Physical Activity

Escape The City: Queen Elizabeth Forest Park

Go Ape have seemingly invited every blogger and their dog (now, that would be a blog) for a swinging time in their Aberfoyle location, set at the entrance to Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.

I’ve still to receive mine, but that didn’t stop us from heading off to Queen Elizabeth Forest Park to experience the Great Scottish Outdoors.

For the uninitiated, that also means experiencing the Great Scottish Weather.

The forecast wasn’t great, but we were keen to escape the house and the city and after some gentle persuasion (“we’re going out and that’s final”) the boys warmed up to the idea of going for a wee walk (regular readers might see a trend developing for whenever I use the phrase “wee walk”).

As we set off, one thing that wasn’t warming up, was the weather. It was a drookit day and after an hour’s drive to Aberfoyle from Glasgow, our spirits were dampened a little. The sky was grey, verging on black and the heavens seemed keen to open up on us.

But hey, we had driven for an hour and there was a park to explore. But first, there was a cafe to explore. I fed the parking meter its £3 for a full day’s parking and then moved on to feeding some others.

Teresa and the boys don’t function properly without food, so we sheltered in the Lodge Forest Visitor Centre, to gather our thoughts, some maps and a few provisions.

At £18 for three hot drinks, two soft drinks and three cakes, it wasn’t overly expensive and the boys seemed happy with their hot chocolates.

Suitably fed (and bribed) we all set off to explore Queen Elizabeth Forest Park

There are four recommended walks in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park ranging from a gentle and accessible 1/2 mile route to a waterfall to 4 mile hikes up to viewpoints over the forests and land beyond. We decided to try and do at least two walks.

The waterfall walk was as easy as suggested and it is worth the lack of effort. The falls are pretty and photogenic while the boulders at its base are generally safe and fun for the kids to play on

We nearly didn’t go much further on this walk due to a discovery that stopped us in our tracks.

Teresa discovered that lying on a hammock was the most relaxing thing ever, while the boys discovered the joy of swinging around on said hammocks.

Set amongst the trees with the noise of the gurgling stream and the waterfall in the background, the swaying hammocks offered an opportunity to relax, empty my mind and empty my pockets as all my loose change fell onto the ground. This shattered the spell that the forest was putting me under and I managed to free myself from the enchanting comfort of the hammock.

We then set off and crossed a wee bridge. This brought us out to a three way junction, with no apparent means of choosing which way to go. Unless, of course, you count the map in my pocket, but who looks at them? We could hear people monkeying around at Go Ape to our left and made the reasonable decision to go right.

After about 15 minutes of walking we came to another junction and the sight of a path leading up into the forest was enough to pique our interest. Teresa consulted the map and we recognised that we had stumbled across the Lime Craig Circuit. According to the information sheet, it was very steep in places .

An understatement if I have ever read one.

This was a hard slog. More than once Teresa and I had to stop for breath and I know, from my regular checks on my Garmin, that my heart rate reached its peak as we tried to reach the peak of the hill we were on. Danny, our family mountain goat (note: he isn’t really a goat) tore up the hill, while wee Jack was responsible for some of the spikes in my heart rate. Every 30 secs he would make a pass at overtaking me and I’m sorry, but there is only one walk leader in the family. Just as he sprinted level. I would burst into my own sprint. Loaded with extra baggage (our provisions and my belly) I just about kept him at bay until deciding that I needed to let him win once.

Not because I am good step-dad, but because he was killing me and because Jack is as stubborn as a mule. Unless he is kept entertained or distracted, he realises that he is walking up a very big hill only to walk back down it again.

He is often apt to simply sit down when he has had enough

The walk through the pines, clouded in mist,and the heather, bracken and thistles that surrounded us on every side was postcard and poem pretty. For expats across the world, this is the Scotland they adore and the fact that there was virtually nobody else on the trail made it all the more tranquil. Even the occasional rain shower enhanced the tableau.

We could have walked all day in this, but after about 40 minutes we were faced with a decision.

Should we climb or should we retreat.

As a family, we like a challenge and after a careful consideration of the wet and slippery scree, we put our heads together and we decided that it would be a shame not to climb to the top and experience the vista that awaited us.

