Book Review: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Christopher McDougall faced a problem that stares most runners in the face at some time along the road, namely injury. His background in running journalism for outfits like Runners World had earned him a good name and respect in the game. This gave him access to some of the best people in the sports world [...]
Winter Training Gear
The seasons are turning once more and it’s time to get the waterproof socks and high-vis tops out again. Here are some of the top selling Winter items among fitness fanatics this month: Inov8 Flyroc More and more people want off-road shoes for training in muddy conditions during the Winter – especially if they are [...]
Stress Balls
Stress balls may be a simple idea – just squeeze a foam sphere in your palm until you feel better – but they are still extremely popular in offices around the country. Stress Balls from FindMeAGift Choose from a wide range of stress balls including Mr Men novelty stress balls and plain ones. Our Smiley [...]
The Problems of Chest Hair for Male Runners: De-Fuzzing
About a month ago I decided to enter this years Great North run and raise money for Candlelighters. This meant altering my mind set from leisurely jogging to a more constructive training programme, one that would get me round the half marathon in a reasonable time. I knew I would have to step up my [...]
Do the Hippy Hippy Run
In the sixties there was a band called the Swinging Blue Jeans who sang a song called “The Hippy Hippy Shake” which was also sung by the Beatles. This was during the era of flower power and the advent of the Hippy movement, which was based on a return and respect for nature (there are [...]
Craghoppers
I first started wearing Craghopper clothing about five years ago. It was coming up to the annual lads walking week in the Picos de Europa in northern Spain and I realised I was in dire need of a refit for the tasks ahead. There was a local outlet which fortunately had a sale on so [...]
Strength Bands
Strength bands have been around for decades and are used in a form of training known as ERT or Elastic Resistance Training. The use of the bands in general has fluctuated in popularity although their use in rehabilitation has remained steady. Gyms do not push the usage of bands because put simply, the simple elastic [...]
Kettlebells
A Kettlebell originally resembled a cannonball with a handle on the top, today they come in variations of this in weights from around 2kg upwards. It is believed they were first used in Russia in the 1930s both by civilians and the army. The idea is to string together different movements which develop all aspects [...]
Power Plates – A Review
Power plates are the latest craze sweeping gyms and health clubs across the country. The prospect of getting a toned body just by balancing on a vibrating platform seem to be too goo to be true – so what do personal trainers think? Alison Nockles has been a personal trainer for three years. She sees [...]
Paula Radcliffe’s Top Training Tunes
During an interview with The Guardian, Paula Radcliffe recently listed her favourite motivational training tunes. We’ve included the video of Freemasons “Uninvited” on the left, but there’s a pretty good remix of Alphabeat’s “Fascination” available here. Paula Radcliffe is one of the UK’s finest middle and long-distance athlete and has held several world records and [...]
