Monthly Archives: July 2010

Squaddies in charity marathon bid

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Ten soldiers serving with the 39 Engineer Regiment in Cambridge are getting ready to take on 10 marathons in five days as part of the St Dunstan’s Forces Challenge.

The attempt, which begins on November 1, will test squaddies’ limits of endurance as they tab (quick march) through day and night in winter weather carrying backpacks weighing 39lbs.

Money raised by the team will go to the St Dunstan’s charity which provides lifelong support to blind service and ex-service personnel.

The challenge is the brainchild of Staff Sergeant Jim Offord, who has set himself an additional target of completing a series of treadmill marathons as he trains for the event.

SSgt Jim Offord said: “A march of this magnitude has never been attempted by the Regiment before and I’ve picked a strong team as they need to be physically and mentally fit to complete two marathons. Especially wearing the 39lb Bergen’s and doing a marathon through the night. The squaddies vary in age and experience, but they have already come together as a team.

“We will cover a distance of 266 miles in total, which means we will complete a marathon every six hours, followed by six hours recovery. We will tab, which is short for Tactical Advance to Battle, at a rate of 4.5 to five miles per hour, which exceeds the standard Army fitness levels, which is to complete eight miles in two hours.”

Man to run 30 marathons in 35 days

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Arday.JPGA 24-year-old school teacher is attempting to run the equivalent of 30 marathons in 35 days to raise money for charity.

Jason Arday, who lives in Clapham, began his challenge on Monday and has finished two marathons already. He plans to run the route of the London Marathon for 15 consecutive days and then do 15 days of running between Piccadilly and Teddington.

Once finished, he will have covered the distance between London and Madrid, 786 miles.

Mr Arday said: “I’ve been training for a few months now and I feel confident but I’m under no illusion, it’s going to be tough. The support I am getting along the way is fantastic already and many people are going to complete part of the task with me.”

The money he raises will go to homeless charity Shelter and children’s hospice Shooting Star.

Mr Arday has collected £100,000 for charity since the age of 17. He said when he was a teenager he became aware of the brutality of homelessness.

“My mum took me to a homeless shelter when I was 17 and I was surprised to see people my age struggling for something as fundamental as a roof over their head, something I took for granted.

“I felt I needed to do something to help people in this situation by supporting Shelter’s work with homeless and badly housed families.”

Myleene Klass fronts fitness drive

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SHOWBIZ Klass 110801Giving a classy touch to exercise, Myleene Klass is fronting a new fitness regime in an effort to help Britons stay in shape.

The 32-year-old TV presenter will flaunt her toned body, showing how people can get the most out of life, under the fitness campaign launched by Birds Eye – called 100% Challenge.

The model has come up with a “pre-tea active challenge”, comprising a number simple exercises for families to do together before their evening meal. These include “100% Hula”, “100% Dance”, “100% Skipping” and “100% Ball Games”.

A total of 100 families are taking part in the challenge. They will be assisted by a panel of experts in three areas.

Myleene will share her knowledge of an active lifestyle, while healthy eating tips will come from Amanda Ursell and Tanya Byron will assist with family life.

The singer, who first found fame in the band Hear’Say almost a decade ago, said: “My Birds Eye Pre-Tea Active Challenge gets the family together before teatime for a few minutes of simple and fun exercise. I love to hula. So pick up your hoop, shake those hips and start hula’ing for 10 minutes every day like me.”

Sports line from Bollywood star

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Bollywood actress Bipasha Basua has launched a new range of fitness clothing with Reebok.

4666406The range called BBloveyourself follows a fitness DVD the former model released with the same title.

On Twitter she said: “I have launched my own line of fitness clothing called BBloveyourself with Reebok! Fun range, available at all outlets.”

For her fitness DVD Love Yourself Bipasha teamed up with fitness expert Deanne Pandey.

The DVD has different levels from beginners to advanced.

Bipasha said: “Fitness and health are becoming really big in India. Everybody wants to be fit. I’m glad I came out with my health video at this time.”

Death Valley legend sets new record

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Death Valley proved no obstacle for a 75-year-old British grandfather who has beaten his own record as the oldest person to complete arguably the world’s hottest endurance marathon.

8821645Jack Denness joined 90 runners from 14 countries on the inhospitable Badwater Ultramarathon in California. It was the 12th time he has finished the race.

The school caretaker from Rochester in Kent, completed the 135-mile run in 59 hours, 13 minutes and two seconds.

Regarded by some as the world’s toughest foot race, the marathon pits runners, triathletes, adventure racers and mountaineers against one another in temperatures of up to 55C (130F).

Described as a “Death Valley legend”, Mr Denness was already the oldest person to have finished the event after completing it 11 times before and has been inducted into the Badwater Hall of Fame.

He said: “It’s like a family out here in Death Valley. We look out for each other.

“It’s not about winning or losing but about helping people reach the finish line.”

In readiness for the challenge, Mr Denness went on regular long runs with his dog, Max, near the home he shares with his wife Mags.

He claims not to follow any special diet but insists on taking regular supplies of cod liver oil tablets to help keep his joints pain-free.

He only took up running in his 40s after being inspired from his armchair by the runners he witnessed in the first televised London Marathon.

Man to attempt car push record

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A father of two is hoping to raise £50,000 and set a world record by pushing a car the length of a marathon course.

HEALTH Car 1Adrian Kane will be undertaking the challenge to raise money for a cancer research charity after his mother Eileen died from the disease earlier this year.

Mr Kane, 35, has been doing 1,500 squats in his fitness sessions in preparation for the marathon-sized course.