So off we set and it was tough. Ideally you want proper hiking shoes and even hiking poles for such a walk, but it can be completed without either. Even with the rain, it wasn’t too muddy, but we had to climb carefully and I almost lost my footing on a couple of occasions. This isn’t a walk for everyone but it was enjoyable and and there is always a sense of satisfaction from the thrill of reaching the top and reflecting on what you achieved

The top for us was only 1,009 feet high and to my pals who are Munro, Corbett and Graham baggers, this may seem like a small climb, but for us it was a fun and rewarding challenge. At the top you can see all the peaks and valleys around and it made for a pleasant spot to have our packed lunch.

Suitably rested and fed we headed down back towards the Information Centre on a slightly different and easier route. One that could be accessed my most and another example of us taking a right turn which turned out to be wrong. This was a gentle and peaceful descent. We were all in high spirits, despite the increasingly heavy rain, and we were all happy. There was no ruminating about busy schedules or homework and we all felt at peace.

Scotland is blessed with with stunning landscapes and in Forestry Commission parks, such as the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, you can easily spend a day on trails and learn about the history of the land.

Inside the Lodge there is information on logging operations of old. We ended our day in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park learning about the LumberJills, an army of female loggers who helped Britain’s war effort during WW2 by taking on responsibility for providing much needed timber. At the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, they are remembered and honoured for their contribution and it it is a worthwhile addition to any visit to this magical part of the country.

The Queen Elizabeth Forest Park is a one hour drive from Glasgow and once there you have the entire Trossachs National Park to explore. After a year of travelling extensively across the world, we are going to try and spend as many weekends walking and lunching in our own backyard.

What walks would you recommend for a family who enjoy quite but challenging walks within driving distance of Glasgow?

September 4, 2016 2 comments

Health Rewards Journey Physical Activity

I would walk 5 million steps

written by Stephen Morrison

I set myself a step count challenge at the beginning of the year. It was to walk at least 5,000,000 steps in 2015. As of today, I am delighted to proclaim that I’ve reached my goal!

5 million steps might seem like a lot, but it all started with a few small steps and one step at a time. With new challenges ahead and a target of 7,000,000 steps for next year, it’s as good a time as any to reflect on and share the steps and changes that helped me lose 170 lbs and become more active. Steps that I will also need to read and heed.

I hope these steps help you as much as they have helped me.

• Small Steps. The first step is to make them small. Don’t try to alter your lifestyle overnight. If you are overweight and inactive you probably took some time getting there. Getting away will also take time. By making small and independent changes you can assess what works for you while not overwhelming and overloading yourself physically or mentally.

• More Steps. Walking more was key to getting me more active. You can get started anytime. I use a Garmin Vivofit (and my beloved Garmin 620), but many smartphones are now equipped with step count apps and a simple pedometer works just as well. Start by simply walking more short journeys. Try taking stairs rather than lifts and escalators and bouts of purposeful walking which can be 5 mins rushing to work or trying to keep up with a five year old. My personal favourite is trying to get to a public toilet. Which ties in with the next step.

• Drink More. Not more beer or wine, unfortunately, but water. It can help with satiety and can increase your metabolism, although this is arguably insignificant. It might be a myth, but the sage advice of drinking first when feeling hungry helped me and led to more purposeful walking. If plain water isn’t your cup of tea, have a cup of unsweetened green tea or mix it with some squash.

• Eat Squash. This, pumpkin and other high in fibre alternatives to traditional starchy foods like potatoes. Potatoes themselves aren’t that bad, according to nutritionists. It is mostly what we do with them. Like frying them and covering them in ketchup. Same for pasta and rice. Often it is a case of what we add to them and how large a portion we have.

• Don’t Go Large. My gran taught me to clear my plate, but one lesson I learned was to go small. Smaller portions and smaller plates. Also don’t be afraid, when you feel full, to stop.

• Stop. When you start exercising more it can be addictive. It releases endorphins that often make you feel euphoric and unstoppable. We enter a boom and bust mentality. We over train and struggle to maintain which can lead to injury and to us giving up, especially when our losses become less significant.

• Involve Your Significant Other. A hard lesson I learned was that it is important to ensure that you balance your desire to get healthier with your responsibilities as a partner or parent. Combine both. Go for family walks, play in the park with the kids. You might be surprised at how much fun it is.

• Have Fun. Often I am asked what the best activity for weight loss is. I love running, not because it’s a fat burner, but because I enjoy it. I enjoy races and I enjoy challenging myself. I also enjoy lifting weights, kicking pads and striking balls. I do what I love, and love what I do. The exercise or activity that will get you fitter and leaner is the one you will enjoy and the one you will do, consistently.

