Tag

uk fitness bloggers

Decathlon Bloggers Community Making Sport and Fitness For All

Last week, I joined an exclusive group in London. A group of some of the UK’s most influential Fitness and Sports Bloggers brought together to form the awesome #DecathlonBloggersCommunity by Decathlon UK (move over Avengers, Defenders and Justice League, there are new heroes in town).

The gang’s all here. Fitness Bloggers Assemble

This group is littered with award winning and nominated bloggers and influencers with two, this week, cited by Runner’s World magazine as being amongst the most influential people in running. It is full of inspirational and hugely talented athletes, bloggers and er, me.

For I am not your traditional Fitness Blogger. In addition to being guilty of the odd rant or two, I am not particularly talented in any sport; I am not particularly glamorous with my bearded, bespectacled and balding head and with a history of a physical disability, injuries and obesity, I will never inspire many with fast times or broken records.

My mum says that I am handsome!

Unfortunately, I do not have a six pack (ok, technically, I do) but what I do have is belly folds. Lots of belly folds.

NSFW or before eating or at any time really! Sorry

While I also have moobs. Man boobs.

Will this be banned by Facebook!?

But behind this belly are guts and beneath this moob is a heart.

I did not share these images to shock, disgust or show how “authentic” I am, but to show that I love being physically active and a Try Athlete despite my current size, shape, age and lack of ability. I will never give in or give up and I will continue to promote the joy of being active.

And neither should you

Being a fitness blogger or physically active is not restricted to those of a healthy weight; to those that are fully able or to those that are aesthetically pretty. I like to think that I am part of the community of bloggers who promote sport for all and my goal is to prove that there is a sport for all. You just need to try enough of them (well, that is my plan).

As humans, we come in all shapes and sizes and sport is increasingly being made accessible to the many. Initiatives like Great Run Local, parkrun and the wonderful Too Fat to Run make running more inclusive: Man V Fat Football has brought thousands of overweight men back to football while cycling events like Pedal for Scotland attract cyclists of all ages and ability. Yes, we can aspire to look like a Spartan warrior, but by simply moving more the majority of us can not only add years to our life but life to our years without having to spend years in a barren wilderness fighting wolves. We do not have to prescribe to the notion that “pain is gain” or that we have to engage “Beastmode” to make being active a worthwhile use of our time.

But we can do more and we can move more.

That is why I am both honoured and excited at being included in the Decathlon Blogging Community. I cannot offer any expert advice, but I can offer hope and encouragement. I can help others believe in themselves and over the next year (and beyond) I will show that sport is fun, accessible and hopefully for you.

Back to the drawing board for me

Together with Decathlon and our merry band of Decathlon Bloggers we will invite you to join our community. Follow our blogs as we try new sports, overcome new challenges and hopefully, in my case, lose considerable weight as I utilise Decathlon’s range of home fitness equipment (I do not allow my weight to stop me but that does not mean that I do not wish to be slimmer).

And remember that you do not have to be the fastest, strongest or fittest to be a winner. Taking part in sport brings many rewards including friendship and even the occasional trophy (for someone lacking ability, I am not short of competitive spirit).

I might be rubbish, but I still like winning

Join the Decathlon Bloggers Community

Let me know what sports you would like to see me try with Decathlon and I will try and blag some opportunities. I will try especially hard if you promise to join me. Let us show that sport is for all and that we are all for sport.

October 3, 2017 1 comment

Physical Activity Swimming Triathlon

Be Part of the Amazing Aspire Channel Swim 2017

written by Stephen Morrison

Just because I have decided to reschedule (indefinitely) my Ironman challenge, doesn’t mean that I have given up on swimming.

I still intend on competing in Sprint and Olympic Triathlons and I am still going to swim 2.4 miles (the same length as the swim leg of an Ironman) this Autumn.

Not as part of an Ironman though, but instead as part of the amazing Aspire Channel Swim 2017 Blogging Relay Team which is something that I am excited to be a part of.

Come on and Dive in. You know you want to

The Aspire Channel Swim 2017 challenges you and anyone (of any age) you know to swim the length of the English Channel, but do not worry, nobody expects you to a) swim the English Channel (although many brave swimmers are) or b) swim the 22 mile distance in one go or even by yourself.

You can either swim the distance as an individual over a 12 week period starting 11th September and finishing on the 4th December or join a relay team, like I have (still to meet my virtual team), and swim only part of the 22 miles.

There are many inspirational individuals swimming the full 22 miles in days rather than weeks and while I could spread my distance over the 12 weeks, I am going to attempt to swim the entire 2.4 miles (160 lengths) in one visit to my local Nuffield pool. This will be my longest swim ever and I might need to build up a little, but I am really looking forward to getting back into the pool, instead of sitting here writing about it.

Time for less words and more action

Whether you sign up as an individual or relay team, you can swim at your own pace and at your own pool (or outdoor location for my hardy open swimming pals) and you do not need to be an Olympic standard swimmer to participate in the Aspire Channel Swim 2017, although I probably do rival Michael Phelps in calories consumed.

