banana. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Remove the plastic wrap and stir the mixture well. To serve, transfer the muesli to serving bowls and top each serving with the diced fruit. Per serving Kcals: 577, Protein: 23g, Fats: 10.8g, Carbs: 100g
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Follow Grant on Instagram @dailystews and visit her website hannahgrant.com
ONE-POT MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE This is a crowd pleaser after a long stage. The protein-packed and carb-rich dish is an easy way to fuel and recover, and meatballs are great as a post-race meal: eaten cold in a sandwich, or with rice. INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4) FOR THE MEATBALLS 100g rolled oats 80ml milk ½ bunch fresh mint ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley 400g ground lamb, beef or veal 2 eggs 2 cloves garlic 50g freshly grated pecorino ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 50ml olive oil Salt and pepper
PORK IN GINGER AND LIME FRIED RICE
FOR THE SAUCE 2 onions 2 large clove garlic 2 tbs butter 1 tbs olive oil 2 x 400g tins crushed tomatoes 100ml tomato paste 150ml chicken broth
½ bunch fresh tarragon Salt and pepper METHOD Preheat the oven to 180°C. Soak the oats in milk. Rinse, pick and chop the mint and parsley. Combine the meat, eggs, crushed garlic, pecorino, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Add the oat and milk, and mix with your hands until just combined. Set aside while preparing the sauce. Peel and mince the onion and garlic. Warm up the butter and oil in a large pan, and sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, paste and broth and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. With a large spoon, scoop the meatballs into the sauce, drizzle the top with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 25-30 mins until meatballs are fully cooked. Finish for 3-4 mins under the grill. Serve topped with fresh tarragon and spaghetti or grilled bread. Per serving Kcals: 484, Protein: 30.5g, Fats: 33g, Carbs: 18g
A carb-rich and protein-packed dinner is crucial if you want to fuel up effectively. Quick and easy to make, especially if you have leftover cooked rice, this dish is perfect. The pork can be substituted with chicken, tofu, beef, duck or lamb, making the dish versatile and suitable for all. INGREDIENTS (SERVES 2) 30g fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic 2 medium red onions 1 medium red pepper 1 pointed cabbage 2 tbs tamari soy sauce, plus more to taste 2 tbs olive oil, divided 200g fillet of pork 400g cooked rice Fresh coriander METHOD Scrub the ginger clean and peel the garlic. Rinse the bean sprouts. Peel the onions and core the red pepper, and slice both thinly. Cut the cabbage on a Japanese mandolin or with a sharp knife into thin strips. Mince or finely grate ginger and garlic. Whisk both into the tamari, along with 1 tbs of the oil. Trim the pork and slice it into 1cm x 3cm strips. Rub the mixture into the pork and set aside to marinate for at least 10 mins. In a large wok over a high heat, warm the remaining oil. Stir-fry the onions and red pepper for 30 secs. Add the cabbage and cook for 1 min. Add the pork. Cook for 2 to 3 mins, until the pork is cooked through. Add the rice and sprouts and stir until just warmed through. Remove from the heat. Season with tamari, lime zest and juice, and serve topped with fresh coriander. Per serving Kcals: 547, Protein: 33g, Fats: 19g, Carbs: 63.4g
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ADVANCED NUTRITION
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MICRO
MANAGEMENT You know vitamins and minerals are important, but do you know why? Performance dietician Renee McGregor is on hand to explain why micronutrients matter
T
he conversation around vitamin and mineral supplements can be a murky one. With so many brands to choose from, and celebrity ambassadors endorsing their use, it can be a minefield working out what’s relevant to you and your lifestyle. In the world of sports nutrition, specifically, the market has boomed. Some products promote ergogenic (performanceenhancing) properties, such as improved recovery, reduced inflammation and prevention of illness, while others encourage adaptation and optimal health. So how do we know if any of the plethora of products available are useful to us? And as physically active individuals, do we need additional supplementation if we consume a balanced and varied diet?
