In The Field

The Benefits Of Being Outdoors

So why Get Out In - all exercise is good exercise, but why are we so focused on being outdoors whenever and however we can?Firstly, being outside naturally promotes exercise - it encourages movement and steps without really having to think about it - you’re just out in it.And being out in it means you’re getting sunlight and helping your body get vitamin D - which is excellent for the immune system, bones and blood cells. You don’t need much, 5-15 mins 2 or 3 times a week in the summer with a bit more in winter.This vitamin D is excellent for the immune system - but there is also evidence that shows there are plant substances, including organic compounds in the air, that tend to immune function. Sunlight also energies T cells in your immune system which help fight infection.It is also shown to help avoid nearsightedness - through exposure to (safe levels) of sunlight but also by working your eyes by letting your eyes move from nearby items to distant ones allowing the eyes to relax. Avoiding staring at a digital screen and letting your eyes do their natural thing.It can lessen anxiety - exercise is great for anxiety but even better outdoors. Sunlight tops up serotonin, helping keep you calm and positive. If you cannot get outside, make sure you have some green pants about whenever you’re training indoors - as these help too.It helps with sleep as your eyes need enough light to get your body’s internal clock working correctly. Sunlight in the morning in particular, is shown to assist with drifting off at night.Nature brings creativity by engaging your attention more calmly and letting your attention refocus. That’s why going out for some fresh air can help if you feel like you cannot make progress with a project or plan.In Japan, they have a term called forest bathing - which relates to spending time in a wooded or forested area to help with your mental health and relieve stress, anxiety and depression.So whatever your goals are - that first step has to be one out the door. Who knows where it might lead?Contact us below for help with personal coaching or to find out about our residential camps in the French Alpes.When you sign up for our newsletter, you get a free copy of our Personal Development Friend to get you going!

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The Benefits Of Exercise

Want to know the true secret to longevity, health, and happiness? It is cheap, easy to get started and immediately affects the mind and body.Exercise is the miracle cure we have all been searching for; it is the shortcut, the cheat code, and the thing that can have the most impact on our lives for the longest time.So here is an excellent list for you (taken from the UK’s NHS website) - exercise is scientifically and medically proven to lower the risk of:- coronary heart disease and stroke
- type 2 diabetes
- bowel cancer
- breast cancer in women
- early death
- osteoarthritis
- hip fracture
- falls (among older adults)
- depression
- dementiaThat is a hell of a list, and those are just the medical reasons to exercise. Add to that the social element and the fact exercise will get you out of the house trying new things and seeing new places.The beauty of exercise is that to experience some of these benefits; you don't need to do as much as the world of social media might make you think. Try to be active daily and rack up 150 minutes of exercise weekly. Walking briskly counts as exercise, so getting your steps in is a great start to get things moving; then, once you’re moving more than you were, maybe choose a slightly bigger goal and increase the volume of effort weekly.For an activity to be benefiting your health, you need to have a slightly elevated heart rate, be breathing faster and getting a bit warmer, whilst still being able to maintain a conversation.The evidence suggests that the more intense the exercise gets over time, the more health benefits you get - but work up to this with increased weekly effort and advice from fitness professionals.This is not a dress rehearsal, the sooner you start moving and reaping the benefits of increased activity the better you’ll feel. Go get out in it, there is no better time.Contact us below for help with personal coaching or to find out about our residential camps in the French Alpes.When you sign up for our newsletter, you get a free copy of our Personal Development Friend to get you going!

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Starting From Scratch

So you’ve decided you want to get active - excellent work, that is probably the most crucial decision you have ever made, and we are so happy to be here to help.The first thing you need to do is be as honest as possible about where you are and what your main goals are. Are you new to movement and exercise, or do you have a level of activity you can build on? Do you have any existing injuries or illnesses that bring their constraints or dictate a particular training method?Whatever your level is, that is the perfect place to start! Do not put unrealistic expectations on yourself, as you’ll do too much too soon, and when you cannot maintain the volume or end up injured or ill.Once you have established where you are, ask yourself where you want to be; are you looking to build up to walking 5km without getting out of breath? Or are you wanting to get out for your first run? Or do you want to increase running mileage without risking injury or illness?You know where you are and where you want to be - now you need to move more than you already do; ideally, spending time outside in nature being active. Even if it is as simple as walking before or after work or taking slightly longer walks a few more times a week than you already do. Look at your starting point as a baseline and gradually increase the amount you move weekly. Ramp things up slowly; give yourself time to adapt.Most importantly - look at your life and decide how much time you have to dedicate to exercise comfortably. If you start moving without the time to do what you want comfortably, you’ll add unnecessary stress to the process and will not sustain it.To begin with, exercise must fit into your schedule easily and with little friction. We must focus on making everything that would get in the way inconsequential and clear the path between you and your new lifestyle.So give yourself time and space and get moving - and get moving. Choose something you enjoy, and don't force yourself down a road you are fighting. Trust the process, and the endorphins will flow - you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll start to feel better.Contact us below for help with personal coaching or to find out about our residential camps in the French Alpes.When you sign up for our newsletter, you get a free copy of our Personal Development Friend to get you going!