• Be Consistent. It is easy to get overwhelmed by early success with later smaller losses and even plateaus undermining your confidence. If you maintain your new adopted behaviours you will succeed. Stay the course, don’t give up. Don’t fall asleep on the job.

• Sleep. Obesity is often linked with lack of sleep. Causality or correlation, I don’t know. What I do know is that when I am up late, I eat more and I eat more junk. When I am tired, I exercise less, I have less self-control and stress more.

• Don’t Stress, Be Happy. One of the by-products of stress is cortisol. This can lead to increased insulin production and is often linked to the accumulation of abdominal fat. Try to eliminate or remove elements from your life that bring you down. Unclutter and spend more time on you and less time playing games on social media.

• Use Social Media. There are many great groups and people to inspire and support you. Without boring friends with pictures of salads and accounts of your latest run (guilty of both), you can get accountability and share and try new ideas.

• Try new activities and become a try athlete. Variability can make your training more fun and more productive . Set yourself challenges that will help you reach your goals.

• Set Goals. Identify why you want to lose weight or get more active and make a plan with short term and long term goals, making them attainable but stretching, realistic but challenging and specific but flexible. Your goals will change as you change and you will reap the rewards.

• Reward yourself. Consider schemes such as Vitality or Bounts that reward you for being physically active or simply treat yourself to a new pair of jeans to show off your progress.

• Show off. Be proud of your success and don’t dwell too long on your mistakes. Most weight loss journeys encounter bumps and detours before we reach our destinations.

My final tip is not to wait. Not for January or even until Monday. What steps can you take now to make 2016 and beyond healthier and happier for you and your family?

November 13, 2015 4 comments

Health Rewards Journey Physical Activity

Health Rewards, Rewarding Health

written by Stephen Morrison

Instead of fat shaming and lamenting the cost of inactivity and obesity, let’s encourage and reward those who are active and those who want to be active. Let’s give them the tools, show them the way and let’s reward the journey.

This is a message that I regularly share via my Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine posts and the reason why I am delighted to be a Brand Ambassador for Health Rewards.

Health Rewards are one of a new breed of businesses who are recognising the need for a different approach. Bounts is another wonderful app that I use and you can read all about it here, at the blog of my friend and fellow National Fitness Day ambassador, Mollie Millington.

But first, let me tell you about Health Rewards and Vitality. As a Brand Ambassador, I will, of course, be proclaiming how good it is (and it is), but I will also share my thoughts on how it could be improved. Yes, this could be the shortest lasting ambassador role ever.

Vitality is a life and health insurance policy that rewards an active and healthy life. It does so by giving free cinema tickets, coffees and iTunes along with substantial discounts on Virgin Active gym membership, running shoes from Sweatshop, bikes from Evans Cycles and even flights with British Airways and Spa weekends. The video below explains more.

I’ve been using the cinema reward for the past few months and I’ve saved several hundred pounds. I have also had to endure Minions, Inside Out and a few Marvel movies with the boys. I say endure, but as a fully-fledged man-child, I am secretly delighted. As are my boys.

To get the cinema tickets, I have to accrue 9 Vitality Points (more about them later) in the previous week and download codes from the Member Zone which I then copy into Cineword’s website. I can get any combination of standard seats for each member of my family, including a double bill of 15 movies, when the boys were away. The process is seamless and the value more than pays for the cost of the policy. If you are a single adult, you get only one ticket each week and you will need to benefit from the other rewards to make the policy pay.

The other reward that I have used, to great effect, is the Sweatshop 50 % discount. You can shop instore, but I simply emailed Sweatshop the product code of the shoes I wanted, along with my Vitality details and they sent me a discount code, which I then used on their site. Another £65 saved (I like expensive running shoes) and with each member of my family getting a pair each year, it’s another chance to save some considerable cash…..which I will no doubt just spend on more running shoes (well, I do have to use my Bounts vouchers).

I have also received monthly iTunes downloads and this has been disappointing. The site says that the rewards vary from a single song download right up to £20 credit. Can you guess what I have received each month, for the past four months? Yep, single song downloads.

Another reward is free Starbucks coffee, in participating Starbucks (always check first). It’s only one per week per adult (no caffeine for the kids) and as I don’t drink coffee I am building up credits. It seems that you can use more one Starbucks credit per visit, so I’m looking forward to sharing my rewards with friends.