QUESTION THE EVIDENCE While vitamin and mineral products are supported by an endless number of claims, it’s important to realise not all scientific evidence is equal. Look at the validity of a study, and ask a few questions: is it an animal or human model? What is the size of the sample group? What’s the dose they are testing? Is it practical? And is there any conflict of interest – who, for example, is funding the research? However, while a large amount of claims don’t have any robust evidence to stand on, there are a handful that could be of use. Here are the supplements I would recommend…
What Supp? Vitamin D Of all the supplements on the market, this is the only one I will always recommend – particularly in the winter months, but all
year round for some. In the UK we can only absorb the right wavelength of sunlight to make vitamin D between the months of April and September, and only between the hours of 11am to 3pm. That means the majority of the UK population tend to have sub-optimal vitamin D levels, particularly through the winter months. Many studies have demonstrated that being low in vitamin D is linked to a depressed immune function, poor skeletal muscle recovery, low bone density and increased fatigue.1 If you find that you struggle with repeated illness over the winter months, or that you are experiencing increased muscle soreness and not recovering properly between training sessions, it’s worth having a blood test to check levels. If deficient (levels under 90 nmol/l in those physically active), this is one supplement you would definitely benefit
Your daily bread: wholegrains are an excellent source of magnesium
FOOD-FIRST APPROACH For the majority of athletes and those who exercise regularly, eating a balanced diet of wholegrains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables and essential fatty acids should be sufficient to meet all your nutritional requirements. When I work with any athlete, the first step is to optimise their nutritional status in order to prevent deficiencies, and special care and advice will need to be considered to those following vegetarian or vegan diets. Vegans, in particular, may need to think about supplementation with vitamin B12, while both vegetarians and vegans will benefit from taking an omega-3 fatty acid. OCTOBER 2019
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ADVANCED NUTRITION
“Vegans will need to supplement with vitamin B12, as it's not available through a plant-based diet” from taking; it’s a difficult nutrient to get through your diet alone and is probably the most credibly researched. (The dose you take depends on your blood level.) Vitamin B12 Vitamin B12 is necessary for blood cells to perform efficiently and has a role to play in maintaining the function of our nerves. Low levels of B12 are associated with extreme fatigue, and while it’s readily available in a lot of foods, especially meat, eggs and dairy foods, it involves a complicated absorption process using ‘intrinsic factor’ (IF) made in our stomach. Some individuals, especially those that may have had gastric surgery, are unable to make IF, so are unable to absorb B12, which makes them deficient. These people will need specific supplementation via an injection, which is available on prescription only. Vegans will also need to supplement with B12, as it’s not available through a plant-based diet. However, for the majority of us, there is no benefit to be had from taking B12 if our blood values are normal. Vitamin C There have been numerous links between high doses of vitamin C and athletic performance, with the traditional belief being that high doses of vitamin C can reduce the adverse effects of exercise-induced oxidative muscle damage. However, a review article by Braakhuis in 2012 reported that in the studies conducted into vitamin C, doses above one gram a day actually impaired sports performance. Another key consideration is that vitamin C is a watersoluble vitamin, so it’s more than likely that any excess intake will be excreted. In the general population, a dose of 60mg a day – the amount found in a regular orange – is recommended for optimal immune function. For the athletic population, it has been suggested that 200mg a day, through a variety of fruit and vegetables, is sufficient to maintain health and performance. Magnesium Magnesium is an important mineral involved in numerous processes that affect muscle function, including oxygen uptake, energy production and electrolyte balance. Strenuous
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Have a crack: eggs are a great source of B12 and a vegetarian source of iron
Iron Iron is responsible for transferring oxygen between the lungs and muscle tissues, making it essential for optimal exercise function. When levels are low, oxygen cannot be delivered to the working muscles quickly enough, which impairs performance. In general, low iron levels result in poor energy levels, as well as increased shortness of breath, poor appetite and an increased risk of infections. New evidence also demonstrates that a low iron level is associated with an increased risk of stress fractures in physically active individuals, and could be one of the first signs of relative energy deficiency in sport. While there are huge benefits to taking an iron supplement when levels are low, there is no improvement to performance if levels are already within the normal limits. For those concerned, they should ask for blood levels, stores and saturation rate to be checked for an accurate view of their status. Probiotics Not strictly a vitamin or a mineral, but probiotics do have a role to play when it comes to performance. A number of studies have been associated with a reduced incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in athletes during winter months when probiotics are administered.3 Further research also implies that probiotics can improve GI distress in runners.
from the source
5 foods packed with vital vits
OILY FISH: one of the only food sources for vitamin D, but also very high in bonestrengthening calcium.
Photography Shutterstock | 1. Exercise Immunology Review 2. Nielsen et al, 2006 3. West, 2011; Hao et al., 20
exercise results in an increased loss of magnesium through sweat and urine, which ups requirements by as much as 20 per cent, and is often the reason magnesium is found in electrolyte products. Good food sources of magnesium include nuts, wholegrains, legumes, tofu, avocados and dark chocolate making it a difficult mineral to become deficient in said, due to heavy loss of sweat some individuals m find they have lower than recommended levels. It has been demonstrated that magnesium supplementation, or increased intake of dietary magnesium, can improve exercise performance – but only in those who are magnesium deficient.2
RED MEAT: the best source of iron. Try to eat lean, organic sources once or twice a week. EGGS: a great source of B12 and also a vegetarian source of iron. BERRIES: provide a concentrated dose of immune-boosting vitamin C. WHOLEGRAIN CEREALS AND BREAD: both are good sources of magnesium.
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PROTEIN BARS
TO THE BAR Fuel your post-workout recovery with these high-protein snacks
C
onvenient and primed for recovery, protein bars have become the snack of choice for anyone leading an active lifestyle. They should, however, be treated with caution, because although they’re packed with the muscle-repairing good stuff, they also tend to be
loaded with some not-so-good additives and no small amount of sugar. But as long as you factor that in – and remember ‘high in protein’ doesn’t always mean ‘good for your health’ – most protein bars provide a portable alternative to more cumbersome shakes and timeintensive meals. Here’s our pick of the best…
BEACHBODY BEACHBAR
CLIF BUILDER’S PROTEIN BAR
Punchy pricetag aside, these are a tasty, guilt-free option perfect for anyone looking to get enough protein without cramming in too many calories – just 151kcal per bar. The 10g protein content can be bettered elsewhere but, when it comes to taste and texture, sweettoothed gym-goers will find few better options.