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Maria - Where I Started

July 2021, James ‘The Ironman’ Bale comes to France for his first post-COVID visit…JB: Ooooh, it’s nice around here. Tomorrow we should go for a run.MH: Ugh. Running? I fucking hate running. But, you know, whatever. I know some nice forest trails…Three months later…MH: We’ve just run a 55km ultramarathon - and didn’t come last, whoop whoop!JB: Is there more beer?rewind sound effectLet’s just back up a minute. Yes, I went from running 0km - 55km in three months. Also yes, I went from hating running to straight-up loving running in three months. But there’s a little bit more to that story. And in case you’re wondering - also also yes, you can definitely reach that level of dedication to your health and fitness in three months too. If I can, anyone can.This is a true story.I never liked running. I liked being outdoors, but I never liked running through it. In fact, every time my outdoors was intruded upon by a runner, all I could think was, “Look at that smug bastard” and flipped them a mental middle finger until they passed me. A knee-jerk reaction for sure, but don’t ask me why I had it every single time, because I don't know the answer.I also had a fun list of reasons why running was bad for you:
- fucks your knees
- fucks your lower back
- walking is just as beneficial without all the high-impact that fucks your body
- nobody likes runners
- running is stupid
and it was a list I swore by to anyone and everyone who’d listen to it.Now. Outdoors was a whole other matter. I love being outdoors. I’m lucky enough to live in a part of France that’s hilly and covered in trees, and I’ve been hiking through these hills and trees for many, many years.As a non-driver, I’ve also spent those years cycling around these hills as I get on with my daily tasks. So, pre-COVID, I was pretty confident that I was probably more active than the average person thanks to my love of trees and inability to drive.Then COVID shut the planet down for months and all of that outdoors and activity was taken away from me, literally, overnight. Complete lockdown here in France lasted two months. During that time, we were only allowed out for one hour a day to get some exercise. It had quite an impact on my physical and mental well-being. I gained five kilos in weight during those two months, which really made the climbing-the-walls-from-sheer-boredom very difficult. It also made me uncomfortable living inside my own body. I’ve had a tricky relationship with my body ever since my pre-pubescent years anyway, and this weight gain nonsense really wasn’t helping me out.May 2020, and lockdown was finally over. A friend and sports teacher here in France set up a great initiative that summer to help people get over confinement - exercise classes outdoors in parks to promote physical and mental well-being. I started going once a week. The first class was brutal! I very nearly threw up. It was quite the wake-up call. But I kept going. Soon, one class a week wasn’t enough, so I went twice a week. Very soon that became three times a week. During that time I was adding more hikes to my weekly routines, and I was cycling again. The weight was coming off, slowly but surely, and I started to feel even better than I had pre-COVID. More than that, I began to realise that I actually enjoyed doing physical exercise for the sake of it and seeing how far I could push myself during my thrice-weekly sports in the park sessions.For over a year, that was good enough for me, until JB came to visit in July 2021 and suggested we go for a run. I went, a little bit grudgingly because why run when you can just hike? But I took him around a little 5km trail in the woods, and I was surprised by how much it didn’t really suck that much.The next day, we went out on a mammoth 36km hike around the Monts d’Or (mostly so I could show off my extraordinary knowledge of the trails in this region) and that’s when JB, in a throw-away comment, said “I reckon you’d be good at ultramarathons.”It was an intriguing notion - not least because I’d never heard the word before (although the ‘marathon’ part didn’t escape my notice, and everyone knows only complete lunatics run marathons). But also because, yesterday's 5km run notwithstanding, I had no intention of becoming a long distance runner.But after JB went back to the UK, I carried on running on my own around the trails near my house, and I was surprised to find that, in only a few weeks, I was running 10km… Then 15km. Not flat runs either; hilly runs. There’s barely any flat where I live. Without realising it, I’d suddenly become one of those smug bastards — and I loved it! (But probably not as much as my friends enjoyed saying, “But you’ve always hated running!”)
Soon enough, I discovered that trail running was a very popular sport around here and that, just next door to me in the Beaujolais, there was an annual ultramarathon event! I told JB I wanted to do it, and he agreed to coach me through a training schedule in order to get me to the start line.Not gonna lie, it was a gruelling task at times, and involved more than just running crazy long distances at weekend. There was threshold training, speed intervals, hills repeats, strength training (which I still grumble about doing to this day). But despite all of that, I was still doing two classes of sports in the park a week, and my weekly sessions of yoga that I’d started back in 2017. I didn’t have a lot of spare time left in my week, but I was fascinated by how much my body could endure, and was beginning to love my new-found strength and stamina. The sense of well-being and peace running gave me totally made up for the early mornings, rainy days and muscle soreness that training brings.And it got me over the finish line of my first ever ultramarathon just three months after my first ever run.
I’ve run a lot of races since then, and this year’s ultramarathon is an 80km beast, which I’m super excited about!So let your one take-away from this post be this: ordinary people really can achieve extraordinary levels of health and fitness.Now go and Get Out In It!*Coaches note: I have never been more proud of anyone than I am of Maria Herring. To go from a 5km run to an ultra in three months, and to do it well with proper training and conditioning, blew my mind. She continues to impress me every day through her work ethic and willingness to try new things. She is the distillation of what Get Out In It is about, and it is a privilege to have her in my life. Jb

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