I have yet to use the Evans Cycles discount, but I am looking forward to adding to my bike collection as I train to be a triathlete and I will report back on the other rewards as and when I use them. I do like my gadgets and a new Garmin or Polar at 50% off is tempting. The range of trackers and watches are good, but not brilliant and the pre discount RRP is off the current market prices. With a 50% discount you can still get an excellent Garmin Vivofit 2 or Garmin 220 Forerunner for a great price.

And you really have to. To activate most of the rewards you have to earn Vitality Points. You can earn points from getting health checks, stopping smoking, losing weight, running at parkrun (need to get them to add Great Run Local) and recording steps or your heartbeat.

The two latter ways require an activity tracker or a heart rate monitor and you can gain a maximum of 40 points this way each and every week. Given that you can earn 10pts from walking 14,000 steps, I do wish I wasn’t limited to 40 each week as it would mean a quicker rise to the higher levels of Vitality (it goes from Bronze to Platinum) and greater discounts on certain rewards. More importantly, it could encourage people to be active every day.

However, as a Vitality customer, I am more than happy with my policy and I couldn’t think of a better broker to be involved with than Health Rewards.

Health Rewards do not just sell insurance policies and they are not just helping me become a triathlete, they also support athletes, sports clubs and communities across the UK and they take extra steps to help you take extra steps. Each day they have personal trainers, nutritionists and psychologists providing advice and answering questions via live video. They are building a community and are investing in their policy holders.

That’s the kind of business I like doing business with.

And, if you want to get rewarded for being active AND get yourself a free Garmin, simply call 0800 881 8666 and quote SM when you take a policy. Get active, get rewarded and get Vitality.

August 16, 2015 0 comment

Health Rewards Journey Physical Activity

Reward The Journey

written by Stephen Morrison

From the moment I lost considerable weight, I have been approached by people and companies looking to align my success with their products.

July 17, 2015 2 comments

Commonwealth Games #Team14 DoMore with Strathmore Physical Activity Try-Athlete

Do More Child’s Play

written by Stephen Morrison

One of my personal trainers, Scott, asked me about my goals. He may have been expecting me to say that I wanted to be lighter, stronger and faster, but instead I told him that I wanted to be able to climb trees, swing from bars and jump over walls. I wanted to be able to play with my boys and I wanted to be more flexible and supple. This pleased him greatly and over the past few months, I’ve been hanging from bars, practising on rings and crawling on the ground

So, when my friends at Strathmore Water invited me along to their Do More event with Commonwealth Games Gymnastics superstar and Do More Ambassador Dan Keatings, I pictured Dan being overwhelmed by my grace, strength and ability on the apparatus.

What can I say? I have a vivid imagination and an overwhelming amount of self belief.

Plus, look at me on these rings!

A front lever. Who said a camera doesn’t lie?

If ever there was a blogger prepared for an event, it was me. What I wasn’t prepared for was the scene I witnessed on my arrival. For one moment, I thought I had arrived at a One Direction event, not one for Dan Keatings. For it was full of screaming and hyper children.

I have often questioned the value of using athletes to promote physical activity to the masses, but seeing how the children responded to Dan, my views have changed (a little). These children were in awe of Dan and in turn, I was in awe of them.

In the waiting area they were jumping up in down, doing cartwheels, splits and various others moves that made me wince. I shared a look of fear and bewilderment with some of the other adults present.

Ross bent over backwards for Dan

To get us warmed up, we played a version of Tig. Two youngsters and I were charged with catching every other attendee, making them stop and wait till someone crawled under their legs, before they could resume running

I felt like Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, as I ordered the ten year old on my left and the twelve year old on my right to take the flanks while I assaulted the main body. I also pictured a lion hunting gazelles. I did say I had a vivid imagination.

Ten minutes later, my pride was shattered and I was lying on my back, gasping for breath. I had forgotten how fast and light on their feet, children could be.

I had also forgotten that I had often wondered how gymnasts looked like they did. With cover model physiques and muscles upon muscles. The first training session provided an answer. I was only just recovering from chasing the kids, when we split into three groups, with my group enduring a strength sapping circuit class. The presence of Dan Keating did momentarily give me a boost.

Trio of Tricep Dippers

As I did planks, press ups, burpees and crunches, my eyes were drawn to the other two groups. One session had the kids focusing on their floor work and the other had them working on their pummel skills. Both groups showed more talent than I could ever hope to achieve and my own efforts on the apparatus were met with laughter and even some applause, as I seemed to invent new ways of landing. Most of which involved my backside.

I’d have liked to have seen them try this with me!