As the name suggests, these bars are far from a light post-workout option, but what they lack in subtlety they make up for in both protein content – an impressive 20g – chocolatey indulgence and a satisfying crunch. Given how good they taste, they’re also pleasantly short of eyebrow-raising ingredients.
£39.79 (box of 15), teambeachbody.com
£2.49 per bar, sigmasports.com
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OPTIMUM NUTRITION PROTEIN CRISP
SCIENCE IN SPORT PLANT20 BAR
£25 (box of 10), optimumnutrition.com
£30 (box of 12), scienceinsport.com
Optimum Nutrition knows its stuff when it comes to protein, and these bars continue the brand’s high-quality range of products. All-natural types should look elsewhere, but if it’s just a tasty training treat you’re after, these boast 20g of muscle-building protein, a nice crisp texture and a calorie count (215) compatible with most diets.
With 20g protein per par, these are a genuine alternative to your post-workout shake. Suitable for vegans, the bars are also naturally sweetened with lucuma (a fruit extract) and stevia. We’re all for plant-based goodness, but the taste does leave a little to be desired, although in terms of high-quality protein these bars are hard to beat.
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BEST BUY
RECOMMENDED
BIO-SYNERGY REBEL VEGAN PROTEIN BAR £44.82 (box of 18), bio-synergy.uk
Its 12g of protein may be lower than others in the list, but the plant-based version of BioSynergy’s Rebel Protein Bar (there’s also a non-vegan option), with its layers of caramel, dates and nuts, gets full marks for flavour and texture. Its list of ingredients is in the single digits – always a good sign – and the fact it's 100 per cent natural makes this bar your best bet for both body and planet.
THE PROTEIN WORKS LOADED LEGENDS
PULSIN PROTEIN BOOSTER
These taste as good as anything we tried, and pack an impressive 15g of protein into each 185-calorie bar. However, although there’s only half a teaspoon of sugar per bar, the ingredients list is long and contains some difficult-to-pronounce additions, but a solid choice if you’re looking for a post-workout treat a few times a week.
Taste, texture and a decent-enough 13g of protein combine to make the Pulsin Protein Booster a close runner-up in our roundup. The all-natural bar contains an optimum blend of pea and rice protein for a complete amino acid profile, and the Peanut Choc flavour in particular will have you powering through your sessions.
£26.99 (box of 12), theproteinworks.com
£32.22 (box of 18), pulsin.co.uk
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THE PROTEIN BALL CO
£17.99 (box of 10), theproteinballco.com
MY VEGAN PROTEIN COOKIE
Available in a wide range of flavours – from the conventional Peanut Butter (our favourite), to the less obvious Goji + Coconut – each bag contains six miniature protein balls that weigh in with a combined total of 10g of protein and 175 calories. Less heavy than traditional bars, these are made from natural ingredients with no added nasties.
Chewy, chocolatey and with enough calories (289) to curb your post-workout hunger, these are an indulgent recovery treat. As with many protein products, they’re slightly dense and don’t taste quite the same as a conventional cookie, but not a bad effort at all from the all-new, all-vegan brand.
£16.49 (box of 12), myvegan.com
VIVE NATURAL PROTEIN SNACK BAR £16 (box of 12), eatvive.com
The all-natural option, Vive bars are glutenfree and vegan-friendly, with a coating of organic dark chocolate housing your choice of either peanuts or hazelnuts, a pea and rice protein mix, and organic cacao butter. The protein/calories ratio isn’t the best, at 10g in each 227-calorie bar, but there is at least none of the chalky texture you get from less natural, higher protein options.
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Photography Shutterstock | 1 & 2. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
YOUR BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS
STRONG-ARM TACTICS 3 tips for bigger biceps
If you’re working on your physique, brick-like biceps are likely to be somewhere near the top of your wish list – in which case, you came to the right place. Our 10-move session (on page 86) offers up some of the most effective exercises for muscling up in the arm department, but before you give it a go here’s what the science has to say. 1. MAKE A MIND-MUSCLE CONNECTION Aimlessly wafting the weight up and down isn’t going to
cut it. To maximise muscle growth, absolute focus is key. Researchers have found that using an internal focus of attention – thinking about how the muscle is working as you perform the movement – leads to greater muscle activation (as measured by surface electromyography).1 2. EMPLOY THE FULL RANGE OF MOTION Controlled, full-range reps should be your priority. One 2012 study found that in 40 male subjects, using a full range
of motion during bicep curls led to greater hypertrophy of the biceps, as well as a 25 per cent increase in strength – as opposed to just 16 per cent in the group that did partial reps. 3. UP THE VOLUME Your biceps get worked with almost all upper-body exercises, but if you want to add noticeable growth you need to do more than a couple of half-hearted sets tagged onto the end of your back workout. Aim to train your biceps twice a week for a weekly total of 16
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ARMS WORKOUT
CALL TO ARMS
Build your biceps and torch your triceps with PT Luke Grainger’s 10-move arm-sculpting session 1. SINGLE-ARM PRESS-UP MUSCLES WORKED: Pecs, Triceps, Delts, Traps, Lats, Core Sets: 2-4 Reps: 1-6 (work up to 6) Rest: 60-90 secs
Begin in the usual press-up position with your feet in a wide stance. Turn one hand so that your middle finger is now at approximately 45 degrees, and put your other hand behind your back. With control, slowly lower yourself until your chest touches the back of your hand
and your hips stay just off the ground. Pause briefly and then drive yourself back up to the start position. You can now either keep repping on the same arm or alternate arms depending on your current strength. Ideally, do all your reps on one arm, then switch sides and smash out the reps on the other arm, all without putting your knees down.
