Tag Archives: fitness

Oarsome Challenge : on the start line at Greenwich

Oarsome Challenge rowing tips

Thinking of signing up to the Oarsome Challenge rowing event? Wondering what you’re letting yourself in for?

If sightseeing, with your butt on a hard bench while you manoeuvre a heavy oar through the rolling waters of central London appeals – you could be a candidate for the annual Oarsome Challenge.

I took part in this year’s event – read on for my first-timer Oarsome Challenge rowing tips.

What is the Oarsome Challenge?

The Oarsome Challenge is a charity team rowing event that rides the flood tide along the Thames right through the middle of historic London, starting in Greenwich and ending some 28km upstream at Chiswick Bridge.

Oarsome Challenge : the route

You’ll be rowing sweep in a crew of eight, plus steering cox, using a single oar in a fixed-seat, broad-beamed, robust wooden vessel. Previous rowing experience is not necessary, although every crew is required to attend an organised training session before the day of the Oarsome Challenge.

The event raises money for London Youth Rowing (LYR) and the course consists of two parts. The Challenge kicks off with a rare chance to row safely through the Pool of London, where rowing is normally prohibited on safety grounds. The second stretch is a timed race from Putney Bridge to the finish line just short of Chiswick Bridge.

Racing is optional, but all boats need to complete the course.

How long will the Oarsome Challenge take?

The first 20km is rowed in a group, so you can only progress as fast as the slowest boat. The whole course, including the race section, will take between three and four hours.

The good news is it ends with refreshments (beers and pizza this year) and prizes on the foreshore just beyond Chiswick Bridge. It’s the same pretty spot – Quintin and MAABC boat houses – where crews land after the annual University Boat Race.

Be prepared for sore arms, knees, back and butt by the end of your Oarsome Challenge outing.

Disembarking from boat at MAABC foreshore at the end of the Challenge
Oarsome Challenge : end of the race at MAABC foreshore

What should I wear?

The event takes place on a summer evening, when the days are longer and the air is warmer. Row boats aren’t allowed under Tower Bridge until after 6pm, and organisers plan the start time so you’ll be riding with the tide all the way. So odds are you will be rowing from late afternoon until around 8pm. Dress accordingly.

There’s a prize for the best fancy dressed crew. However, make sure that your outfit can withstand three hours plus of rowing motion and non-stop exercise.

Top tip: Loose fitting clothing is at risk of getting caught on your oar, so the kind of fit kit you’d wear for cycling or running is a good choice. Padded cycling shorts are perfect.

Buoyancy aids are compulsory (and provided), so bear in mind that your chest and back will be covered – jackets also provide extra insulation so a thin sweat-wicking T-shirt will be enough for most rowers. Take a small waterproof bag in the boat with a thin, splash-proof jacket or cover-up. There will be time to pause and put it on if necessary. There is also plenty of space to stash bags under your seat.

A well-fitting hat is a good idea – something that won’t blow off – and a pair of padded cycling gloves will ease hand discomfort. Good quality sunglasses will protect your eyes from the potentially damaging glare of sun on water, even on an overcast day. And you must of course wear sun cream, even on a dull day.

Make sure you have a warm cover-up available after you finish – you will cool down quickly once you’ve stopped exercising. Stick a hoody or fleece in your transport bag.

Race section under way as Oarsome Challenge boat emerges from under Putney Bridge
Oarsome Challenge : coming through Putney Bridge

What should I take?

Oarsome Challenge organisers will transport your bags from the start to the finish point, but there are some essentials you will want to keep with you in the boat. Here’s what to take on board:

  • Footwear you don’t mind getting wet. Your feet will get wet climbing from shore into your boat and out again at the other end. Wear old, comfortable trainers – or wellies for embarkation, carrying your trainers to put on once you’re in your seat.
  • Top tip: A seat pad – use gaffer tape to attach it to the seat bench. You can get specific rowing seat pads, or use the kind of seat that goes on a garden bench, or a pad you might kneel on for gardening.
  • A waterproof pouch for your phone that you can wear round your neck / clip round your waist
  • A large sports water bottle to keep you hydrated en route
  • Energy snacks that are easy to grab on the move. Jelly beans, dried fruit, energy bars all fit the bill.
  • Lip balm

Will the Oarsome Challenge hurt?

