Tag

Strathmore

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

Do More Child’s Play

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

Commonwealth Games #Team14 DoMore with Strathmore Running Triathlon Try-Athlete

Libby’s Guide to Running

written by Stephen Morrison

If you follow my blogs here, at the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine or at Great Run you will know that I like to promote physical activity for all; that I like to run and that I love meeting amazing athletes and participating in exciting events. Every activity I try is fun and every person I meet is inspirational, in their own unique way.

None more so than Libby Clegg. I spent a day with her and Strathmore Water as part of the #DoMore campaign, for which Libby is an Ambassador. A day that has left a lasting impression on me and inspired me to literally do more.

I had returned, after 24 years, to my old school, Hutchesons’ Grammar, to learn this time from Libby Clegg and her team about guided running for the visually impaired. As a runner I appreciated and enjoyed the training session with Lincoln Asquith, Libby’s former guide and step-father to her current guide and fellow gold medalist Mikhail Huggins (watch out Mikail, I’m after your job).

Lincoln putting us through our paces

As a former Team GB sprinter and coach, Lincoln’s advice to increase my cadence (speed of my steps) hasn’t been lost on me, although I am more likely to share with my running buddies how he informed the group that I was strong and fast (he didn’t add, for my size!). Maybe, I am a sprinter after all!? He put us through shuttle runs and speed drills, focusing on knee drives and using our forefoot to push and propel ourselves forward..

Wait, sorry, I am possibly losing you and confusing you for my Great Run audience. Simply put, Lincoln provided us with some simple tools that we can use to become faster runners. The same tools that have helped Libby Clegg win Silver at London 2012 , World Championships and Gold at Glasgow 2014 and which give her continued hope of realisng her dream of joining the able bodied sprinters at the next Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast and the Rio Olympics in 2018.

However, here with us, her goal was to share some insight on what it is like to run for those with limited or no sight and to give us an opportunity to experience what it means to be a guide. I’ve watched Libby and Mikail at both the Commonwealth Games and at a British Athletics meeting in Glasgow and marvelled at the synchronicity of both the runners. One of the reasons I run, is because it is simple (once you forget about biometrics). I find it hard to coordinate my own movements, without having to factor in someone else’s.

So I was both honoured and horrified when Libby split the nine attendees into pairs, with the odd man (both psychologically and numerically) me, partnered with Libby, herself!!

The first thing we had to master was walking as a pair. Libby had us use hair bands to tie our hands together and she explained that we would walk as if a mirror was placed between us. Despite my fears, matching stride and arm movements came naturally. After a few practice walks, Libby decided we were ready for blindfolds. Libby is registered blind with Stargardt Mascular Dystrophy leaving only peripheral vision in her left eye , but watching her move around her surrondings, it is easy to forget, so I thought nothing of it when my partner put the blindfold on me. Until, that is, Libby stated that it was the blind leading the blind. Even then I felt confident. We were on a running track with no obstacles and I had every faith in Libby.

Walking with a blindfold on was a strange experience. You lose track (no pun intended) of time, distance and speed. Despite being assured of the contary, by Libby, I didn’t feel like I was walking in a straight line or close to Libby, even though we were connected at the wrist. You don’t feel in control, but with Libby guiding me, I at least never felt in danger. After a few practice walks, we moved on to running. Slowly to start. And a strange thing happened. Running with a blindfold on felt easier and was more enjoyable than walking. I felt that I was more stable and more confident. Libby helped, by keeping me posted on distance and by telling me to stop.

And then we swapped roles and Libby dropped a bombshell.

Other than Mikail and Lincoln, before him, Libby doesn’t let others guide her……but she WOULD let me! I cannot fully convey how this made me feel. Honoured, trusted and just a little nervous. I shouldn’t have. We set off and as our arms pumped and legs strode in unison, running in tandem seemed the most natural thing in the world. I even felt that my form improved. Even as we increased our pace, our movements mirrored each other.

Running in Sync (told you, Mikail)

I have went from running solo to running with my friends at Glasgow Nike Run Club and now to running arm in arm with a Paralympian, Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist and World Champion. Of all the experiences I’ve had, this one has been the most special. Not just because Libby was a great host and sport and praised my efforts, but because it has given me a chance to DoMore. It also helped that she uttered the immortal words, that so many Team Scotland members have now proclaimed:

Again, if you’ve read my blog, you’ll know that I used to be morbidely obese and you might also know that I had mobility problems in my childhood, but aged 19, I also lost my eyesight, albeit only for just over one week, with Optic Neuritis .

Running with Libby has triggered a desire to learn more about guide running, in the hope that I can encourage and support blind runners. I’ve made contact with Visibility and Scottish Disability Sports and you can too.

Let’s Do More to enable more to Do More!