Photography Eddie Macdonald | Model Mark Thomson (W Model Management)
Note: Your strength will dictate whether you will do this using a wall, a bench or from the
floor. The toughest of the three options is from the floor.
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2. KETTLEBELL NEUTRAL CURL TO OVERHEAD PRESS MUSCLES WORKED: Biceps, Triceps, Delts, Traps, Forearms, Pecs, Core Sets: 3-4 Reps: 6-8 Rest: 60-90 secs Grab a kettlebell by the handles or 'horns' in each hand, and stand tall with the weights at your side. Squeezing the horns as hard as you can throughout, curl the weights up to shoulder height so that the kettlebells are now upside down. Press the weights up in the air, pause and slowly return to the start position.
3. 30-DEGREE DUMBBELL NEUTRAL TRICEP EXTENSION MUSCLES WORKED: Triceps, Delts, Traps, Forearms, Pecs Sets: 3-4 Reps: 6-8 Rest: 60-90 secs
Set the bench to a slight incline and lie on your back with the dumbbells at your shoulders – palms facing each other. Press the weights up in the air to the start position. Keeping your upper arm still, bend at the elbow until the your arms are fully bent. Keeping the tension in your tricep, briefly
pause and then explosively return to the start position, flexing your tricep as much as possible. Keeping the tension, immediately go into the next rep.
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ARMS WORKOUT
4. STANDING SUPINE CURL TO PRONATE CURL MUSCLES WORKED: Biceps, Forearms, Traps Sets: 3-4 Reps: 8-12 Rest: 60-90 secs Standing with a dumbbell in each hand (palms facing up) and your elbows slightly flexed, curl the weights up. Squeeze at the top and then turn your hands over so your palms are now facing the floor. Slowly lower the weights with control, turn your hands over again at the bottom of the move and go into the next rep.
5. DUMBBELL CROSSBODY TRICEP EXTENSION MUSCLES WORKED: Triceps, Delts, Traps, Forearms, Pecs Sets: 3-4 Reps: 6-8 Rest: 60-90 secs Lying on a flat bench, hold a dumbbell in one hand and press the weight up to the start position, with your palm facing down towards your knees. Keeping your shoulders tucked under and your upper arm still (with your palm still facing your knees), slowly bend at the elbow so that the weight comes down and lightly touches your opposite pec. Pause, then squeeze your tricep while straightening out your arm to the start position. Then go again.
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6. SUPINE DUMBBELL INCLINE BICEP CURL MUSCLES WORKED: Biceps, Forearms, Lats Sets: 3-4 Reps: 8-12 Rest: 60-90 secs With the bench set at 45 degrees, lie on your back with a dumbbell in each hand (palms up) and your elbows slightly bent. Keeping your chest up and your shoulders retracted, begin to curl the weights up towards your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps and then slowly return to the start position.
7A. DIAMOND PRESS-UP MUSCLES WORKED: Triceps, Pecs, Traps, Delts, Core Sets: 2-5 Reps: 10 Rest: Superset (straight into 7B) In the press-up position, bring your hands together, with your index fingers and thumbs forming a diamond shape underneath your chest. Slowly lower yourself down until your chest touches the backs of your hands. Slowly press back up to the start position and repeat.
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ARMS WORKOUT
7B. DUMBBELL REVERSE-GRIP TRICEP EXTENSION MUSCLES WORKED: Triceps, Forearms, Traps, Pecs, Delts Sets: 2-5 Reps: 20 Rest: 60 secs Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Press the weights up to the start position with your palms facing up. While keeping your upper arm fixed, bend your elbows and slowly lower the weights towards your ears, then explosively return to the start position. Without pausing at the top, go straight into the next rep.
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Follow Luke Grainger on Instagram @MrLukeGrainger
8A. CROSS-BODY HAMMER CURL MUSCLES WORKED: Biceps, Forearms, Delts, Traps, Core Sets: 2-5 Reps: 10 Rest: Superset (straight into 8B) Standing with elbows slightly bent and a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, curl one arm up and across your body (palms facing your body). Squeeze your bicep, then slowly return the weight and immediately switch sides.
8B. SPIDER CURLS MUSCLES WORKED: Biceps, Forearms, Delts, Traps Sets: 2-5 Reps: 20 Rest: 60 secs Lie face down on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand and elbows slightly bent (palms up). Keeping your upper arms still, curl the weights up towards your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps at the top and then slowly lower the weights to the start position. Without pausing at the bottom. immediately go into the next rep.
