Month: October 2013

Press release: Brits strive for picture perfect as they hit the gym

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It’s the Great South Run on Sunday. My training – on a scale of 1-10 – is at about 2. Oops. Shaun decided to make me feel better about this by telling me the weather report. I clamped my hands over my ears but the words ‘heavy rain’ and ‘strong winds’ filtered through. Bah.

Anyway, Bupa have asked me to publish the below press release, so have a read.

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BRITS STRIVE FOR PICTURE PERFECT AS THEY HIT THE GYM

– Nearly one in three British women living a healthy lifestyle have been motivated to exercise after looking at a photo of themselves –

– TV personality Gethin Jones supports campaign on helping to keep Britain motivated –

A picture paints a thousand words but for healthy Brits [1] it has also sparked a health kick. Nearly one third (30%) of women living a healthy lifestyle have taken up exercise after looking at a photograph of themselves, with just under one in five (19%) health conscious males also doing the same, according to a latest research campaign by Healthcare company Bupa.

The campaign, supported by TV personality Gethin Jones, delved into the habits of those leading a healthy lifestyle to find out what motivates these particular individuals to stay fit and healthy, ahead of the Bupa Great South Run this weekend.

Surprisingly, health mad celebrities are a fitness turn-off; only 4% say that a celebrity’s body has ever motivated them to exercise. Results indicate that a quarter (25%) of women surveyed also admit to using special occasions including Christmas parties as motivation to exercise. Other main motivations for both men and women to stay healthy through exercise include, wanting to improve one’s mood (61%), to fit into clothes (47%) and to relieve the stress of work (26%).

According to Bupa, Sunday still remains the ‘day of rest’ with ‘Brits’ living the healthy lifestyle putting their feet up on Sunday more than any other day of the week. Fitness on a Friday seems to have replaced the traditional post work trip to the pub, with it being the day those surveyed are least likely to avoid exercise.

Television personality Gethin Jones, ambassador for the campaign said: “It’s easier than you think to become a healthier person; it’s the small changes that make a big difference. Bupa’s campaign shows there are many motivations to adopt a healthy lifestyle, but for me it has always been setting myself challenges. That is why I am currently training for the Bupa Great South Run which has helped me to stay focused and get up for that morning run.”

The campaign, by Bupa, aimed to examine the behavioural habits and motivations of those who live a healthy lifestyle to ascertain how and why they maintain their regime and fitness. Working closely with a medical expert, Bupa defined the criteria for a healthy lifestyle as individuals who partake in five 30 minute sessions of exercise a week, consume a minimum of five daily portions of fruit and veg with a low saturated fat and salt diet, are non-smokers and who do not drink heavily.

Dr Steven Luttrell, Medical Director, Bupa Health Clinics said: “It has been very interesting to see exactly what it is that keeps those living the ‘healthy lifestyle,’ motivated and active. However, while people’s behaviours and motivations may differ, the importance of following this health choice remains the same for all. By eating well and keeping active, people should be able to improve their general health and wellbeing. So, whatever it is that keeps you focused, I would urge people to keep active and eat well and they should really feel the difference.

Gethin Jones will be demonstrating his commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle by participating in Sunday’s Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth. The world’s premier 10 mile running event attracts 25,000 people and takes in the iconic sights of Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard.

To find out more on Bupa’s commitment to inspire a healthier Britain visit bupa.co.uk.

About Bupa

Bupa’s purpose is longer, healthier, happier lives.  

A leading international healthcare group, we serve 13m customers in more than 190 countries. We offer personal and company-financed health insurance and medical subscription products, run hospitals, provide workplace health services, home healthcare, health assessments and chronic disease management services.  We are also a major international provider of nursing and residential care for elderly people.

With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare and fulfil our purpose.

Bupa employs more than 62,000 people, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, Poland, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, China and across Latin America.

For more information, visit www.bupa.co.uk

[1] Bupa defined the criteria for a healthy lifestyle as individuals who partake in five 30 minute sessions of exercise a week, consume a minimum of five daily portions of fruit and veg with a low saturated fat and salt diet, are non-smokers and who do not drink heavily.

Win £25 to spend at Tony Pryce Sports (no minimum purchase necessary)

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Tony Pryce Retail Ltd is one of the largest independent sports retailers in the South West of England and has been trading since 1978.

They sell gear for running, badminton, football, hockey, rugby, squash and general fitness for men, women and children by all the big brands including – amongst many others – Asics, Brooks, adidas, New Balance and Reebok.

Win a £25 voucher to spend at Tony Pryce Sports

If you’d like a £25 voucher to spend at the Tony Pryce website, just leave a comment below and I’ll pick a winner at random after the closing date of midnight, Saturday 23 November 2013.

There’s no minimum purchase necessary, so you’ve got nothing to lose!