The fitter you are, the less arduous you will find the event. On-water rowing is the best preparation you can do, with row machine training next best. Any cardio work like running or cycling will help build up your lung power and endurance. Focus on arms and legs if you’re in the gym.

And yes, it will hurt! Don’t underestimate the achievement of completing your Oarsome Challenge – 28km is a very long stretch even for an experienced, regular rower.

However, the picturesque river journey through iconic, historic London along with friendly competition from other boats and the motivation of raising money for charity should help keep your mind off the muscle strain.

Handing out prizes at the end of the Challenge
Oarsome Challenge : prize giving

Would I take part in the Oarsome Challenge again? Definitely. It was a privilege to row a route that few people get to experience and a team achievement to complete the course and finish in winning position. Thoroughly recommend.

TopRow boat on the Thames

Rowing : mindfulness on the river


It’s the killer all-body cardio workout: 60 minutes in the boat = 700 calories burned. Boom! But who knew that rowing would also be the ultimate in mindfulness practice?

I’ve been learning to row on the Thames at Putney with TopRow since the spring, and am loving it not just for the fitness boost but also for the mental benefits.

Rowing as part of a crew is the ultimate team effort. Full-focus on the mechanics is essential, and it’s that concentration that forces all other thoughts out of your mind.

Mindfulness with every stroke

Every stroke, I am aware of how my body is moving, whether I am in synch with the rower in front, how my weight is balanced and the rhythm of my breathing.

I am thinking about the positioning of my hands on the oars, keeping wrist twist to a minimum as my fingers swivel the oar to square the blade before it enters the water, engaging my quads and glutes throughout the stroke, making the optimum stretch forward through my arms and then back to ensure a smooth, effective movement through the water.

Stay relaxed, don’t tense shoulders, jaw or neck. Lean, heave, slide, stretch. Breathe steadily throughout the stroke to maintain tempo and concentration.

Utterly absorbing

Closing my eyes, I hear the creak of the boat, the slide of our seats, the clunk of the oars in the rowlocks as they switch from vertical to horizontal and back again, followed by the gentle splash as they drop in the water. I feel the smooth motion of the hull in the water or perhaps a slight jerking or wobble if we don’t get the timing quite right.

The epitome of mindfulness, blind rowing is an exercise that amplifies the feel of our movements on the motion of the boat and is just one of a number of exercises our TopRow coach has employed to help finetune our technique.

Let your mind wander and it can be just moments before you fall out of time with the rest of the crew, miss a catch or fail to square up the blade just early enough to make for an efficient stroke. Rowing is utterly absorbing.

The Thames at Putney
The Thames at Putney

When I signed up for my first TopRow course, I expected to spend time on the water enjoying the view, observing birdlife and maybe even chatting. But an hour on the Thames from Putney, upriver past Hammersmith Bridge and back is more often than not a prolonged period of physicality and silent concentration. Conversation can be a distraction, so we save it for rest/coaching periods, or when we are rigging/de-rigging the boat.

Striving for correct form on every stroke, requires utmost concentration. I love it.

Join a running group to boost your training

I love running but when I go out on my own, I’m a plodder, grinding out the miles while listening to podcasts. Good for the mileage but does little to enhance my run performance.

Hill reps, intervals, power moves would all, I know, help build my speed and endurance, but they hurt. So if I’m going to incorporate them effectively into my running regime, I really need to have someone there making me do them – and making me do them properly. No cheating when it gets tough.