Throughout the morning I was amazed and impressed by the skills and attitudes of the kids present. Hidden amongst them might be future champions, but in my eyes they also represented hope. We often read about how inactive the youth of Scotland are, but here were a large group of kids who had honed some impressive skills and who genuinely loved what they were doing and who hung on every word of advice Dan gave them.

Dan holds the floor

However, despite all their hard work, there can only be one, and it was left to Dan Keatings to make the final judgement and decide upon his star pupil:

I spoke to Dan later about his success, his future goals and his training. Like Libby and Robbie before him, he is determined, dedicated and disciplined while also humble and passionate about his sport. With Glasgow hosting the Gymnastic World Championships in 2015, he has another challenging year ahead.

He too spoke about the children, about how impressive they were and how important it is to get them involved and to keep them engaged. His own training started at five years old, as he prepared to follow his family into Thai Boxing and it shows the value of being a Try Athlete at a young age. We can’t predict what sports and activities our children will enjoy, but we can try and let them Do More of them and allow them to discover new talents and their own interests.

October 2, 2014 0 comment

Physical Activity

Make Exercise Personal

written by Stephen Morrison

T and Me

I started joint Personal Training (PT) sessions with my girlfriend, Teresa, partly because I wanted to support her and I do enjoy doing activities with her.

We cycle together, we go to classes together and now we even run together via Great Run Local.

It made sense to train together. Especially with our trip to Australia only 11 weeks away (eek). Plus, I enjoy any opportunity to train.

I do my own PT with the brilliant Scott Devenney PT and have great fun crawling around, hanging about and playing with bars and sticks (this is great fun and tough). If you want to improve your movement and feel stronger mentally and physically (and feel like a kid again), I really can’t recommend Scott enough.

My sessions with Teresa are with Christine Docherty and they are different. I absolutely love her Kettlecise class (and Zumba, but don’t tell anyone) and when Teresa said she was doing personal training I didn’t have to be convinced to sign up.

With her, we play with Battle Ropes and Kettlebells. We spar with boxing gloves (Teresa enjoys this, just a little too much), we sprint (oh, the sprints) and we squat.

Whether it is Zumba, Metafit or Kettlecise, it has become clear that Christine likes squats.

She combines these lethally with stair sprints and stair jumps.

Jump

And it is fantastic. Not just because I’m with Teresa, but because Christine, like Scott, provides a great variety of exercises and knows both our weaknesses and our strengths.

We train in a park and watched classes of people simply sprinting up a hill. Again and again. Yes, it may be effective, but how quickly would you tire (no pun intended) of that?

Having both Scott and Christine encourage and challenge us (especially about our food diaries) is complementing and enhancing what we do throughout the week. It is making us feel fitter and stronger.

And this is the point of my ramblings. I often advocate that we should find and do activities we enjoy. This is still true, but we should also fill our days with a variety of activities.

Personalise how you exercise.

Try not to focus all your efforts on one activity. Be, as I ALWAYS suggest, a Try-Athlete. If possible find others to train with and with whom you can be accountable to.

Blend your approach to exercise and you will have a smoother journey to fitness.

Think not just about classes or running but think about all the little changes you can make to your day. From using stairs more (you don’t have to jump them four at a time) to gardening and investing in a good personal trainer (they DO make a difference), everything you do should make you feel healthier and happier. Do any of us really need more than this?

The Activity Pyramid

September 27, 2014 0 comment

Physical Activity

#1PercentMore- A Spogo Challenge

written by Stephen Morrison

SpogoUK have set me the challenge of coming up with this week’s #1PercentMore Challenge. Over the past few months we’ve seen amazing efforts at planks, burpees, wall squats and various other body weight movements. The times set and the repetitions recorded have been fantastic and although I’ve usually found myself in the lower half of the Spogo leaderboard, I’ve enjoyed the Challenges.

Now, it’s my turn and my #1PercentMore Challenge is simple. Imagine if we could encourage 1% of the population to be more active. Not those that are already physically active, but those that are relatively sedentary and even those that do some activities. What impact would that have on the health of the nation?

I’m asking each of you to encourage, inspire and/or introduce someone to a new activity. Make them (and you!) a Try Athlete. Post updates of your efforts (and hopefully successes) on social media, using #1PersonMoreActive and let’s get more people, more active, more often.

Small steps and small changes. It could be walking more or playing with the kids more. Getting onto a bike or into a pool. Anything that gets them (and you, remember) moving, just a little more.

One step at a time and one person at a time.

August 13, 2014 0 comment