It’s not a condition of entering the competition, but Tony Pryce Sports would really like it if you could like their Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter.

Locklaces – cures untied laces and having your bum stared at

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My parents taught me a few things when I was a child. Amongst these things were reading, writing, telling the time, knowing my left and right, and tying my laces. I can – at the age of 43 – still do all of these things; admittedly, some of them better than others (please don’t ask me for directions. All my rights will be left and vice versa).

Thanks to spending the last twenty years wearing either DMs or Converse, I’ve had plenty of practice tying laces. However, when it comes to running shoes, my laces never stay tied. Which is why Locklaces are ace. They’re so ace, they should have the slogan:

Locklaces are so ace

when you’re running a race,

you’ll have a smiley face

with these lace-s

innit.

They come in loads of pretty colours, including purple and pink and yellow and orange and blue and green and red and black.

Locklaces asked me if I’d like to try some. As I couldn’t decide which colour to have out of purple or pink or yellow or orange or red, I threw caution to the lace-based wind and let them decide. They decided to send me a black pair and a blue pair. Ho hum.

On the back of the packet are instructions.

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Also on the back of the packet it says who the laces are suitable for. I’m not sure which category I fit into.

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You lace them through your shoes like normal laces, squeeze the lock and thread each lace through the lock. Cut the ends of the laces off and insert the laces into the clip. The remaining lace will dangle annoyingly.

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But you can tuck them under the tied lace bit, and because the laces are elastic, it’s really simple.

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With the laces being elastic, they take a bit of trial and error tying them to the right tightness. When I first tested them, I started getting cramp in my calf, which is unusual for me, so I diagnosed myself with ‘too-tight-lacesness’ and loosened them and yay, the cramp was cured – just call me Dr White. (Actually, on second thoughts, don’t, as I’d sound like something you’d find in the feminine hygiene aisle in the supermarket.)

The most definite good thing about the laces being elastic though is, when you get home, you can be really lazy and just slip them off without untying them and get on with telling Facebook and Twitter you’ve just been for a run stretching. Obviously though, the most most definite good thing about them is the laces stay done up. No more bending over to tie up your laces and hoping no one’s staring at your bum. Hooray for Locklaces and their amazing bum-staring prevention properties.

Locklaces are available online from the Locklaces website or from Amazon UK, Chain Reaction Cycles and probably lots of other places in the UK.

The Nutribox Sports Nutrition Box (and 35% discount code!)

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As mentioned on my other blog, The Nutribox deliver straight to your door, boxes bursting with healthy snacks. And now there’s even better news for runners (or cyclists or swimmers or jugglers or trampolinists or BMX-ers or skateboarders or shoplifters legging it from security guards); they’ve added a sports nutrition box to their range containing – as you’d expect – snacks perfect for fuelling before, during and after exercise.

Unlike other energy/protein, etc. bars, these aren’t full of chemicals – they’re made with only natural ingredients, are gluten-free, and don’t contain any trans fats or lots of added refined sugars. They’re all vegetarian; most are raw and vegan, too.

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I received in my box:

Salad Topper Mix (seeds and stuff. I haven’t had salad for a while and I can’t be arsed to eat seeds on their own, so I added them to a batch of muesli bars I made);

Turkish Delight (no, not the gooey rose-flavoured flour-coated gunge that sticks in your teeth, this is a bag of dried apricots, dates and brazil nuts);

Bounce Ball. I love these, they’re chewy and gooey and peanutty (well, the peanut one is peanutty, anyway. Other varieties are available);

A maple and peanut protein bar (I haven’t tried this yet but I love maple and peanut so I’m expecting good things);

A flapjack (all flapjacks are good, even healthy ones);

A raw choc bar (raw chocolate is much nicer than it sounds. Try it);

A Frank Bar (kind of like a Nakd bar);

A packet of dried strawberries; and

a seed bar which looked like one of those seed bars you used to feed your hamster (it tasted like I imagine the hamster seed bars to taste, too. Sorry Nutribox).

Get 35% off a Nutribox Sports Nutrition box! 

So, you want one of these boxes now, don’t you? I haven’t got one to giveaway, unfortunately, but I do have a discount code you can use to get a whopping 35% off your first order.

Just visit the Nutribox website, choose which size box you’d like and quote JOGBLOG at the checkout.

[offer no longer valid]

 

Giveaway: ‘What’s Your Excuse’ Winner Announced!

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whats-your-excuse-joanne-henson

As you’ll remember, I had a copy of ‘What’s Your Excuse … For Not Getting Fit?’ by Joanne Henson to give away.

And the winner is:

Valerie Bloomfield

Well done, Valerie – I’ll be in touch.

If you weren’t lucky enough to win a copy, you can buy it on Amazon for (at the time of writing) £2.05 on Kindle, or £4.99 for paperback.