Run Together

The answer? Get a PT (costly solo solution) or join a running group (less expensive, more sociable). I opted for the latter, a new RunTogether group led by Wimbledon’s enthusiastic and inspirational health coach Anna Desogus, who I already know from my work on the @HealthyMerton healthy workplace programme. The group was set up in association with central Wimbledon yoga studio Jiva Health, so keep an eye out, as there may be some useful run + gait therapy + yoga sessions scheduled soon…

Find out more about Healthy Workplace services here

Runners' feet
Raring to RunTogether: high vis recommended on a frosty Wimbledon night

The first session took place last night. Anna kicked our training off with a 7pm safety briefing, then we took a slow jog to a safe cul de sac where we performed a series of power/strength moves: exactly the kind of thing I would never do when running alone. Duly warmed up, we head for a secluded residential area just off Wimbledon Hill for a hill reps session that challenged every one of us.

It was perfect: better runners could aim for more reps, while the less experienced/ambitious among us could go at our own pace, performing fewer circuits yet still pushing ourselves. No one was left behind, and Anna was super-effective in instruction and motivation. An hour later, we were all back in central Wimbledon for a final stretching session then home in time for supper. Brilliant.

Fancy joining Anna’s weekly Monday night RunTogether session? It caters for all levels of running (you must be able to run for at least 10 minutes), with a varied programme incorporating a dynamic workout as well as pure running, making it the perfect complement to your usual run sessions. Thoroughly recommend.

Find out more (and book your place): Anna’s Raramuri running group
Personalised nutrition, health, coaching services: Anna Desogus Health Coaching

Business taking steps towards a more active workforce

Staff at the Sit-Stand.com standing desk company are contractually obliged to take a 15-minute walk during office hours every working day.

It costs the company precisely nothing, but it is a healthy workplaces commitment to the principles of a business run by the founder of Active Working: to reduce the amount of time we spend sitting down at work.

And as CEO Gavin Bradley points out, once you’ve started your 15-minute walk-out, it will probably turn into more. Activity logged: job done.

Sitting leads to health problems

Evidence is constantly growing that staff who spend most of their working day seated are both less productive and more inclined to suffer health problems. Office workers sit on average 10 hours each day, and 70% of this sitting time is at work. The solution is simple: stand up and move around more. It’s not complicated, it’s not expensive, just good business sense.

No surprise, then, that during a 90-minute meeting with Sit-Stand.com‘s director Gavin Bradley, we were on our feet the whole time. A standing meeting with the offer of a freshly-blitzed smoothie: I love a company that practises what it preaches, and this one certainly does.

It’s all part of a growing recognition of the fact that employers who take measures to enhance the health of staff benefit from people who are more motivated and productive, less likely to suffer stress and absenteeism and act as positive advocates for the business.

So why don’t more bosses take simple steps such as encouraging staff to move around more, step away from their work stations at regular intervals and pay more attention to their personal health outcomes?

Is business culture changing?

It’s a business culture issue, but one that is certainly starting to change, as is evidenced by the increasing number of companies I work with who are recognising that supporting their workforce in making healthy choices does not have to be costly or time-consuming.

Workplace health-boosting measures can include steps as simple as moving bins away from desks so that staff are forced to stand and walk a short distance to dispose of rubbish, or encouraging greater use of stairs by posting inspirational Step Jockey style stickers beside the lifts.

The standing desk solution

Installing adjustable standing desks is becoming popular among employees, and is another relatively low-cost investment, with the entry level Sit-Stand.com Yo-Yo workstation costing well below £200.

In Denmark, 90% of employees have an adjustable standing desk. Health and wellbeing at work evangelist Gavin Bradley would love to see similar in the UK, and with his value range of adjustable sit-stand desks, PLUS his Active Working and Get Britain Standing campaigns, he is taking massive steps in helping move the world’s workforce towards a more active future. I’m in.