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CHEST & SHOULDERS WORKOUT
UPPER-BODY BLITZ
A push-based workout to shape your chest and shoulders 1A. YS
NOTE
MUSCLES WORKED: Traps, Erector Spinae, Posterior Delt Sets: 2-3 Reps: 6-10 Rest: 20 secs
Exercises 1A through to 1C are to be done consecutively (1A, 1B, 1C = 1 set) with 20 secs rest between each exercise. One set would be: 1A, rest 20 secs; 1B, rest 20 secs; 1C, rest 20 secs.
Lie face down on a 30-degree incline bench, with your arms hanging down and thumbs up. Begin the movement by squeezing your shoulders back and down. Holding that position, lift your arms all the way up until they’re in a Y position. Hold for 4-8 secs and slowly return to the start. Relax, then go again.
MUSCLES WORKED: Traps, Posterior Delt, Erector Spinae, Rhomboids Sets: 2-3 Reps: 6-10 Rest: 20 secs Lie face down on a 30-degree incline bench, with your arms hanging below. Begin the movement by squeezing your shoulders back and down. Holding that position, lift and bend your arms until they’re in a W position, with your palms facing the floor. While lifting the backs of your hands towards the ceiling, straighten your arms out ahead of you. Hold for 2-4 secs, then slowly return to the W position. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, keep the tension and go into the next rep.
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Photography Eddie Macdonald | Model Mark Thomson (W Model Management)
1B. WS
1C. TS MUSCLES WORKED: Traps, Posterior Delt, Erector Spinae, Rhomboids Sets: 2-3 Reps: 6-10 Rest: 20 secs Grab a pair of light dumbbells and lie face down on a 30-degree incline bench with your arms hanging down. Begin the movement by bending your arms 90 degrees and squeezing your shoulders back and down. Holding that start position, lift your elbows out to the side and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for 2-4 secs, keep the tension and then slowly lower your elbows to the start position. Hold that position and go again into the next rep.
2. DUMBBELL GLUTE BRIDGE FLOOR PRESS MUSCLES WORKED: Glutes, Delts, Pecs, Core Sets: 3-4 Reps: 6-8 Rest: 60-90 secs
your glutes while driving down through your heels. This is your start position. Keeping your hips up and your heels down, slowly lower your elbows to the floor, pause while keeping the tension in your chest (not relaxing your arms on the ground) and then explosively drive the weights back up to the start position.
Begin with your arms straight up in the air and the dumbbells at 45 degrees. Now press your hips up and squeeze
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CHEST & SHOULDERS WORKOUT
3. DUMBBELL SCAPTION MUSCLES WORKED: Rotator Cuffs, Delts Sets: 3-4 Reps: 6-8 Rest: 60-90 secs Begin by standing tall with a dumbbell in each hand, arms slightly away from your sides, elbows bent and palms facing forwards. Lifting your chest and, keeping your shoulders retracted, begin to raise your arms out to the sides until they’re slightly above shoulder height. Pause, slowly return to the start position and go again.
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4. DUMBBELL NEUTRAL PRESS MUSCLES WORKED: Biceps, Forearms, Triceps, Delts Sets: 3-4 Reps: 6-8 Rest: 60-90 secs Grab a dumbbell in each hand and stand tall with the weights at your side. Squeezing the dumbbells as hard as you can throughout, curl the weights up to shoulder height (palms facing each other). This is your start position. Press the weights up in the air while keeping your palms facing each other and pulling your shoulders down. Pause and slowly return to the start position.
5A. DUMBBELL INCLINE PRESS MUSCLES WORKED: Pecs, Tricep, Delts Sets: 3-4 Reps: 8-10 Rest: Superset (straight into 5B) Sit on an incline bench with your knees wide and your feet flat on the floor. Start with a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height and your shoulder blades pinned back and together on the bench. Tuck your elbows in slightly and keep them underneath your fists. Press the weights up and squeeze your chest as hard as you can throughout the move. Slowly return the weights to the start position, pause while keeping the tension, then go again.
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CHEST & SHOULDERS WORKOUT
5B. DUMBBELL FLY MUSCLES WORKED: Pecs, Delts Sets: 3-4 Reps: 20 Rest: 60 secs Lie flat on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, your knees wide, feet flat on the floor and your shoulders drawn back and down underneath you. Press the dumbbells up to the start position (palms facing each other). Keeping a slight bend in your elbows and maintaining the squeeze through your shoulders, begin to open your arms apart from each other. Once you feel a good stretch through your chest, pause while keeping the tension and squeeze the dumbbells back up to the start position.
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Follow Luke Grainger on Instagram @MrLukeGrainger
6A. PRESS-UP LADDER (DIAMOND, MEDIUM AND WIDE) MUSCLES WORKED: Triceps, Pecs, Delts, Core Sets: 3-4 Reps: 4 of each Rest: Superset (straight into 6B) Begin in the press-up position with your index fingers and thumb forming a diamond shape beneath your chest.