I am not the greatest swimmer (understatement of the year), having only been taught how to swim this year by Robert of Vigour Events, but I love being in the water and as someone who has problems with my joints and who weighs considerably more than I should, the water supports my weight (much like it does for sea living mammals…cue beached whale comments from the fat shamers) and makes swimming a relatively easy activity that is so rewarding, both mentally and physically.

Swim and reap the rewards

The Aspire Channel Swim 2017 is a free to enter challenge and you are urged to fundraise for this vital charity that supports over 40,000 people recovering from spinal injuries. However by signing up at and participating in and promoting the event, you will be helping those paralysed by spinal cord injuries. Sadly, someone is paralysed every 8 hours from a spinal injury and Aspire provides practical support that enable these people to lead active and independent lives

With no statutory Government funding Aspire depends solely on donations and proceeds from the Aspire Channel Swim 2017, so please sign up HERE and please consider even the smallest of donations. The target this year is £800,000 and every penny and every lap counts.

In return, not only will you get to support this amazing charity, but you’ll also get the amazing welcome pack below while the sponsors Zoggs have provided some brilliant prizes for fundraisers.

Even more rewards for signing up to Aspire Channel Swim 2017

So, come September 11th, why not get off the couch and head down to your local pool? Dive in and let us see what you can achieve by sharing your experiences on Twitter and Instagram using #ACS2017

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September 4, 2017 1 comment

Physical Activity Travel

Active Holidays and the Expedia Hotel Edit

written by Stephen Morrison

Whether it is practising Yoga in Mumbai, sea kayaking in the Whitsundays of Australia or trekking in the Tatras of Poland, we always try to ensure that we have active holidays and we walk everywhere. Just look at this week of steps spent in Paris.

We kept the boys on their feet

Not only because it is invariably fun for all , but because we want the boys to view being active as a norm and also because we think that the best way to enjoy a region, as a family, is to explore and experience it in as many ways as possible (wee Jack especially enjoys his personal human water taxi).

My sea based Uber service

One of the ways that I especially enjoy is running. Or, at least, I used to and hope to in the future (injury and ill health have kept me away for too long).

You might have read my posts about my active holidays and my running in the streets of Rome and Sorrento and I might have once or twice mentioned that I once ran a marathon in Copenhagen, but I also try to take steps (literally) to ensure that I can run in every country and city we visit.

When you realise Rome is built on hills

My running shoes and kit are always the first packed (can’t forget my Garmin charger) and while Teresa is scouring hotels and flights, I am researching races and events. More than once, I have abandoned my family on the beach to go off running and while this might seem selfish, please check out the size of the bling (and I still had time to sunbathe).

Putting my feet up after carrying this medal home

Finding races within holiday dates can be a bit hit and miss (I missed the Hvar Half marathon by two weeks), so a quick search on the internet will provide you with an abundance of tested run routes on sites like mapmyrun and sometimes, the best runs are when you just lace up and head out and have no idea what to expect at the end of the road.

Reaching the town’s and my own limits with this morning run in Croatia

However, as I become more experienced (and more conniving), I am learning that influencing Teresa’s hotel choices can make my plans for a run easier.

A hotel with good facilities close to a race or a recognised run route means that I can disappear for a few hours, usually early in the morning, safe in the knowledge that my family will not miss me too much (or at all, knowing the boys) as they sleep soundly in their beds or relax by the pool or beach. I get to see the sun rising, cities coming to life and countryside yet disturbed by hordes of tourists.

It’s all mine!

This has worked to my advantage in countries all over the world and when Expedia approached me to write an article on City Hotels for Outdoor Running for their new Expedia Hotel Edit site, I did not have to think long or hard about the wonderful hotels that I have stayed in and the amazing runs on their doorsteps. The only difficulty was picking five. The Expedia Hotel Edit page is full of quirky hotel ideas for sun lovers, view lovers and even yoga practitioners. Our Danny was especially intrigued by the aeroplanes converted into hotels.

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Have a wee look at my five recommendations and let me know how you plan your running or active holidays and adventures abroad or at home.

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August 25, 2017 0 comment

Physical Activity

ukactive’s Lazy Approach to Inactivity

written by Stephen Morrison

As a fitness blogger, my main goal is to move people to move more. It is not to move products.

This is why you will find very few product reviews on my blog (people like DC Rainmaker do it much better); why I often use emotive language and possibly why I am on few (if any) PR lists (other than blacklists).

Please do not take this as a slight on my fitness blogging peers, but sponsored post after sponsored post promoting and pushing products, places and people is not my idea of influencing.

What is Influencing?

For me, influencing is about inspiring and creating change; it is about challenging the status quo and sometimes, it is about going head to head with organisations and businesses whose practices I believe are detrimental to my main goal of getting more people moving.

In the past few years, I have used this blog, my blogs for the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) and even evidence to a Parliamentary Committee to criticise The Sun for its coverage of Man v Fat Football; Herbalife and Great Run for their intended partnership; the UK Government on their failing obesity policies; the Sports and Exercise Medicine community for their approaches to inactivity and also UKactive for their less than national National Fitness Day celebrations.

