If 2012 was the year of improving my work situation then 2013 is going to be the year of getting myself fitter again.  The last 12 months have been a bit uppy and downy but definitely ended on a high having been in paid employment for 9 months of the year, been living in a lovely new town for 11 months and just generally feeling quite happy with life.

Now that things are settling down a bit I decided it was time to start putting my health a bit further forward in my priority list.  I’ve been snowboarding pretty much once a week for most of the year but that’s really been it on the fitness front.  We’ve booked up for 2 weeks on the mountain in March, and this trip to Tignes will be our first holiday since the Brits 2010, so I want to make the most of it and be fit enough to ride for most of the day if I can.  I’m also studying a module with the Open University at the moment called Sport & Exercise Psychology: A Case Study Approach and so it makes sense to actually use that to help me improve my fitness as well as my knowledge of the psychology of it all.

To kick things off I have joined the local gym and will be going there, as a minimum, every Saturday & Sunday.  I don’t want to pressurise myself to try and fit the gym in around work as I think I’m more likely to just drop out (50% of people starting to exercise drop out before the 6 month point), so weekends will be my gym time and then if I feel like doing more then it can be seen as a bonus.  As I am working from home today I made this morning my first session there and managed to do 30 minutes on the treadmill using my OK Go! Treadmill workout mix.  I wanted to give up at the 20 minute mark but pushed through and made it to the end! Go me!

As ever, I shall be using gadgets and social sites to keep me engaged and motivated, so while I will post some news about my training on here I have also started up a Tumblr blog, Getting IAmKat Fit,  to pull together the points, posts, scores and session logs from the sites I am using to log anything that I do fitnessy-wise.  If you happen to be on a fitness mission then you can find me in the following places (should you wish to be a virtual fitness buddy).

FitBit

Endomondo

MyFitnessPal

DailyMile

Fitocracy

Earndit

So there we have it, my “resolution” for 2013, be healthier and get fitter!

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I’m currently studying a module at the Open University, E233: Sport & Exercise Psychology (a case study approach) and as part of the unit I was studying yesterday I read an interesting paper on the dropout rate of adolescent athletes from sport (Fraser-Thomas, J., Cote, J., & Deakin, J. (2008). Examining Adolescent Sport Dropout and Prolonged Engagement from a Developmental Perspective. Journal Of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(3), 318-333.).

The summary of the paper given in my OU Study Guide, “In summary, the chances of dropout from youth sporting programmes can be increased by specialising at too young an age and by unrealistically high expectations on the part of parents” , served as a useful conversation starter on Facebook, and the thread has received some interesting “likes” and comments from parents I know. I always find it quite interesting to observe the interaction of others in social forums and it’s especially interesting when you broach the subject of pushy parentage. Very few people will admit in public that they are pushy, and in fact I think it’s one of the hardest (nay impossible) issues to raise with someone.  Admittedly not having children myself it would be easy to say that I am unable to understand the nuances of parenting and whether a comment or behaviour is actually pushiness or just that of a loving and supportive parent. I disagree though, some behaviour is so obviously pushy that a blind monkey could spot it. Of course pushy parents are not blind monkeys and hence they remain oblivious to the distress they cause their child, and the concern they raise in observers.

While Googling to see if I could find a linkable copy of the paper I read to share with you all (I couldn’t find one but feel free to shout if you’re really interested and I’ll let you read my copy), I came across another interesting post on this subject. Tips for Being a Winning Sports Parent on the Sports Podium Journal website not only has some good examples of parental behaviour and the effects this can have on the child, but gives 10 tips to help parents raise happy, healthy athletes. Well worth a read whether you are a parent, or are just interested in observing them (perhaps in a virtual parent zoo).

Back to the non-blind monkeys though…..has anyone got any good tips on how to gently highlight to a parent that they are killing their child’s love of the sport? Again as a non-parent it seems that you don’t have the right to comment on someone’s parenting skills, but that doesn’t prevent you spotting pushy parenting and wanting to somehow give them a gentle heads-up that maybe they might want to take a different tack when “encouraging” their golden goose.
Feel free to post your thoughts and ideas in the comments below, or join the conversation on Facebook.

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One of 3 squirrels that are currently visiting our garden….I think he’ll be OK with hibernation and he’s definitely on the chubby side!

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Josh Ogden – ad for Boarders Boards

Becky Menday – ad for Boarders Boards

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After an early start of 5:30am on Saturday 22nd, we arrived in Castleford in plenty of time to grab a quick breakfast from McDonald’s before heading in to register for the Wham Bam Thank You Jam (AKA the British Indoor Snowboard Championships). The new format seemed to be eagerly anticipated by the riders & there were about 70 snowboarders taking part over the course of the day.

After registering I bumped into fellow SNO!zone team mates Jade Walsh & her dad and we headed out to the slope for Jade’s age category comp…..this year all the under 16s had the chance to fight it out amongst their own age groups with 2 judged runs, before joining the rest of us in the jam session. Jade rode really well and was stoked to find out at the end of the day that she had placed 3rd!

The main jam session kicked off at 10:30 and we all shredded the 4 zone course for 90 minutes, they then made the first cut. As there were less of us all the girls made it through to the first zone session, only 22 guys made the cut though. I was especially pleased that 9 year old SNO!zoner Will Gilmore made it through though as he’d been riding well above his age level!

We then had half an hour sessioning the top of the slope, typically this was my least favourite section and not having the guts to hit the gnarly side on rails I resorted to working through my trick list on the pyramid box. Not the easiest of boxes to really get styled out on as it has quite short sections but I was pleased to get some nice switch tricks laid down including a switch-frontside over it. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get me through to zone 2, but at least I know what I need to work on for future comps. If I can keep progressing on the side hits then I may stand a chance of holding my own against the youngsters.

The cuts kept coming with 50% of the riders being culled at each stage until only 4 remained in both the men’s and women’s category. In the end the style & experience of Becky Menday & Andy Nudds won out and they were crowned champions.

It was a really fun day and I think it proved to be a winning format, the youngsters not only had the chance to face the pressure of 2 runs and beat their peers but everyone got to session a really good course in the jam section for at least 90 minutes (much longer if you we’re good enough to make the cuts). It was definitely the most riding I have done at any British Champs since my first one 9 years ago….in fact a couple of the youngsters were moaning about being tired they had ridden so much (of course this tiredness didn’t stop them beating me!).

So now it’s back to practicing, let’s see if I can build on my current skills and beat a couple of the kids in Tignes.

Photos by Jools Smith

Results

Massive thanks has to go to VitaCoco UK who sponsored me with a months’ worth of coconut water….it really did help keep me hydrated throughout the comp and kept any major girly-leg moments at bay!

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