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Do four press-ups and then, without putting your knees down, reposition your hands so they’re now just outside of your shoulders. Do four more press-ups and then, without putting your knees down, reposition your hands so they’re in a wide position – do another four press-ups. Keep both the descent and ascent slow and controlled, keeping tension all the way.
6B. REVERSE V FRONT RAISE MUSCLES WORKED: Delts Sets: 3-4 Reps: 20 Rest: 60 secs Begin with a dumbbell in each hand, your arms flexed at the elbows and in a wide position out to the side of your body (palms facing your sides). Keeping your shoulders down and back, lift your arms up and inwards so that your hands make an upside down V position at the top of the move, roughly in line with your shoulders. Slowly and keeping the tension all the way, return to the start position with your arms out to the side and shoulders back and down, then go again.
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WHAT IT TAKES
“The boats race at over 40mph and you’re virtually flying out the water a lot of the time”
att Gotrel, 30, started sailing when he was eight years old, alongside his father and grandfather. At university, however, he switched disciplines from the Olympic 49ers to take up rowing. Three years later, he joined Team GB Rowing and, with two World Championships to his name, he won Olympic Gold at Rio in 2016. Now, though, Gotrel is back where it all began, and here he reveals to MF the unique challenges of being a grinder.
M
WHAT IT TAKES...
TO BE A GRINDER
COMPETING IN SAIL GP REQUIRES A CORE OF STEEL, UPPERBODY STRENGTH AND STAMINA FIT FOR THE HIGH SEAS
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REGIME
“A grinder requires a lot of upper-body strength: to power the winches that trim the sails to the optimum settings and help to manoeuvre the boat,” Gotrel explains. At 6ft 5in tall and over 100kg – but with an Olympic rower's engine – the man his teammates call Shrek is ideally suited to the role. “The biggest difference in SailGP to rowing is the use of different muscle groups. Rowing involved a lot more leg power, which I already had, but as a grinder you need the fitness. There are a lot
more peaks and troughs, and it's all upper body.” To make the transition, Gotrel has been on a focused development programme which combines weight work and gym circuits with hardcore sessions on a portable grinding machine – a purpose-built replica of the ship’s winch mechanism – which has a resistance setting to help separate the sailing men from the marker buoys. “The loads that go through the handles of the grinder are extremely high, so I do bench presses and pulls, and lots of single-arm stuff. With the lower body it's all about stability: lots of skates, jumps and changes of direction, plus lifts and squats. “I struggled with the grinding at first, because my arms would blow up before I could get my heart rate to any sort of level I knew I was capable of. I'm still fighting that a bit now. There's nothing that resembles grinding – nothing that can actually replicate it – so unfortunately there's no shortcut.”
MINDSET
Being part of a SailGP crew isn’t for shirkers, either. “The boats race at over 40mph and you’re virtually flying
pull-up power
an upper-body staple and one of Gotrel’s goto moves Grab a pull-up bar with your palms facing away from your body, and your hands shoulderwidth apart. Allow your arms to hang in a fully extended position. Keeping your shoulders back and drawn away from your ears, pull yourself up until your chin clears the bar. Pause, then slowly lower yourself to the starting position.
the seafood diet Gotrel’s daily meal plan
out the water a lot of the time, so you need to be 100 per cent focused when you're on the boat.” And it’s not just quick thinking that’s called for on the high seas. “We do a lot of single-leg training," says Gotrel, "plus quick-feet ladder drills, because you need to be able to move across the deck rapidly, against some serious g-force. You can get thrown around like a rag doll – I’ve come away with a few bruises. It just shows you the power of the g-force. You’ve got this fourth dimension to the sport where you're actually out of the water, flying. Everything gets amplified and you need to respect where you are and the forces that are at play. “When I’m not racing it's about staying as fit as I can. I do gym work every morning and a grinding session every afternoon. In between I mix it with core work, some yoga and stretches. I do two to three sessions a day pretty much every day. I train with my brother at 6am before he goes to work, and in the afternoon I’m in the garage with the grinder and my pet dog for company.” During race meets the physical demands are even greater: “It’s fullon because you’re constantly getting the boat in and out of containers – it’s very much like working on a construction site for a week. We spend ten to 12 hours a day on site getting the boat ready."
NUTRITION
All that grinding requires adequate fuelling, of course, and for anyone with a quick-fire metabolism, that means a hefty calorie count. “When I was rowing I was around 92kg – the
FIRST BREAKFAST: porridge or cereal before the gym. POST-GYM: recovery protein shake. SECOND BREAKFAST: poached eggs with toast or bagels. LUNCH: chicken salad with couscous for added protein. SNACK: electrolyte drinks or gels during the afternoon grinding session. SECOND SNACK: high-fat option like hummus and more poached eggs. DINNER: carb-heavy meal like pasta, “with as much veg as I can put on a plate."
heaviest I ever got to over the whole four year cycle was about 96kg. But for grinding I have to be 105kg, basically the heaviest I’ve ever been.” As Gotrel puts it, the grinder needs to be a moveable ballast on the boat. “I need to be big, but also nimble. It’s a bit of a challenge for me, as I always struggled to put weight on. In the build-up to my first race I had a six-week period of doing barely any cardio. Instead I was doing two weights sessions a day and basically eating as much as I could to bridge that gap. I’ve learned that, much like bodybuilding, you go through cycles, so during the winter we aim to put on as much weight as possible in order to maintain the strength we need for the rest of the year.”