I possibly have some anger issues, but what I definitely do have is passion and determination.

I do not give in, I do not give up and do not care about upsetting brands or organisations. If I find what they are doing to be questionable, I do not adopt a policy of “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all” in fear of being blacklisted or missing out on future opportunities. Instead, I question and I challenge.

And that is why I find myself again at odds with ukactive, the self proclaimed champions of physical activity.

For since the turn of the year (and even since 2012), they have been pursuing an agenda.

Fittest and Laziest

That agenda is a reductionist one that labels the cause of inactivity as laziness. According to ukactive, the UK population are defined by their place in some spectrum between the fittest and the laziest. The laziest are a national embarrassment and a burden on society while the fittest are celebrated.

Not just a one off

By repeatedly pinning the blame solely on personal lifestyle choices and using such pejorative language, ukactive are ignoring the myriad of factors impacting on activity levels. I won’t bore you with these, but my FSEM Blog on Salutogenesis is worth a read (no really, it is).

If we are to purposively tackle the inactivity epidemic that blights this and many other countries, we have to move away from blaming individuals and accept that the problem is a societal and often environmental one.

That is not to say that people should be excused from personal responsibility, but we have to consider the reasons why people adopt self destructive behaviours. We also have to look beyond the fact that we are actually hardwired to conserve energy and ask ourselves if continuously telling people how lazy they are has any benefits? Does it make sedentary people reflect? Does to inspire behaviour change?

I am not a behavioural scientist, but my experience and understanding (very basic) of behaviour change tells me that it does not.

So why do ukactive insist on repeatedly using this word? You will have to ask them yourself. For they are refusing to respond to my questions or those of other bloggers. Helen and Bethan and physical activity advocates.

Still Waiting!

Some have came to their defence stating that this is not indicative of ukactive’s beliefs or approach but with the offending posts still live and questions remaining ignored, I am struggling to accept this.

As long as these questions go answered and this mindset exists, I will be unable to support ukactive or National Fitness Day who otherwise undertake some fantastic work and champion some wonderful initiatives.

Pursuing this line of enquiry so aggressively will not endear me to ukactive or to their followers and partners, but as a fitness blogger/influencer and physical activity advocate this is important and we must ensure that the media (shame on the BBC for the original news headline) and those charged with helping the nation move more understand that:

Inactive does not equate to laziness and to suggest otherwise is simply lazy

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July 16, 2017 2 comments

Physical Activity

Great Run Herbalife Petition : The Epilogue

written by Stephen Morrison

As a blogger, you sometimes (ok, all the time) wonder if what you do matters. You wonder if your words make a difference. You wonder if your words are even read.

And then, sometimes, something wonderful happens

The chances are that if you are reading this, then you’ve probably also read my Great Run Herbalife Blog

Together with the equally wonderful Helen Tamblyn -Saville, we started the Great Run Herbalife petition and a social media campaign to convince the Great Run Company that their partnership with Herbalife was wrong. Over 2 days we gathered over 1,800 signatures and gained support from across the world (running truly is a global community).

WELL, THE NEWS IS JUST IN AND WE DID IT! WE BLOODY WELL DID IT!

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Great Run listened to us and more importantly they listened to the thousands of runners and those opposed to mlm who were voicing their displeasure, signing our petition and even withdrawing from events (this was not something that I wanted).

This was a victory not just for us and the runners, but for every blogger and influencer out there.

Social media gives us the power to create change and when used effectively we really do become influencers.

When we first decided to campaign against this partnership, Helen and I hoped that it would result in Great Run terminating the deal. We both knew that there was the possibility that we might attract some unwanted attention (it was minimal) and we were prepared for the eventuality that ultimately, we would fail.

After all, we are both relatively unknown bloggers (speak for yourself HowManyMiles, I hear HelsBels screaming) and neither of us have huge followings, despite the awards that she has and the organisations that I write for and advise (yes, I would love it if you stuck around for more of my blogs or even checked out some of my older ones).

But what we do have is integrity, passion and fire in our bellies (let’s start a mlm scheme selling that, Helen). We also had wifi which is just as well. Throughout each day and every day of the campaign we were messaging each other (we also had trusting partners) to discuss every 10 new signatures on the petition and every new share of our blogs. Together we worried about every stall in signings and together we celebrated every milestone. We hatched plans and coordinated our tweets.

This was the very epitome of collaborative working.

And as the signatures and blog views increased, we started to attract increasing support.

Fitness Legend (I won’t have anyone say different) Ben Coomber was responsible for a huge spike in traffic, shares and precious signatures. We were gaining momentum and we started to believe that we could win

And then….Herbalife’s PR team emailed me, stating that my blog was inaccurate and inviting me to learn the truth behind the brand. Throughout the exchanges, they were nothing but polite, courteous and professional.

In the end, they did not elaborate on what inaccurate statements that I had made and a few hours after their last email, Great Run made their announcement.

