December 2021
Health is wealth, prioritise your health, especially during the winter months and festive season.
I hope this newsletter finds you, your family, friends and other loved ones well and I hope it will provide some useful information, guidance and an update on all things FFA since our last Newsletter in July.
The key message is to prioritise your health, especially during the winter months when more people fall ill. Do all you can to protect yourself and others from viruses, virus mutations and other illnesses. Make healthy choices, adjust and adapt where possible to various scenario’s and people so we ALL have a good opportunity to live life well. Try to be knowledgeable, informed, prepared and inclusive. Expect the unexpected.
Society needs YOU to help each other to get out of this pandemic and health crisis together. I have shared a blog on some thoughts on ways to do this below as well as some advice if you are suffering with Covid 19.
Fit For Anything (FFA) Update
Since the last Newsletter in July, I have been fortunate to have great support from clients - both old and new. As virus strength declines, FFA's business increases. I have stopped doing my voluntary prescription running after having done this since March 2020 in September (19 months). This need to support local chemists became less as isolated Covid cases became less, and the Rickmansworth Covid Mutual Aid UK Group I worked with also wound down due to low community support needs. If cases continue to increase in the future, then the need to support may be there again, in which case I am always there to help anyone vulnerable.
I consider myself as one of few fortunate ones within the industry. My home private gym is fully equipped, there are good standards and protocols in place whilst I provide mainly 1-2-1 quality personal training sessions. The secluded back garden and 6mx4m party (heated) tent has also proven to work well. Amongst clients there are, due to the pandemic (think lack of consistency due to lockdowns, etc), more physical niggles, tightness and imbalances. By increasing blood flow, reducing taut and tight areas and by working the weaker body parts methodically, FFA reduces tightness, niggles, restores physical balance and gets continuous results in this and in many other areas. FFA helps to keep clients injury free and boosts total wellbeing - which helps longevity too. Fit For Anything continues to adapt and to adjust to the forever changing scenario’s and individual client needs.
As you can imagine, most P.T. colleagues working in the health and fitness industry rely mostly on commercial gyms where rent is being charged. For some P.T.’s it unfortunately has slowly become an unsustainable job during the last 20 months. They don’t have a home gym and/or back garden with a covered space to continue to deliver sessions from. In time unfortunately some lack passion, drive and motivation as there are too many fluctuations and uncertainties. It is partly due to the above that I have reduced my FFA posting activity on social media as I felt it wasn’t somewhat fair to collegues who are in a much less fortunate situation.
Don't forget there is still time to treat oved ones - or yourself - to all the benefits of FFA this Christmas. Whether you want help with specific run fit sessions or simply need a full body MOT, there is something for everyone. Please contact me or visit the FFA website for purchase of our Gift Vouchers.
The partnership with local osteopaths Phil, Paul and team at The Osteopathic House in Rickmansworth is going well. The partnership greatly assists our shared clients and they can greatly benefit from our joint expertise and specific areas of rehabilitation and injury prevention as we are able to form an extension of each others services. Our direct communication, mutual understanding, experience and way of working will be a welcome benefit for our clients, and make it easier and more efficient for all involved.
Obstacle Course Racing (O.C.R.) is being practised by almost 1 million people each year in the UK alone, but despite this it still needs the right organisation structure in order to be recognised as a sport. With this there is a process to follow which involves a need for people within the UK Obstacle Sport Federation (UKOSF) organisation to be operating in positions from managing and organising various tasks and activities to having enough coaches and/or members in place.
I have been an UKOSF member since March '20 and during the lockdown period I have become a Level 2 qualified UKOSF OCR Coach. The course was brand new, theory held via zoom and practical assessment in small groups at Rumble Fitness near Milton Keynes. I just love the sport as it consists of so many valuable components, more than most existing sports. Each obstacle is different, participants ideally needs total physical body fitness, some technical ability, decent agility, a massive dose of mental strength and adaptability and good cardiovascular endurance, all attributes to assist total wellbeing!