THE NEXT STOP FOR THE SAILGP GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP IS MARSEILLE ON 20-22 SEPTEMBER. BUY TICKETS AT SAILGP.COM
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SHAPE SHIFTER
FIGHTING FIT BROKEN BY BACK PAIN BUT DESPERATE TO GET BACK ON HIS FEET, PAUL BABAI UNDERWENT AN INTENSE TRAINING AND NUTRITIONAL PLAN THAT CUT FAT, ADDED MUSCLE AND FREED HIM FROM PAIN
P
aul Babai, 35, was left with nowhere to turn after a severe slipped disc left him unable to sit at the dinner table or put on his shoes, despite emergency surgery and weeks of intensive physiotherapy. The entrepreneur from Camden, north London, was almost out of options until a mobile personal training service, PGPT, came to his aid. “I had a slipped disc in my lower back and had to go for emergency surgery because of the extent to which the disc was trapping my nerve. Whenever you hear the phrase ‘back surgery’ you panic, thinking that you’ll never do sport again. Mentally that was a huge blow.” While the surgery was initially successful, Babai began suffering from chronic back pain, despite weeks of intensive physiotherapy. His injury soon became debilitating, affecting his everyday life. “There were times I’d want to play with my niece, hug her, pick her up, but I couldn’t. Thinking about having my own family one day and not being able to do those things felt like a tragedy.” Babai remembers well the moment he realised he had to try one more way, aside from physiotherapy, to fix his back pain. “The final straw was a big family dinner, and I just couldn’t sit at the table any longer. I had to go into the living room while everyone was still eating and lie down on a hard floor, thinking, I can’t live like this.”
ON THE SCALES Before 73.9kg body weight 12.4% body fat After 74.2kg body weight 7.8% body fat
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Tailor-made PT sessions cured Babai's back pain and helped him reach single-digit body fat
STRENGTH SESSIONS
Babai’s osteopath recommended a personal training service that offered tailor-made programmes designed to achieve specific goals. “My aim was simple: to live my life pain-free,” says Babai, who chose PGPT because they had five expert trainers, each specialising in different areas, who formed part of his rehabilitation team. “Paul was a broken man when I met him, but he had the work rate and willingness of someone that sits in the top one per cent,” explains the service's founder Peter Gaffney. “There was no question he would get results, as he was hungry from the first day.” Gaffney provided Babai with a detailed personal training
Words Rob Kemp | Photography PGBT
ShapeShifting Secrets
programme and a bespoke nutritional plan. It included workouts from home, before and after work. “The exercises were very subtle in the beginning, working on my core stability, posture and most importantly my legs and glutes to support to my back,” explains Babai. “As I made progress the training got harder, incorporating more HIIT cardio sessions such as ‘Death by Burpees’, which begins with a single burpee in a minute and then adds one burpee on the minute every minute. By the end I was up to 16 burpees during the minute, which took around 50 seconds, leaving 10 seconds to rest before the next minute kicked in and I had to do 17. There were also endless lunges, squats and posterior chain movements. There were setbacks along the way, as there always are, but if you have the right advice and team around you, as well as sheer determination, you can and will achieve your goals.” Working out three or four times a week, and building bigger portions of protein into his daily meals, Babai began to make crucial, incremental gains which have left him with less than ten per cent body fat, more
SNAPPY MEALS “A WhatsApp group was created for me to take a picture of every meal and show it to the PGPT team. It made me stop and think every time I was about to put something unhealthy in my mouth.”
muscle mass and, most importantly, completely pain-free. “Gone are the days of feeling hopeless and sorry for myself, and using negative language that only served to bring me further down,” he says. “Instead I feel I can overcome any challenge I’m faced with, no matter how hard or impossible it seems. I have more energy and continue to set myself new goals, such as charity events and, most recently, boxing (Babai’s charity boxing matches are in aid of Cancer Research UK – donate at justgiving. com/Paul-Babai). I now want others to know there is hope, and that with the right training, focus and dedication you can get back on your feet.” PGPT IS LONDON’S LEADING MOBILE PERSONAL TRAINING SERVICE. FIND OUT MORE AT PGPT.CO.UK
Above: Babai has come out swinging since being freed from pain
BIG BREAKFASTS “I’d often skip breakfast or eat sugary cereal, but after I started training I got really hungry in the mornings, mainly for porridge with peanut butter, banana and blueberries.” LESS CARBS “I traded my heavy carbohydrate lunches such as pizza, pasta and sandwiches, for protein-packed salads. Also, out went the desk-snacking on chocolate and crisps: replaced with nuts and fruit.”