And what a welcome surprise it was.

Up until this point, Great Run had not responded to any tweet (and there were many) and they had made no indication that they were taking this campaign seriously.

In fact, as the resistance escalated and the number of event withdrawals increased, I held out an olive branch to Great Run via one of my friends who still worked there. I pleaded with her for a response and within 24hrs, Great Run did exactly that, although indirectly.

Great Run deserve credit for listening to runners and for acting so courageously, decisively and so swiftly. It could not have been an easy decision to make, and it should never have been one that was needed, but I totally respect the fact that they did not flinch from doing the right thing.

One just has to Google Herbalife to see how toxic a brand they are. Sure, they have many partnerships (Ironman, we are coming for you next), but some due diligence by the commercial team should have red-flagged this as a partnership not worth entering into.

I can only think that it was worth a lot of money. Enough to cloud Great Run’s judgment.

Hopefully, this decision means more than the end of the partnership (good luck Great Run with the task of finding a more befitting partner). Hopefully it can be the start of more ethical and less inappropriate sponsorship of sporting events.

It is my opinion that Brands like Coca Cola and McDonald’s have no place in sport (the win is making me brave) and more sporting events need to look at what has happened here and wonder if they are next. For we have shown that what we do does matter; it does make a difference.

As bloggers and influencers, we should not be afraid to speak out, as people do read and act upon our words.

I’ll leave the final words to Helen, who was arguably the driving force and the Batman to my Robin (now I think that we are superheroes) while I enjoy another celebratory homemade Japanese Knotweed brew (don’t ask) with my neighbour:

Thank you for your support. The Great Run series have now announced that they have decided not to proceed with the nutrition partnership with Herbalife.

We are pleased that The Great Run series has listened to the running community and would like to thank everyone for their signatures, tweets and shares.

Together, #WeEndedGreatRunHerbalife

April 26, 2017 6 comments

Physical Activity Running

End Great Run Herbalife Partnership

written by Stephen Morrison

I loved my time with Great Run.

I loved writing blogs for them. I loved launching Great Run Local in Scotland for them. I loved being part of the Great Run family. I especially loved their events and I will not lie..

I absolutely loved the VIP treatment I received at each event where I met my running heroes.

end great run herbalife

Even when I decided that I could no longer work with them, part of me still loved them.

However, on the 18th April 2017, my love affair with Great Run ended (hopefully, not for good).

This was the day that they announced Herbalife Nutrition as their new partner. For the uninitiated, Herbalife are a global nutrition company (salespeople in 94 countries) who sponsor and support some of the biggest names in sport (including Cristiano Ronaldo and inspirational triathlete Heather Jackson) ; they deliver free and often fun fitness classes via their community based Herbalife24 FitClubs and you’ll find many local personal trainers extolling the benefits of their products.

So why am I not loving this? Why am I so disgusted by Great Run’s decision to partner with them and why am I calling for them to end the Great Run and Herbalife partnership?

Well, for a start, Herbalife were recently fined $200,000,000 US for cheating almost 350,000 salespeople out of hundreds of millions of dollars with a high-pressure multi-level marketing scheme.

The chairwoman of a Federal Trade Commission inquiry stated that the only way to make money was for salespeople to buy its products in bulk, pressure new recruits into joining the company and then sell on those products to the new employees.

The vast majority of Herbalife salespeople make no money while the company made sales of $4,242,200,000 US in 2016.

We’ve all seen the Facebook posts from friends inviting us to share in their latest get rich, get ripped and get your life back scheme.

The truth is that very few get any of the above. The inconvenient truth alleged by the Federal Trade Commission is rather unsavoury:

The small number of distributors who actually made money made it not by selling products to people who wanted the company’s powders, pills, and potions, but rather by recruiting others to serve as distributors – and encouraging them to buy Herbalife products.

Then, we have the products themselves. Now, I am not a dietician or nutritionist but I know a few and I haven’t met one who has ever supported the effectiveness or efficacy of Herbalife products. That’s not to say that they are better or worse than any other supplement promising increased performance and recovery (yes, I am cynical of most of them).

If you look at the ingredient lists of any one of their products (not that you will find any on the actual Herbalife site!) you’ll find such appetising ingredients as soy lecithin, carrageenan, copper gluconate and fructooligosaccharides ( I picked on this because of its long name). There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these additives (despite some internet claims to the contrary) but they do belong to an ingredients list that goes on and on and on….

Herbalife are widely known for their highly processed meal replacement products and although shakes do make for a quick and often tasty snack, they are not ideal for establishing sustainable and healthy eating behaviours.

Great Run are currently promoting a wonderful #RealRunners campaign. Just a pity that with this partnership they are not promoting real food.

No doubt, Great Run will argue that it is a commercial decision that will help them develop new events, help many new runners enjoy great races and support those at the end of a race. They might even state that they are only providing samples of their “Hyrdate” product in finishing goodie (or not so goodie) bags.

However, if you look at the press release, you’ll see that Herbalife and Great Run plan to provide Great Run runners nutrition advice THROUGHOUT their training.