It is great to be a qualified UK Obstacle Sports Federation (O.S.F.) coach and mentor. Having met all the additional coaching requirements during this year, it confirms I am now certified to coach Obstacle Course Racing (O.C.R.) according to the O.S.F. standards, rules and regulations. The relevant extra topics on technical obstacle skills, insurance needs, child protection, disability awareness, DBS checks, clean coaching, first aid have all been successfully covered to extreme length. Although I have been an O.C.R. Coach for some years now, it can give the people I coach and mentor in this field an extra reassurance and peace of mind.
To help grow and to enable to make O.C.R. a recognised sport, UKOSF needs help, mainly in the form of more members. Membership is £10 a year for an adult, £5 a year for a child, which will give you access to discounts to courses, events, various benefits and you can win prizes too. You will help shape O.C.R. in the UK and can become part of the UKOSF Members Facebook Group in which valuable hints and tips will be shared. For further information about it including vacancies and details on how to become an UKOSF member, please visit: https://ukosf.org/membership/
Plenty of events did go ahead despite event cancellations so well done to you all - keep up the great work!
Special mentions: Well done to James completing Nuclear Races, various other o.c.r. events and completing Rat Race Man v Coast. Well done to Monika Noades (pictured) for completing the Watford Joggers Autumn 10K recently.
For me personally, unfortunately my main event of the year, The O.C.R. World Championships held last September in Vermont (The United States), I couldn’t attend. All participants who had to rely on overseas flights couldn’t fly due to travel restrictions for the United States. Despite having qualified, this is the second World Championships I couldn’t compete in, as during 2020 it was cancelled all together. Unfortunately, my second best event of the year, The O.C.R. European Championships got cancelled as well both this and last year. Fingers crossed for 2022 as I qualified for both The World and The European Championships already. However, of course I did manage to take part in various trail events during autumn and also some o.c.r. events such as the Spartan Super and Commando Series (see my personal Instagram page rj_fitforanything) so I still feel I am fortunate and blessed to be able to take part and to compete within my age group at the highest level.
We have rounded up some of FFA's blogs on how to stay well this winter and get in great shape to smash your goals for 2022. Just click on the images at your leisure and find out how to:
Come out of hibernation
Top 10 tips to stay motivated this Winter
Get more from your Winter training regime
The best supplements for boosting immunity
As events open back up, why not get your diaries out and set one of these events as your next target?
Some fairy local events coming up during the next few months:
19/12/’22 Richmond Park X-Mas 5K, 10K, half marathon (London)
19/12/’22 Pednor 10 Run and (2x5 mile) Relay (Pednor)
08/01/’22 The Winter Fan Dance (Wales)
08/01/’22 Chilterns Winter 10K (Tring)
09/01/’22 Mac Tuff o.c.r. (Scotland)
16/01/’22 Bushy Park 5 & 10k (Bushy - Watford)
22/01/’22 Brutal Run (Eelmoor)
06/02/’22 Watford Half Marathon (Watford)
13/02/’22 UK Winter Run 10K (London)
20/03/’22 Richmond Half Marathon (London)
05/03/’22 The Winter Nuts Challenge (Dorking)
Legendborne Partnership
FFA has decided to stop being an ambassador for Legendborne from January 2022. This is mainly due to the simple fact that I simply don’t create as much time to post things to highlight the Legendborne products via my social media channels compared to other Legendborne ambassadors. This isn’t something I love doing with a passion and in my opinion there should always be a great purpose with meaningful valuable content within social media posts which is then interesting to read. I felt that this was naturally lacking due to many events having been cancelled during the past 20 months. I also feel I will be busy from January onwards and the opportunities within the O.C.R. coaching network and UKOSF are some avenues I may want to explore a bit more too.
I have enjoyed being part of Legendborne for the past 2 years and it’s time to simply pass on the ambassadors role to someone who is more keen and suited. I continue to wear their jerseys and our FFA Team gear is always going to be available to be purchasedIf you want to look and feel good during your next event. Please see also the FFA link.
Season’s greetings, wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a very healthy New Year from Fit For Anything! As ever, I look forward to continuing to work with you to keep you on track to achieve your goals in 2022.
You can be(come) Fit For Anything!
Roel