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CODE OF CONDUCT
THE CHANGING ROOM
TO AVOID BECOMING A LOCKER ROOM LIABILITY, THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE: GET IN AND GET OUT. THAT MEANS SELFIES, PACKED LUNCHES AND DRIP-DRYING ARE CODE REDS
KEEP YOURSELF TO YOURSELF
CONTROL YOUR KIT Changing rooms tend to be tightly packed places where space is at a premium. Which means forcing everyone else into the corner while you air out your Fred Perry polo is a move punishable by some passive aggression of the highest order. Treat your changing routine like you would a weights session in the gym: focus on your technique and respect personal space.
DON'T RISK A SELFIE
SAVE YOUR SANDWICH
In the red-blooded heat of the moment, it's easy to get carried away. You've just done bicep curls for the fifth time this week, you're feeling pumped and you catch yourself in the mirror. Damn, you look good! But realise this: no matter how quick you are – how swift a selfie taker you've become – as soon as you bulge that bicep, or tense those abs, someone will walk in and see, just as your flash goes off and your face turns a deep shade of beetroot. Save the gun show for home.
The sights, sounds and smells of a male changing room should be enough to put anyone off their lunch, but at MF we've witnessed gym-goers merrily tucking into food while sat literally inches away – at eye level – from men toweldrying themselves with unnecessary vigour. Eating in a changing room is unhygienic for you, but it's also bad news for others: the last thing anyone feeling queazy after a tough session needs is the smell of slow-cooked locker meat.
Words Isaac Williams | Illustrations Dan Evans @danxdraws
We're all for body confidence, and hey, what's a bit of nudity between a room full of sweaty strangers? Relax. Take it easy. But while getting changed means a brief bare bum is to be expected, there will always be one who treats a post-workout shower at your local leisure centre like it's game day at the rugby club – tackles everywhere. Don't be that guy. If you must swing freely, save it for the kettlebells.
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PT CORNER
SWING TO WIN PT Ian Gardner reveals three kettlebell exercises to forge functional fitness
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ettlebell training has enjoyed a well-deserved resurgence in recent years. Due to its shape, size and easy-to-grip handle, the kettlebell is an incredibly versatile bit of kit, capable of doing everything the dumbbell can and more: from strength, to power, to body-balancing unilateral moves.
3 EFFECTIVE KETTLEBELL MOVES
1. THRUSTER
Set up in a squat position, holding the kettlebell in one hand at your shoulder. Squat down, keeping your weight in your heels and your back straight. Stand back up, with speed. Just before you reach a full standing position, explosively press the kettlebell overhead, using the momentum of your leg drive Return the weight back to your shoulder, cushioning the force by going into your next squat. The thing to avoid here is splitting the exercise into two different movements. Squat, pause, overhead press, pause – keep it as one continuous, fluid action.
2. CLEAN
Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width, with the kettlebell between your feet. Grab hold of the kettlebell in your right hand, palms facing towards your right foot in a deadlift position. Perform a deadlift with as much explosive power as you can. When almost fully standing, upright row the kettlebell, and at the top of the movement drop your elbow down quickly to allow the kettlebell to drop down onto your forearm. Lower the kettlebell back to the floor by completing the deadlift motion. The clean is an explosive movement to be performed with intent. At the top of the movement, the kettlebell should feel almost weightless as you use the power of your hips and the pull of your arms to move the weight. Keep your biceps out of it.
3. WALKING LUNGE
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell by the horns with both hands at chest height. Lunge forward, landing with your weight evenly distributed in the front foot. Drop down until your knee is almost touching the floor, making sure you only lean forward from the hips slightly. Pushing through the heel of the front foot, bring your trailing foot through to return to standing. Bring your trailing foot all the way through and down in front of you, restarting the process from step three. To avoid injury, don't roll your front foot when it lands. Doing so forces the knee to move inwards from the mid-line of the toes.
GET TO WORK
Photography Shutterstock
Test your fitness with this lung-busting session
Take minimal rest between the exercises in each round, and 90 secs rest between rounds. 3 rounds 200m run 15 KB swings 10 KB renegade rows Follow Gardner on Instagram @iangpt1510
3 rounds 200m row 15 overhead press 10 sumo deadlift high pulls
3 rounds 500m cycle 15 thrusters 10 cleans (5 each arm)
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SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
‘THE 25’
Test your fitness against this brutal but effective ‘YARDWORK’ session brought to you by Manor gym
25 MIN TIME CAP
Devil snatch
WEIGHTED VEST WORN THROUGHOUT 25m shuttle runs 25 devil snatches (15kg) 25 fireman squats with 25kg sandbag (25 each side) Clean and press with 25kg sandbag Kettlebell swings with 32kg
Back to Basics
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Kettlebell swing
Sandbag squat
Sandbag clean and press
Photography MCP
“After becoming tired and bored of the industry’s safe, soft, easy approach to fitness, Manor created a concept called YARDWORK, a session based in a disused car park that went against everything that had become the norm. Duct-taped cement bags, fire extinguishers and flood sandbags were all used to create a session that was a little off the hook and slightly unhinged. This brutal workout gives a sense of what you can expect from a typical YARDWORK session, and pushes our belief in nononsense hard work.” mymanor.london/ mcp