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Having been involved with Great Run, I can envisage this involving blogs and lots of social media posts linking to Herbalife products. They have legitimised Herbalife and it wasn’t long for the multi level marketers to start offering their services.

They use these prestigious partnerships to promote their products and they will not stop. They are already pitching powders and selling shakes. They are acting independently (well, they are independent distributors) and Herbalife should be giving them clear guidelines on how they use this partnership. Otherwise, we may discover more people being pressured into purchases.

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Great Run are to be praised for their efforts to encourage and inspire runners; they promote running as a sport for all and their events give plodders like me the opportunity to run alongside (or more like way behind) the elites of the sport. Great Run events are full of first timers and many of these will be exposed to Herbalife for the first time because of Great Run?

I genuinely think that they have made a huge mistake with this partnership and I am not alone.

Twitter has not been kind and the general feeling is that Great Run should end this partnership before it even starts (although I did hear that they were quick off the blocks with samples given out at the Great Edinburgh Run).

Emma, the phdrunner did not hide her disgust:

end great run herbalife

Zoe and Emma shared their lack of approval:

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While Bethan was troubled:

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Some even vowed not to register for any more Great Run events:

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While Helsieboo took a step further:

We could all vow to boycott Great Run events, and many have, but I prefer Helen’s’ approach. People and charities gain so much from participating in Great Run events and I do believe that it is better to use dialogue and reason.

So, let’s use social media to convince Great Run that this is an error. That no financial gain is worth alienating so many runners and tarnishing the Great Run brand and name. And what must Great Run’s other partners think about this partnership?

So, if Great Run working with Herbalife angers you as much as it does us, then please go to the Great Run Petition at Change.org, sign up and urge Great Run to reconsider this partnership.

UPDATE

Since writing this blog and Helen starting the petition and writing her own brilliant BLOG, we have received over 1,200 signatures on the petition (thank you Ben Coomber for the support).

Herbalife have contacted me to correct inaccuracies in my blog (I am still waiting to hear what they actually are, but I will change them if need be) while I have also had messages from Herbalife members telling me that stupid fatties were responsible for their own failings; that without reading my blog that I was ill-informed and had not done any research and that only fools lost money.

That seems a little unfair on Tracy who bravely admitted on Facebook that she was lured in by the extravagant claims

Since Sunday, I have been repeatedly told that rogue Herbalife distributors were a minority and that they unfairly blackened the Herbalife name. But, stories like this are not uncommon. How many of us know someone who has experienced similar and who like Tracy has been on the receiving end of 5am calls (I.E. harassment )?

Herbalife have admittedly made improvements to how they operate (following the FTC Inquiry, mind) and I am sure that they have removed many of the distributors who made life difficult (or even hell) for others, but the old behaviours still exist and Herbalife have much to do to convince the public that they are an ethical brand.

Great Run have also been disappointing in that they seem to be simply ignoring the dissent and hoping that it will go away.

That’s why I ask you to share our blogs and the petition. With each new addition we show Great Run that #RealRunners (if you run, you are a real runner) do not approve of this partnership. People are cancelling hotel reservations and withdrawing from events. It is not going away.

We are not going away.

Together we can make Great Run think again

#EndGreatRunHerbalife

April 22, 2017 6 comments

Cycling Physical Activity Triathlon

We are the Pearl Izumi Champions

written by Stephen Morrison

I’m going to give the ride a miss. I don’t feel up to it.

I was down at the launch of the Pearl Izumi Champion Team at the Madison HQ in Milton Keynes and had only just tried on my limited edition (limited to 50 odd PI Champions) cycling kit.

The kit is beautiful and very well made, which should be a given as Pearl Izumi are by far the biggest cycling apparel brand in the world, but also because Pearl Izumi are committed to making their range functional as well as visually stunning. Every item found in your local retailer or online at Pearl Izumi is painstakingly crafted and designed for maximum comfort and performance.

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But I doubt if my current physique was part of their design process. Short limbs and a barrel body are not what you expect to see in a Champion cyclist

And, as I tried on that Pearl Izumi Champion Team kit, I did not feel like a champion.

I felt like a chump.

I resigned myself to the fact that I am losing weight and that I will fit into the kit shortly, but that didn’t stop my slipping on a hoodie and trying to slip off into a dark corner as I told my roomie Mark that I wasn’t feeling up to the ride.

I was embarrassed and I was ashamed. Not for the first time, I questioned what I am doing. I asked myself if I could continue being a supposed inspiration and role model when I hated what I had once again become and how I looked.

And then, I gazed around the room and noticed that nobody seemed interested in how I looked in lyca. I also noticed that the room was full of cyclists of all shapes and sizes and all ages and abilities.

Pearl Izumi Champions are not necessarily champion riders (although I reckon we do have a few tidy riders) but we do all champion cycling and we are all passionate about life.

I remembered what Pearl Izumi were looking for in a Champion with riding ability making up only 5% of the profile. Pearl Izumi were looking for attitude, dedication, love and an aptitude for selfies (and we all know that I do like a selfie).

