Trio walking alongside the outdoor courtsCategoriesEvents

Walk your way into May | National Walking Month

Walk your way into May | National Walking Month

May marks National Walking Month, centred around promoting the benefits of walking on your physical and mental wellbeing.

What are the physical benefits of walking?

 

From a physical health perspective, walking is a fantastic form of exercise that can increase cardiovascular fitness. When done regularly, it strengthens bones, boosts endurance and improves your heart health. Whether you prefer a slow stroll with a friend in the park, or a faster paced walk whilst listening to your favourite hype songs – all forms of walking are beneficial.

Sport & Fitness centre

How can walking improve mental wellbeing?

 

Walks can help increase mental alertness and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. They are a great way to clear your head, re-align your focus and self-reflect. Fancy some company? Taking a stroll with friends, family and loved ones provides the perfect opportunity to have a conversation and share thoughts at the same time as keeping active – it’s a win win!

Walking opportunities at the University

 

Active club

 

As part of our Active Club Programme, we host Walking Sport sessions which are exactly as the name suggests – playing your favourite sports, but at a slower pace by walking. These sessions are open to all, and offer a gentler form of exercise tailored to all fitness levels. With Table Tennis, Basketball, Football and Netball taking place every week, get involved and meet likeminded people.

Active Club Timetable
Outdoor courts with blossom tree
Outdoor courts with blossom tree

Explore the campus

 

With a beautiful campus to explore right at your fingertips (or toe-tips in this case), take a scenic walk around our facilities and the wider campus. We may be biased, but the path alongside our outdoor sports courts offers a fantastic view of both sports action and the blooming blossom trees.

 

The Campus Mile is a guided route around campus, that takes 30 minutes on average to complete at a leisurely pace – we recommend you check the weather forecast beforehand!

The Campus Mile
Behind view of girl on cross-trainer

Discover our gym facilities

 

Should the sunny spring weather not hold up, there’s always the option to get your steps in indoors!

 

With our recent Technogym refurbishment, we have a range of recently installed, world-class cardiovascular equipment for you to track your steps, speed, endurance and more!

Sport & Fitness gym
Stack of 4 pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, and topped with blueberries and bananas on a red plate.CategoriesNutrition

Tasty Protein Pancakes with a Sprinkle of Nutrition

Tasty Protein Pancakes With a Sprinkle of Nutrition

Pancake day, also known as ‘Shrove Tuesday’, is a day when many of us indulge in a stack (or three) of tasty fried batter, with a generous drizzle of your favourite toppings.

 

It’s a given that pancake day isn’t usually a day focused around nutrition, however for some, you want may plan your toppings and ingredients around your personal fitness and intake goals. Here is a recipe recommended by our Lead Sport Performance Nutritionist!

Ingredients 

 

  • 200-250ml dairy or non-dairy milk
  • 50g oats
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • 1 banana
  • 1 scoop protein powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Toppings of choice
Egg and flour in a mixing bowl with egg shells surrounding bowl

 

How to make your protein pancakes

 

Step 1:

Blend the oats, protein powder and baking powder together in a blender

Step 2 :

Add the milk and half the banana and blend the 5 ingredients together

Step 3:

Heat a small amount of oil/oil spray in a pan and pour the mixture to the desired size

Step 4:

Check when the pancake is ready to flip by lifting the edges with a spatula to see where the pancake is stuck

Step 5:

One cooked through, flip the pancake and overcook it on the other side

Step 6:

Alternate the cooking between the sides until golden brown

Step 7:

Repeat temps 3-6 until all the mixture has been used

Toppings

Banana pancakes with caramel sauce
Nut butter in a jar
Pancakes drizzled in syrup and covered with strawberries and blueberries

This is where the fun really starts…choosing your pancake toppings! Toppings are both a great way to add extra flavours and textures to your pancakes, but also to incorporate more nutrient-rich foods into each bite. Depending on which nutrients you want to focus on, here are some tasty toppings to inspire your tastebuds and help you achieve your goals (especially if you develop the pancake bug and start craving them daily)!

Carbohydrates

 
Banana slices, jam or honey can provide some additional carbohydrates to help you fuel for, or refuel after a workout or run.
 

Fats

 
Nut butters are a great source of healthy fats and energy if you are looking to gain mass or increase your energy intake.
 

General health/weight loss

 

Generally, fresh or frozen berries help support overall health and are a good to include in all diets. They can also enhance weight loss efforts as they are fibre and nutrient rich to keep you satisfied and help meet daily micronutrient needs.

Enjoy your pancakes!

 

The key to pancake day is to fully enjoy them. If that means a healthy serving of Nutella, go for it! If you have a strict routine to support your sport performance, you can still enjoy the more indulgent toppings in moderation.

Pancakes drizzled in chocolate sauce and topped with strawberries
sunlight peaking through a plantCategoriesNutrition

How to boost your Vitamin D levels

How to boost your vitamin D levels

Meet Rachel, our Lead Performance Nutritionist who supports our scholars and performance teams to ensure their diets are optimised for training and overall wellbeing.

 

Rachel got into Sports Nutrition after completing her undergraduate degree in Human Nutrition. She went on to complete a Master’s degree in Sports Nutrition having played competitive sports for most of her life and is currently completing her PhD in Energy Availability!

 

In this blog, Rachel provides her top tips on how to boost your vitamin D levels through food and supplements.

 

Why do we need vitamin D?

 

Vitamin D is essential for bone health, muscle recovery and immunity and therefore for athletes to feel and perform optimally. Our primary source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight. However, during the winter months in the UK, sunlight is not strong enough for us to meet vitamin D requirements. This leaves individuals at risk of deficiency and comprised muscle recovery, bone health and immunity.

Sources of vitamin D

 

Vitamin D can be found in small amounts in foods such as oily fish and eggs, however, the amounts are typically too small  to meet demands. Therefore, it is recommended that most individuals in the UK supplement vitamin D during the winter months (between October and March).

Individuals, particularly those with health conditions, should check with their doctor or healthcare professional prior to supplementing. You can check out the NHS page here for more advice and information.

Egg yolks in a bowl

Considerations for Athletes

 

If you are an athlete that is supplementing, you need to be aware of Clean Sport and checking your supplements. You can be tested at any time, and if found to have anything in your system that goes against the World Anti-Doping Code (2021), it could potentially cost you your whole career! Find out more about how you can check your supplements here, and don’t take any risks. 

Find out more about our sport nutrition services and how we help our athletes build the best nutrition plans to help them perform.