Balance Fitness and Wellbeing

17/06/2026

"Why is fitness so confusing?"

"Do I really need to eat more protein?"

"Will fasting work for me?"

"Why can't I stay motivated?"

"Is 10,000 steps enough?"

In our many years of speaking to people about health and fitness, we've heard these questions — and many more — time and time again.

One thing is always clear: people are confused, overwhelmed by conflicting information, and that often leads them to freeze, lose confidence, or give up on their goals altogether. They simply don't know what to do.

That's why we decided to do something about it with the first programme on our app, coming very soon!

Not by giving black-and-white answers, but by providing a balanced view of the big questions, helping you understand what might be right for you, when it might help, and when it might not.

To support you best, we'd hugely appreciate your help:

What are you most confused by when it comes to fitness, nutrition, and wellbeing?

Post your question below 👇 or drop us a message. 📩

Not only will we add it to our content list for the new app programme, we'll also reply with a simple answer you can use straight away.

15/06/2026

Seventeen years ago today, I came second in a local race wearing this getup.

It’s one of the fastest races I’ve ever run. 🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️ And it was surprisingly comfortable

Definitely got some hilarious looks from marshals and onlookers!! 🤣

14/06/2026

A few additional notes and pics from yesterday’s 12-miles.

🚂 The Radstock to Frome line (NCN 24) was looking fabulous as ever!! The wild flowers were out in force and the shade from the trees kept it nice and cool most of the way.

The new section is beautifully surfaced too. Thanks to everyone at Sustrans NCN for a brilliant job well done and for making being active such a pleasure!! ❤️🚴‍♀️🏃🏻‍♂️🚶🏾‍♀️

💬 One of the best bits of being active outdoors is always the people you speak to.

Yesterday – about 4 miles in – I stopped to chat to a guy sat on one of the benches. He had with him a parcel trolley with off-road wheels and stacked high with bags. (30kg worth, as it turned out!)

I was curious what he was up to and he told me his tale. He’d set out from Penzance and pushed the trolley through Cornwall, over Dartmoor, and through the south-west. His mission? To get to Stonehenge for the summer solstice on the 21st. ☀️

That is my kind of bonkers!! I doubt he’ll see this, but wishing him the very best of luck for his adventure. I tried to help in some small way by showing him the best way into Frome on the OS map.

🧊 🍫 🍕 🥒 😴 Lastly, recovery. I shared some tips on my ice bath strategy in yesterday’s post, but there’s much more you can do to recover well from hard exercise.

• Refuel and rehydrate. The science on this is mixed in terms of timings, but I find getting something down me straight after makes a big difference. Some salty crisps, a few Jaffa cakes, and a protein shake did the trick.

• Keep going. Immediate refuelling is great, but quality meals ongoing makes the biggest difference. Pizza for energy and and plenty of salad for often neglected nutrients worked wonders, plus some fresh orange juice, yoghurt, strawberries, and dark chocolate for afters.

It’s easy to just pile in calories after big workouts, but fruit/veg/salad give you all the nutrition you need to help your immune system (which can be suppressed after hard activity) and to help aching muscles recover.

Then, of course, came the ice bath, followed by the compression gear, and a good sleep.😴 One of the most underrated recovery strategies of all.

It’s a long road until my marathon in October, but I’m going to focus on all those tiny habits that give me the best chance of performing how I want. Let’s see what the adventure brings! 🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️

13/06/2026

Getting serious or chilling?

This was a Saturday with a bit of both.

Marathon training getting serious with 12 miles and a 3-mile tempo in the middle. Felt good after having a nasty cough all week.

Then some chilling and serious recovery afterwards! 🥶

First up, an ice bath. 🧊 🛀

Did you know:

• You don’t need freezing water or a bath full of ice cubes. Cold tap water around 10-15 degrees is ideal.