Pearl Izumi Champion

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And I remembered that Pearl Izumi had picked me out of hundreds of applicants. I hadn’t hidden my lack of cycling proficiency nor my expanded waistline. And they hadn’t cared. They recognised that, in me and in every other Pearl Izumi Champion, they had someone passionate about encouraging others to be more active.

So I sucked in my gut and sucked it up and headed downstairs to first get my profile picture taken (with the instruction of chest up!) and then to get my loan bike fitted to my short limbs.

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Because, I was going on that ride. I would wear my Pearl Izumi Champion kit with pride.

We had all been split into groups according to our self professed speeds and I had elected to join the slowest group, who also turned out to be the best group (I have no grounds for comparison, but I doubt any group could be as awesome as ours).

I was the only male in my group and the only Champion in blue for our female riders were cloaked in pink (more salmon, if you ask me). Our wee blue and pink pelaton set off at a gentle pace with instructions provided on the route and on how to manage, as a group, other traffic on the road.

We were soon in the Buckinghamshire countryside and with each mile cycled, I became more and more confident and we picked up speed. Especially once I got to grips with how to change gears (I really wasn’t lying about my ineptitude).

All the while, we chatted and learned more about each other and why Pearl Izumi had chosen us. Amongst our group were women who had encouraged hundreds more women into cycling and women who were the embodiment of the #thisgirlcan campaign

For most of the ride, I knew my place. I was happy sitting at the rear or in the middle of the pack and chatted to whoever found themselves alongside me.

ride

It was a very relaxing and enjoyable ride , helped somewhat by the Pearl Izumi chamois in my Champion Team bib which had succeeded in protecting my derriere from the expected pain.

For this 20 mile ride was my longest ever ride and at the onset, I hadn’t really known if I was going to manage. But manage I did and I even managed to break away from my group. Not intentionally mind (honest). I don’t know if it was due to my increased confidence or my affection for squats, but I felt a surge of power in my legs and I just had to push on. So much so, that at one point, I was racing one of the faster groups up a small incline (I unsurprisingly lost) and had to be reigned back in by our ride leader.

By the time we had reached the end of ride back at HQ, I had discarded my fears and I had fully embraced the idea of me being a Pearl Izumi Champion. I even earned a wee “Well Done” flag from my teammate Linzi. I had cycled over 20 miles and survived and it was the kickstart my Ironman training needed. This week, I aim to cycle more than 100 miles and each week, I will further stretch that goal.

And yesterday Facebook’s “On This Day” highlighted the short message that someone had once posted on my Facebook page that now acts as my mantra.

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Yes, I have impossible goals. Yes, I attempt things that I have no real mind to even try, but when I think back to 2011 when I couldn’t even climb stairs and walking my dogs was a impossible task, I know I never ever thought that I would be in such a special group of cyclists or have such an amazing life.

I have much to learn (bike maintenance included) and weight still to lose, but I cannot wait to see and experience what being a Pear Izumi Champion means.

I hope that you will join me and I hope that we can all be champions in whatever challenges we set ourselves.

What will you Champion?

March 16, 2017 5 comments

Feet For Life Health

Feet For Life : Walk Before You Can Run with Foot Medic Podiatry

written by Stephen Morrison

With my Ironman training gaining momentum (i.e. I am finally being consistent with both my training and my diet), I am still consciously aware that before I can start running again, I need to be able to walk (comfortably) again.

For the past year, my knee pain has made made running impossible and walking difficult.

My visit to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to see Magic Mandy identified that I had some abnormalities in my gait and the introduction of a temporary orthotic eased the pain considerably for a week or so (you can read that blog HERE).

However, if I was to ever run again and become an Ironman, I would need to find a long term solution.

And thankfully, I was presented with an opportunity that I could not refuse. I don’t demand or receive payment for the vast majority (i.e. all but three) of my blog posts whether they are for How Many Miles, FSEM, Man v Fat or the BMJ, so I was delighted when Ciaran of Foot Medic Podiatry in Bearsden contacted me to praise my work on the Feet For Life campaign with the College of Podiatry and then proceeded to invite me me along to his clinic for assistance with my recovery.

Once past the very lush and relaxing reception area Foot Medic Podiatry looks more like a science lab than a podiatry clinic. Ciaran and the team must have one of the most advanced private clinics in the country and the big kid in me wanted to play with it all.

While there is a treadmill and multiple cameras to analysis a runner’s gait, Ciaran suggested that with my knee pain that we use the pressure pads on the floor to assess my stance and my walking style. After an initial static reading, I repeatedly walked the short length of the clinic treatment room with a step landing on the pressure pad which would measure my landing and my step off.

Once Ciaran had enough data and had quickly assessed it with his trained eye, he presented his findings….in Technicolour.

From the computer images, It was clear that when standing I favour one side of my body over the other while almost a third of my weight distributed through my right heel. This is consistent with observations from Magic Mandy and from one of my Personal Trainers, Scott Devenney.