Find out more about how I can help YOUR business enhance its healthy workplace credentials

Wash Wizard cleans up on workplace workouts

wash wizard

Magic! Your workplace wash-mate

Workplace health and wellbeing is a big part of business for me at present, and encouraging staff to stay active through the working day is one of the ways in which companies can help build motivation and productivity.

But what if you’re not lucky enough to be in a building that offers showers for a post-workout freshen up? Picture the scene: you cycle to work, grab a lunchtime run or a midday gym session. Mind cleared, but body sweaty. No time or facilities to take a shower.

Options? Wet-wipe-wash or sweaty desk all afternoon. Neither is great for you or your workmates.

Good news! I just road-tested a third option, and it’s quick, discreet and – critically – effective. Wash Wizard is just perfect as a workplace post-workout clean-up. It’s a simple idea: a tightly-rolled sponge impregnated with sweat-busting aloe vera foam that takes up almost zero space in your work bag.

wash wizard

Wash Wizard: discreet and effective

Simply splash with water from your bottle to activate, swipe the bits that need freshening up, and you’re ready for the rest of your day. No need to rinse or towel dry, and it’s fragrance-free so suitable for both sexes.

At £7.99 for a pack of five, Wash Wizard is my latest affordable gymbag essential (brilliant for camping, sailing trips, overnight train journeys and festivals too).

Find out more about how your business can harness the  power of wellbeing at work to benefit both your staff AND your bottom line via our healthy workplaces service.

RideLondon 2014: conquering the weather

…because rain is temporary, quitting is forever.

RideLondon 2014

Piers and Nicola: we survived RideLondon-Surrey 2014

Imagine having constant buckets of water dumped on your head while you cycle in a bath with a high-pressure jet of filthy grit trained on your face. For five hours.

That was RideLondon-Surrey 2014.

On the plus side, it wasn’t raining when we started – so at least we weren’t standing around in wet clothing getting cold and miserable before we began. That would have been a potential deal-breaker. 
Conditions remained dry, in fact, until Canary Wharf (three miles down the road from the startline at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) where my husband Piers and I hooked up from our separate start waves to cycle in convoy.
It was our second RideLondon; last year’s event was marked by a crash caused by a jaywalker which almost put paid to our ride and pushed our chip time to seven hours plus. [Read about our 2013 RideLondon experience hereThis year we were hoping to complete the 100-mile circuit in 6h15.
We knew from the start, however, that was not going to happen: organisers had responded to the forecast of atrocious weather conditions and shortened the course to 86 miles by cutting out the big Surrey climbs of Leith Hill and Box Hill. Disappointing but understandable, given that we would be cycling in the slipstream of Hurricane Bertha.
So whatever Bertha had to throw at us, at least we knew it would be over relatively quickly.
Cycling through Central London on closed roads is a joy, although there was less sightseeing this year as it was heads down to escape the lashing rain. We glanced up to admire the moat of poppies at the Tower of London, though, and I remember catching a glimpse of Harrods as we pedalled past.
Spectators were few and far between – there’s not much appeal to standing on a kerb in the rain at crack of dawn on a Sunday – and I did feel sorry for the poor marshalls. There was a lot less banter between cyclists too compared with 2013 as we all dug deep to keep going despite being soaked to the skin.
Curtailing the course meant that no one was going to get a 100-mile PB, so riding was generally very restrained and most participants were cycling defensively and sensibly. We witnessed little in the way of crashes, but numerous mechanicals. The roadsides were littered with cyclists fixing punctures in the pouring rain – I spoke to one poor guy who had used up both his spare inner tubes within the first couple of miles.
Heavy rain means the road carries more grit and debris, turning cycle tyres into puncture magnets. Piers had stocked up on spares but we were lucky enough not to need them.
From Canary Wharf onwards, the rain was heavy and constant so it was just moments before we were both soaked to the skin. At least we couldn’t get any wetter, and it was warm as long as we kept moving.
Determinedly stuck to Piers’ back wheel, for speed and shelter, I wasn’t too aware of the scenery. We were soon shooting through Richmond Park, across Kingston Bridge and towards Hampton Court, where the rain really started to hammer down. Torrential doesn’t do it justice: we were cycling into a wall of water, battered by enormous, brutal raindrops from above and at times almost knee-deep in floods.
Hurricane Bertha was living up to her name: gusts blasted us sideways as she continued to dump buckets of water on our heads. From Hampton Court all the way to Ripley (miles 25-40), the monsoon did not let up. Fed up? I was actually laughing. This felt more like a Tough Mudder than a cycle sportive .
Molesey, Walton-on-Thames, Brooklands, Weybridge, Pyrford, Byfleet: all a blur of wet road, wet shopfronts, wet corners and skid-scary roundabouts. I really had no idea where we were most of the time, despite these being familiar training routes. The rain was so heavy you could barely make out road signs or landmarks. By this point, we were so thoroughly sodden, that even Piers’ ‘weather-proof’ Garmin cycle computer had drowned. Kudos to those dogged spectators who were still roadside cheering us on.
Massive appreciation to Piers too for guiding us safely round so many hazards. He was riding for Macmillan in memory of his father who died suddenly of a brain tumour earlier this year. What better reason to keep pedalling?
As we progressed along the shortened route, keeping our speed down in a bid to stay upright, it became very obvious why organisers had cut out Leith and Box Hills: the descents would have been treacherous rivers. The climbs would have been littered with casualties.
Meanwhile, on the rolling flats of Surrey, we were already negotiating flooded lanes, with burst drains, overflowing gutters and impromptu waterfalls spewing onto the road. The amount of visible tarmac was frequently no more than a foot wide, with gigantic, spreading puddles at the margins. Staying alert to hazards distracted from muscle ache and the discomfort of squelchy cycling shoes and soggy chamois.
The funniest thing we saw all day: an enraged motorist so frustrated by the closed roads that he screeched his car into a U-turn to avoid a road-block, only to skid and crash noisily into a van. I bet that made him feel better…