September 3, 2014 0 comment

Commonwealth Games #Team14 DoMore with Strathmore Swimming Triathlon Try-Athlete

Can’t Swim, Won’t Swim with Robbie Renwick

written by Stephen Morrison

I can’t really swim and if asked I don’t really want to, but when invited to swim with a Commonwealth Champion, it was time to get my Speedos on (ok, there’s never a time to get Speedos on).

There’s a reason why I like runing. There are, in fact, several reasons why I like running, but one is that it is a simple case of putting one foot in front of the other and then repeating. Yes, some of my running friends and my Garmin might go on about about cadence and vertical oscillation, but we really were born to run.

Swimming is a sport that I know is great for getting fit and strong (see pictures of Robbie Renwick) and I know it is an excellent activity for the obese and overweight. As Robbie (more about him later) explained, when asked about injuries, it is a relatively low impact sport (he’s obviously never seen me dive-bombing). However, for many obese people swimming pools are uncharted waters. When you despise how you look, the walk of shame from changing rooms to pool can strip you of your dignity, regardless of whether anyone is even looking at you.

And then there is the synchronised swimming. No, not some artistic moves but simply using my arms and legs while trying to remember to breathe (while my head is OUT of the water).

So, when I was invited by Strathmore Water to join Commonwealth Gold Medallist and British 200m Freestyle record holding Robbie Renwick and to find out more about their Do More campaign, I put aside my worries about drowning in a sea of embarrassment and took one for Team14.

I was joined by six other wonderful bloggers (including my Team14 pal Paula McGuire) and the shared apprehension seemed to ease our collective fears. Fears that we incidently didn’t need to have.

Robbie, despite only being weeks away from a wee event in Glasgow and Sunday being his day off, was a fantastic coach. Over the course of an hour he took us through various swimming drills. We focused on streamlining (don’t think I’ll ever resemble a streamline), techniques and endurance training.

Thankfully the most we had to swim was about 400 metres and the chance for me to fully embarrass myself was limited.

Or so I thought!!

Robbie was keen to help us improve every aspect of our swimming and like David Carry, who I had listened to at a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow conference earlier in the week, he spoke at length about how making small changes and improvements to aspects of our swimming can shave seconds off times. Seconds that can mean the difference between podiums and doldrums.

One way of finishing faster is turning faster. Very seldom (IE never) do you see swimmers replicating my approach of reaching the end, stopping, turning around and starting again. Instead, they perform tumble turns. And Robbie wanted us to perform them. It is testament to his professionalism that he kept a straight face as I tumbled and turned. On my first attempt I ended up turning 90 degrees and in the lane next to mine.

However, it was in my second attempt that I invented a new style of turning.

Somehow, as I turned and pushed my legs, with all my might, I ended up with my feet out the water and ON the edge of the pool. As I lay there with only my upper body submerged, I was literally choking with laughter

Grin When You Are Swimming

Robbie, to his credit, took my incompetence in good spirit and was obviously really impressed by the progress that I made during the training session. Despite having some excellent swimmers in our group, it was quite clear that my unique style had left a lasting impression on him and his praise was totally unexpected.

After the relay race (we’ll not dwell too much on that, other than to say that the losing team had to then swim two further gruelling lengths using the fly technique that left me gasping for breath) we headed upstairs for a Q and A

I asked him about setting milestones and goals and I asked if he worked backwards. He confirmed that Rio 16 is his goal with Glasgow 2014 and the World Championships (update: he is a World Champion) his milestones. Throughout the questioning it became clear that Robbie was dedicated, determined and disciplined. Yes, he enjoys cakes (who doesn’t) but he also swims for over 30 hours every week and has strength coaches, sports psychologists and physiotherapists in his corner. Competing in Glasgow is a great honour, but he will not let that pressure affect him. He has been training for four years, in preparation for defending his Commonwealth crown. On any given day Robbie gets up at 5 am, swims 7000 metres, goes to the gym for 2.5 hours before heading back to the pool.

At the Q and A afterwards, the question I wanted to dive in with was: “Robbie, just what is your problem?”

Instead, we spoke about something we both are passionate about. Getting people to Do More. Robbie Renwick is one of three inspiring athletes who belong to Team Strathmore. Together, they are encouraging more people to get into the sporting spirit and to take small steps. To try new sports and activities. Although sharing my concerns about the accessibility of swimming to young children, he did feel that pools like Tollcross International Swimming Centre were encouraging more and more to swim.

And guess what? He’s inspired me. I’ve harboured (last water related pun) a desire to become a triathlete but felt anchored (sorry) by my lack of swimming skills. Using the training tips he imparted upon us, I am going to wade back into the pool and I will practice. Then I will participate in the Great Swim. A one mile swim of Loch Lomond.

Can’t Swim, Will Swim.

Huge thanks to Robbie Renwick and Strathmore for a fantastic experience and to Jeff, the photographer, for not filming any of my really embarrassing moments.

June 26, 2014 6 comments