We next looked at how my feet land and then take off.

My heavy heel striking came as no surprise, but two things did come as a shock. Ciaran identified that when stepping off, I gently and possibly invisibly to the naked eye, perform an abductory twist just as my foot leaves the ground. Basically this means that I whip my heel and smarter people than me have explained this as my pelvis and tibia not working together. While it might not explain all of my pain, it was another piece of the puzzle that are my lower limbs. As was the fact that I had achilles tendinopathy, possibly due in part to lots of miles ran and years of my poor feet carrying substantial weight. With limited foot dorsiflexion, this could explain my very short stride

With my history of Perthes Disease and the clues that he had already discovered, Ciaran also had me lie down to measure my legs and what he discovered added yet another clue.

My right leg is 16mm shorter than my left and while up to 10mm is within normal parameters, Ciaran suggested that we consider this when it came to fabricating my orthotics.

For that was to be the final surprise. While most podiatrists have to send away for orthotics to be made, with a waiting time of around 14 days, Foot Medic Podiatry were able to cast my feet and produce my orthotics in just over an hour. And not just your run of the mill insoles. These bad boys would be made of Crist’air, a material that is used in making bulletproof products.

Ciaran was going to bulletproof my feet

Firstly though, he had me stand in their foot casting machine, which saw bags of heated silica mould around my feet.

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Then the insoles were heated around my cast before we started on fabricating the wedges that would hopefully address my supination and my short right leg. I say we as I just had to get in on the action.

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Ciaran explained that he would use a carbon fibre composite for the base and that we would grind it into shape. We would not compensate for the full 16mm, but instead, around half of that. The reason, Ciaran explained, was that any more could create imbalances and cause more harm than good. It has taken me 36 years post Perthes to develop my unique gait and I accepted that any sudden changes might not be welcomed by my body.

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The end result was two pairs of orthotics that should hopefully see me through next year’s gruelling training regime, but if I should need more, I will not hesitate to return to the Foot Medic Podiatry. In fact, before I return to running, I will go west and have my running gait fully assessed by Evelyn, Foot Medic Podiatrist’s resident running expert.

However, I don’t know whether to forgive them for making me don this costume. On behalf of the entire Feet For Life campaign, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. Maybe, someone will treat your feet to some pampering this year.

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December 16, 2016 0 comment

Health Obesity

Tough New Rules from the Committee of Advertising Practice?

written by Stephen Morrison

Childhood obesity is a serious and complex issue and one that we’re determined to play our part in tackling. These restrictions will significantly reduce the number of ads for high, fat, salt or sugar products seen by children. Our tough new rules are a clear demonstration that the ad industry is willing and ready to act on its responsibilities and puts the protection of children at the heart of its work.

Encouraging words from the Chairman of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), James Best

According to CAP they have today announced, following a full public consultation, tough new rules banning the advertising of high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) food or drink products in children’s media. The rules will apply across all non-broadcast media including in print, cinema and, crucially, online and in social media.

The rules, which will apply in media targeted at under-16s, will come into effect on 1 July 2017.

With the Child Obesity Strategy having no real bite, I was not expecting these “tough new rules” to provide me with any real hope and having reviewed the new advertising rules, I do believe that it is once again a missed opportunity, albeit with some progress.

So, what are these new rules and how much of a difference will they make?

Committee of Advertising Practice Tough New Rules

· Ads that directly or indirectly promote a HFSS product cannot appear in children’s media

· Ads for HFSS products will not be allowed to use promotions, licensed characters and celebrities popular with children; advertisers may now use those techniques to better promote healthier options

These sound great until you consider what is not covered by these rules. The packaging of HFSS products will not be affected. They will continue to be covered in the latest cartoon and film characters that our children are often drawn towards. When it is generally agreed that TV advertising has a relatively low impact on HFSS consumption, these rules seem like yet more watered down measures.

· Ads for HFSS products cannot appear in other media where children make up over 25% of the audience

With children reportedly spending more time (around 15 hours per week) online than watching TV, moves to reduce their online exposure to promotions for HFSS products is a welcomed measure, but I do have my concerns. Up to 25 in every 100 children could still be exposed to advertising and across the UK this equates to more than 3 million children.

A concern shared by the Obesity Health Alliance, who view it as a loophole that could (and most likely will) be exploited. Also, has anyone stopped to consider that obesity, inactivity, screen time and poverty are closely linked? It is quite possible that children in poorer households will watch more TV and spend more time online than anyone else with their households spending greater proportions of their income on food. With obesity rates soaring, we need to do more to ensure that all children are protected.

With one third of children overweight or obese by their eleventh birthday, we need to protect them from relentless junk food marketing in all walks of life.”

-Obesity Health Alliance.

The Children’s Food Campaign go further and while they believe that the “The Committee of Advertising Practice has finally listened to the voices of parents and health professionals, after years of resisting calls for stronger measures to reduce children’s exposure to junk food marketing online” they also share concerns that “CAP has failed to learn the lessons from industry’s exploitation of loopholes in TV advertising regulations”.