Mid-ride stop

Our first and only hub stop: rain-battered but still cheery

At the top of breezy Newlands Corner – the day’s first and pretty much only climb – we paused to fill our water bottles at the food hub but set off sharpish to avoid getting cold. Then it was more or less homeward bound.
The rain was easing off a bit by the time we got to Esher, although many parts of road were still utterly submerged – in places every pedal stroke saw cycle shoes disappear beneath the water. Kingston was pretty benign, and it was clear skies by Wimbledon.

 

Lovely to stop for a few words and hugs from the children, Piers’ mum and sister at the foot of Wimbledon Hill – thanks so much to them for turning out in the face of abysmal weather – then full-speed ahead for the final nine miles to The Mall.

We cycled central London in bright sunshine, crossing the finish line largely dry but caked in filth. Especially my face, after a five-hour grit jet-wash facial from Piers’ back wheel.

Would we do it again? Try and stop us!
The lowdown:
Chip time: 5h 26min
Riding time: 4h 58min
Average riding speed: 17mph
Nutrition: three caffeine mule gels (coffee flavour), one High5 energy gel (citrus flavour), one and a half Bounce bars, one banana, a bite of CNP energy bar, half a bag of dried mango. Three and a bit bottles of water containing High5 electrolyte sports tabs. V impressed (like last year) with service and supplies provided at food stations.
Most jawdropping moment: being overtaken by a guy riding a BMX bike. Standing up on a bike for 86 miles? Rather you than me, mate.
Hairiest moment: losing the back end and skidding round the final corner out of Raynes Park. Without falling off, phew!
‘Doh, why did I open my big mouth?’ moment: cycling in the rain (natch) up Newlands Corner, to Piers, “well at least it’s not torrential at the moment”. At which point there was a crack of thunder and the hill turned into a river as torrents poured out of the sky and down the road beneath our wheels.
Biggest achievement? Surviving and completing what has got to go down in history as the rainiest ever RideLondon-Surrey.