• 10 minutes or even less does the job. (Some studies suggest as little as two minutes is effective.) 🎶

Here’s my strategy:

1. Jumper on! I’m only doing my legs.🦵

2. Cup of tea on hand. Mint tonight. ☕️

3. Pick three banging tunes as a playlist to get you through the 10 minutes. 🎶 Mine tonight?

🎵Old Before I Die - Robbie Williams
🎵Do Your Thing - Basement Jaxx
🎵Movin’ On Up - Primal Scream

Then straight into a warm shower and Wake up Boo by the Boo Radleys as a revitaliser.

What tunes would you pick to help you brave the chill?

13/06/2026

Am I the only person who gets a bit spooked by the word, recipe?

I’ll tell you why. I hear it and it makes me think that the cooking process is going to be lengthy and complex.

I’ve always been simple, but maybe it unnerves me more than it once did because time is so limited these days.

I’ve said before that I miss cooking. I don’t get much chance to do it as I finish work a little too late to make the logistics work. We need to eat before the kids go to bed so the timings don’t sync.

Lou’s taken the squidgets to see her dad this weekend though, so I was flying solo in the kitchen. I used to love making very (VERY) simple things and just throwing in a random mix of ingredients, so that’s what I went with.

Smoked salmon, red and yellow pepper, tomato and mushroom omelette. Add a bit of black pepper and ta-da! 🤗

I won’t be winning MasterChef any time soon, but I sometimes wonder if that’s where we go wrong. Natural, simple, tasty. That’s definitely how I find my balance with food most of the time.

Recipes can be saved for special occasions when I have a few hours to cook a meal.🥘

Happy weekend everyone! I hope it’s a balanced one for you,

Paul x

12/06/2026

This week, I have been mostly seeing…

Sticky geraniums. 🌸

12/06/2026

Is summertime a help or a hindrance for your wellbeing?

That's the question we're exploring in today's newsletter, heading out shortly.

We'll be sharing a few simple reflections to help you make the most of summer while finding a little more balance.

If you'd like to receive it, you can sign up here:

http://eepurl.com/g3vn1D

11/06/2026

My Facebook memories recently have been full of either excitement at the build-up to or start of major football tournaments, or reminders of amazing adventures.

This lovely bunch came on the Balance Coast to Coast bike ride from the west side of the Lake District to Scarborough over a weekend.

Early on they had to face the twin climbs of the Hardknott and Wrynose Passes - 30 and 25% beasts respectively! There were plenty of other lumps and bumps along the way too as we rode the Lakes, Yorkshire Dales, and North York Moors.

Such a fab weekend and such a beautiful bunch of people. Great memories! 🚵🏾‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️🚵‍♀️❤️

11/06/2026

I said yesterday I wanted to get more mushrooms back into my diet.

And here are some of the many reasons why you might consider it too.

They’re magic! Even the ones that don’t leave you seeing flying pigs and pixies! 🤣🍄‍🟫🍄

Magic or myth? Can turkey tail mushrooms boost your immune system? Can lions mane improve your memory? And are regular mushrooms beneficial to health? We look at the science…

10/06/2026

Is there a healthy food you stopped eating simply because you got out of the habit?

Mine is mushrooms.🍄‍🟫

Lou doesn’t like them so they just fell off the menu. It’s easier to buy things that everyone likes. But sometimes that limits your variety and the nutrients you’re getting as a result.

Thanks to Lennie, they’re back on the menu. He’s got a fab Belly Bugs book and poster that encourages him to try different foods to keep the bugs in his tummy varied and healthy. Mushrooms is next on his list! ✅

And that means they were also back on my plate today with scrambled eggs and tomatoes on toast. Yum! 😋

Food choices can be complex. They’re about time, budget, other people’s preferences, culture, and more.

Is there one food you’d like to get back on your weekly menu?

📕📗📘📙📕📗📘📙📕📗📘📙📕📗📘

P.S. here’s that fab Belly Bugs book for anyone who’d like their kids to eat more healthily:

https://amzn.to/43rN3oR