Jenny Rosborough, campaign manager at Action on Sugar, called for restrictions to be extended to programmes such as X Factor, which are hugely popular with children but which are exempt from these restrictions because they fall outside children’s programming.

The response to the new rules from the Committee of Advertising Practice have been received in similar fashion to the Child Obesity Strategy with many believing that “the power still seems to be very much in the hands of manufacturers and advertisers, not parents”.

The Children’s Food Campaign offered the perfect summation:

Ultimately, the new rules are only as good as the body which enforces them. We hope that from July 2017 CAP and the Advertising Standards Authority will ensure companies follow both the letter and the spirit of these new rules, and close any loopholes which arise.

Rather than develop a groundbreaking strategy that puts the wellbeing of all children at its centre, it is my belief that CAP have produced a set of rules that fall short. It’s supporters and the food industry will possibly argue that parents have a greater responsibility, but how many of us feel pressured by children who influence our purchases, based on the marketing directly aimed at them?

We will need to wait until July 2017 to see what impact these tough new rules have.

December 8, 2016 0 comment

Physical Activity

Can a Fat Man be an Award Winning Fitness Blogger

written by Stephen Morrison

Can a Fat Man be an Award Winning Fitness Blogger?

Google “Fitness Blogger” images and you’ll notice a pattern. Long hair, tight abs, bikinis and the obligatory instagram friendly butt selfie.

I know that the scene is much more diverse than this, but this is sadly the perception of many and as an overweight, balding and bespectacled 43 year old man, I am as far removed from the archetypal fitness blogger as you can get and you will be relieved to know that as much as I love selfies, I tend to keep them confined to my butt ugly face.

So, when I discovered that I had been nominated for the UK Blog Awards in the Sports and Fitness category, I saw it as an opportunity to address this misconception and to hopefully further raise my profile as a blogger (like my Man V Fat Reviews, I am honest).

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How Many Miles has seen a lot of traffic and posts in the past 12 months, but I am not an overnight success.

I first started blogging back in 2011 with a small workplace feature that grew as my confidence grew and as my weight reduced. Soon, How Many Miles was born and it wasn’t long before I was blogging for Tribesports, Spogo, the Men’s 10K and Paths For All.

In 2014, I hit the Big Time. Or so I thought.

Great Run made me their blogger and a wee sporting event in Glasgow picked me to be one of their special Games bloggers. I also started writing for the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) and Man V Fat. I then ended the year with what I view as the pinnacle of sports and fitness blogging.

No, not the bloody Huffington Post, but my first British Medical Journal Blog. For as long as I blog (or live) my BMJ blog posts will rank alongside my greatest writing accomplishments.

For two years, I focused on my Great Run and FSEM blogs with regular guest posts for Man V Fat and others. I attended a few sports medicine symposiums and Great Run gave me the VIP treatment at all of their events. I wasn’t well known and I didn’t really care

Well, that wasn’t quite true.

I love blogging. I love knowing that my words sometimes entertain, inspire and sometimes even educate. I love the opportunities that blogging brings and I do love the occasional gifts from partners. I also genuinely love putting my thoughts on paper (even if it is only Google docs). However, I will be totally honest. At Great Run, I didn’t feel in control of the blog and it soon became clear that my role there wasn’t developing as I had hoped.

I wasn’t reaching as many as I wanted to and I also wanted to write about more than running. Great Run were indeed great, but my run with them was coming to an end.

So, I decided to leave Great Run and to resurrect How Many Miles and for the past year, I have focused my main efforts on my own blog. I redesigned the theme, added new categories and I even got myself a wee logo.

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The UK Blog Award nomination is a wonderful honour and culmination of an amazing but also difficult year . It hopefully reflects my efforts, but I nearly didn’t accept it.

The fitness blogging industry, much like the fitness industry, is largely driven by aesthetics and carbon copy blogs that all seem to review the same boutique London gyms or the same fashion lines. It has became too focused on product and brand placement and over the past few months, I have unsubscribed from many. I have become a little disillusioned.

However, I still have my favourites and I am up against some of them in the UK Blog Awards.

I like to think that we share a common approach. We tell honest stories and we are open about our struggles as well as our accomplishments. For us, blogging is about sharing our experiences in the hope that we can inspire others to step out of their comfort zones. I also like to think that we offer hope to people not unlike ourselves.

I unfortunately feel that we are a minority and there is obviously a market and demand for the Instagram famous bloggers and their photo led content as I enviously watch on as they go on yet another sponsored island retreat or parade in their latest sports gear, but I do hope that the public and judges of the UK Blog Awards prefer stories. I know that I enjoy writing them.

I’d love this story to end with myself (or even one of my favourite blogs) in the final, but to do that I need your vote.

Vote for How Many Miles at :

http://www.blogawardsuk.co.uk/ukba2017/entries/how-many-miles

And let us show that sports and fitness blogging is about more than bikini clad athletes attending the latest VIP fitness launch in London.

Can a fat man win a fitness blog award? Only time will tell.

December 5, 2016 5 comments