The countdown is on!

Welcome to March’s bumper Valesco newsletter, you would think with the physical gym closed we would be short of things to talk about but oh no, we have another great edition for you.

Talking of re-opening we literally can’t wait and are doing everything we can to welcome you all back home on Monday 12th April. We have a few special surprises planned for re-opening and really want to thank you for your love, support, engagement and encouragement for what feels like the longest lockdown yet. More details to be released soon so keep your eyes peeled on the usual Social Media channels.

We also want to take this opportunity to welcome two more babies to the Valesco Family. Massive congratulations to Lis and Justin Luton welcoming baby Juno Rae into the world who arrived 4 days early on 16th March at 6.44am and Coach Jenna and husband Alex Topham welcoming baby Thea Ann into the world on Friday 19th March at 10.14am. Massive congratulations to all our new parents and we really hope the new additions are settling in well and we can’t wait to meet them all for cuddles very soon.

It goes without saying, that if there is anything we could be helping you with please reach out to us on any of the usual channels, we always love to hear from you no matter what the reason.

Big Team Valesco love and positive spring, more babies, longer days, warmer weather, opening soon vibes.

RUN ROTHERS RUN!

Ella Rothwell is fundraising for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) (picture attached)

Ella’s story

I have decided (naively perhaps) to run from Soho, London to The Suspension Bridge, Bristol in August 2021. It’s 150 miles meaning I’ll be covering almost a marathon a day for 6 days!

As some of you will already know, last year I lost my gorgeous, funny, life and soul of everyone’s party, little Brother Freddie. Since he died I have wanted to do something epic, something challenging and something Freddie would have been stupidly proud of. So, here I am, running from the place I spent the most time with Freddie over the last couple of years to the place we grew up. I’ll be running to raise money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) who have been doing an amazing job in the fight to prevent suicide especially in young people and men. They provide a support service for people who feel vulnerable and are struggling with their mental health, they also provide support for families who have survived and are surviving bereavement through Suicide. What they are doing is fantastic and I would love to try and raise £5000 to support their mission.

I would LOOOOVE for as many fellow mad people to join me along the way, whether it’s for 5km, 10km, half marathon or full day, whatever! I’m thinking Forest Gump style. I’ll end up at Clifton Suspension Bridge overlooking Fred’s rock and will hopefully have a big old celebration, probably with some hideous blisters. My training officially started in January and I’ll be keeping you all updated with some videos, pictures and general run updates across Social Media and on Youtube.

@runrotherstun

The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/suspensionbridgetosoho to donate anything you can and support our lovely and wonderful Ella xx

GOOD ON YOU, TRISTAN!

We wanted to give a massive shout out this month to Tristan Woolcock. For his birthday this year he decided to set himself a challenge, to do the hero WOD Murph RX which he did outside Valesco using the Pull Up bars and the 800m loop – 4 times.

Tristain also set himself a pretty impressive weight loss goal going from 117kg on Boxing Day to 103kg for his Birthday on the 7th March, which in itself is a fantastic achievement.

Massive shout out to this guy for making commitments and working hard to fulfill them! Well done Tris x

FRIENDS OF VALESCO!

Do you run or are involved with a local Business and would like to join our partners on the new members area of the Valesco Website? We would love to advertise your services and if you are happy to offer Valesco members a discount that would be awesome.

If you think you might be interested then please drop us a message at hi@valesco.fitness.

THE LATEST PODCAST

Since our last comms we have published 2 more podcasts and they are ones that could benefit us all – each and every one of us without exception!

Viki is here to help us understand a little more about what stress really is and what is going on physically to cause us ‘stress’ – both the seen and unseen!

Is our CNS manageable? What is HRV? Is pre-workout OTT? WTF? Feel like you need some answers? You’re in the right place. This was a really fun and insightful conversation about the little things that contribute to our overall health and, when put under the spotlight, can help to define a truly healthy lifestyle.

Click here to listen

Stew is back for more this week and is here talking about a pretty big topic this time around – Mental Health.

There are so many things that can help move the state of Mental Health and it’s place in society forward and up there with the best of them? Talking about it! So that’s what we are here to do. Is it getting better? What has been the catalyst for change? Why is it ok not to be ok and why do men seem to struggle more than women? We discuss and share our thoughts across the board. Disclaimer on this one – none of us have any qualifications whatsoever to offer actual advice and we would always recommend seeking the help of a professional if you think you need it so everything we share are our own thoughts and feelings.