On July 31 the tax adviser from Woking is planning to push a Smart car 26.2 miles in 24 hours.

He will be supported by wife Nikki, 36, and children Darcy, two, and Harriet, nine months.

Mr Kane will give money raised to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the Stroke Association.

Mr Kane has always been fit and enjoys football, rugby and cricket.

“I’ve run a couple of marathons so I knew with some training that I could do it,” he said.

“I also had surgery on my knee last year to replace my anterior cruciate ligament, so this was another way to get back into shape.

“Training is incredibly hard, especially fitting in around a career and a young family. I’ve been doing a lot of squats, about 1,500 a session, and a fair amount of running.”

The current world record for how far a car has been pushed in one day is set at 17.06 miles

New heart rate formula for women

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A new formula for calculating peak heart rates in women has been devised by US scientists.

8118024Researchers at Northwestern Medicine, where the technique was developed, said the method was more accurate than than the current formula, which works largely on the mistaken belief that the peak female heart rate can be calculated in an identical fashion to its male equivalent.

Study leader Martha Gulati said: “Now we know for the first time what is normal for women, and it’s a lower peak heart rate than for men.

“Women are not small men. There is a gender difference in exercise capacity a woman can achieve. Different physiologic responses can occur.”

The new technique – 206 minus 88% of age – gives a 50-year-old woman an upper rate of 162 beats per minute, whereas the older method – 220 minus age – would have resulted in a 170 bpm figure.

The study was published in the journal Circulation.

Pregnant Radcliffe completes 10K

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Seven months pregnant athlete Paula Radcliffe has completed a 10km race for charity.

The 2002 BBC Sports Personality of the Year ran the Leeds 10K for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal – which raises funds for children’s and cancer charities – in 45 minutes and 35 seconds.

Radcliffe, who holds the world record for the distance at 30 minutes and 21 seconds, crossed the finishing line with her daughter Isla Lough, who joined her in the final 100m of the course.

The 36-year-old said: “It was a fantastic occasion and I had a lot of fun. It’s a tough course and we have to say thank you to all of the people who turned out today.

“I run every day and it felt good today. I was not concerned about running a time, it was about enjoying the day. There were people cheering all the way round, the atmosphere was great.”

The fundraiser was set up by Jane Tomlinson before her death from cancer in 2007.

Radcliffe said: “Jane Tomlinson was such an inspirational person, she never let anything get her down, and this race is really in her image. It is about something so serious but it deals with it in such a positive way, with a lot of joy for a lot of people.

“I’ve not done this event before but I have known Jane since 2002 and she was a great person.”

First Lady highlights fitness goals

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Michelle Obama has highlighted the importance of eating healthily and keeping fit during the launch of her recast President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.

7084943The First Lady struck a series of fitness poses while exercising with students in Washington DC on Wednesday.

The Council will now also focus on teaching people to eat more healthily as it is estimated that one in three Americans are now overweight or obese.

Mrs Obama said: “We’re spending billions of dollars on treating obesity-related conditions and we can’t afford to keep going down this road.”

She said Congress needed to set stricter nutrition and exercise requirements for public school students.

“I urge Congress to provide the resources we’re going to need to support these important programs,” Obama said. “This is an important time.”

Yoga was only one of the fitness stations that was set up at the event, which was staged inside the Bell Multicultural High School gym in Columbia Heights in northwest Washington.

Obama also jump-roped, juggled with scarves and helped assemble trail mix snacks with the students, along with star athletes including gymnast Dominique Dawes, figure skater Michelle Kwan and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards – all council members.

“It’s not just about calorie-counting,” Obama said. She stressed the importance of striking a balance between exercise and nutrition.

“Our goal is to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in a generation,” she said.

Find Out How The Worlds No.1 Footballers Keep Up Their High Fitness Levels

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Yep, it’s that time again. The entire world is memorized by the World Cup and has a bad case of football fever. Teams from all over the globe are battling it out for that coveted trophy, and playing their hearts out night after night. But, how do they do it? Most footballers are super fit and have very enviable bodies, but just how do most footballers stay in shape enough to play for a whole 90 minutes. Read on to find out how you to could have a footballers body…

Running up and down the pitch for 90 minutes would take it’s toll on most folks, but not footballers. These days, the wild nights of drinking and bad diets are a thing of the past, and most of the worlds top players are super fit. But, how do they do it?

Many players end up running more than 13 kilometres in a single match. So, as your would have guessed it running plays a big part in the training of a footballer. To get your fitness levels up to scratch it’s time to slip on your Ronhill gym wear and head out for a long run. Start slowly with a shorter distance, and build yourself up to faster and longer runs. Don’t worry you won’t have to run marathon miles, instead aim for between 3 – 6 miles. This will give you a great workout, and it will make running back and forth on the pitch a lot easier.

Included in the running is also sprint training. When a striker gets the ball it’s sprint time, so players have to ensure that they’re fast enough to get away from other defenders, or chase offensive players when they’re defending. So, speed is essential, and the only way to get faster is to train. Again, pop your Ronhill gym wear back on and get sprinting. 

On top of running, most players will spend plenty of time in the gym. When the players swap shirts at the end the matches, you’ll notice that many are ripped, toned and have six packs. And, getting a body like that takes time and dedication. This includes a wide variety of weight based exercises to help build muscle. Most footballers will use a large variety of fitness equipment whilst training to help work on the individual muscle groups. If you too want to get in shape like a footballer, it’s time to pop on your gym wear and get down to your local gym. Circuit training usually plays a big part in a footballers routine, which include plenty of leg exercises such as leg squats, squat thrusts and the use of fitness equipment to strengthen and tone the legs.