We want to extend a huge thank you to Stew for being so open and vulnerable and encourage everyone to ask themselves what more they can be doing, in all the relationships and functions they exist, to help the people around them feel comfortable sharing and talking about the things we often don’t want to.

It goes without saying, if anyone ever wants to talk, we recommend getting the right help from the right people but we are always here to listen.

Click here to listen

KIT RETURN AND THE EASTER WEEKEND HOURS

KIT RETURN DATE:

Anyone who has borrowed kit, you need to put this date in your diary!

Thursday 8th April! You can return your kit in one of these 2 time slots: 08:00 – 09:00 OR 16:30-18:00. You need to make arrangements to ensure your kit is returned at the specified times on the specified date.

EASTER WEEKEND HOURS:

We will still be in lockdown over the Easter weekend albeit right at the very end (hopefully). The Zoom timetable will be slightly different for the 4 days of the BH weekend.

Friday 02/04/2021: 7am and 12pm (12pm will be recorded for anyone wanting to follow along in their own time) but no 6pm

Saturday 03/04/2021: 9am as usual

Sunday 04/04/2021: no classes – the recording of previous classes will be available but we suggest you take the day off, get out in the sunshine, see your friends & family and eat chocolate!

Monday 05/04/2021: 7am and 12pm (12pm will be recorded for anyone wanting to follow along in their own time) but no 6pm

I HAVE A NEW BABY SISTER!

I had a lovely two weeks away with Ellie to return home to a wriggly little human that seems to whine more than I do.

At first I wasn’t sure what my humans had brought home. A small little human that is definitely not a puppy. She seems to cry, eat, sleep and repeat.

I have already decided that she will be part of my pack and I will do all I can to protect her.

I am growing to love her more and more everyday. I particularly like her when she smells like milk or leaves her dummies lying around (and I don’t mean Lucy or Leila)

One of my favourite games is trying to steal her toys without being caught by my humans.

I cannot wait until she can feed me all of her food from the table when she gets bigger.

I have already tried to impart my ginger ninja wisdom on the little human. She is learning really quickly and has already picked up the side eye glare. To warn the big humans that we are not impressed!

Being a big brother is a big job. As long as I can still get my 18 hours of sleep a day I think we are going to get along just fine :) X

COACHES CORNER

Coaches Corner with Coach Meg

1 year of training in Lockdown by coach Meg

It’s March 2021 which means that 1 whole year has passed since we first went into lockdown. We’ve had some periods of freedom throughout that year, but for most of us it’s still felt like a very long time since things were ‘normal’, especially when it comes to our training.

However I don’t think it’s been all doom and gloom because I’ve actually learnt a lot about my body and fitness over the past year. So I thought I’d share some of my learnings with you guys and hopefully it can help you too.

1. Consistency is key

I know it’s a cliché term, but there’s a reason for that. Gonna chuck another cliché in here too: TRUST THE PROCESS. Pick a (realistic!) goal and stick to it. Don’t be distracted by what others are doing around you because their goals will be different to yours. If you’ve decided you want to improve your cardio fitness, don’t be disheartened if your strength drops a little bit, and vice versa. I mentioned this in my podcast (shameful self-plug), but you can’t do everything at once.

As an example, the CrossFit Open workout 21.2 was a repeat of 17.1 so a fantastic opportunity to see how I’ve progressed over the last 4 years. I managed to shave almost 2 minutes off my time, and I had to use a heavier dumbbell due to limited equipment at home! I’ve spent a lot of those past 4 years drinking booze and eating takeout (not all the time, but they have definitely featured!) but I’ve also stayed consistent with my training.

Trust the process and trust yourself.

2 . Prioritise rest and recovery

TAKE REST DAYS AND SLEEP A LOT. It is not cool to train 7 days a week. Also, sleep is the best thing ever. If I had to choose between my day’s training or meeting my sleep need, I’d pick sleep. Want muscles to grow? Sleep. Want to have lots of energy? Sleep. Want to recover well? Sleep.

Also drink lots of water.

3. Have fun

If you’re not enjoying yourself, what’s the point? Life is too short to make ourselves miserable, especially with the way things are at the moment. I’ve recently taken a whole week off training (something I don’t do very often) just to give myself a bit of a refresh and it was great. Keep mixing things up. I started cycling a few months ago and I LOVE it (never thought I’d say that). Try new things – the fitness we gain in the gym works in other places too!

TLDR; eat, sleep, train, have fun, repeat.

Here is a pic of Kenji (our puppy) as I know that’s all you really want.

BUTTER BEAN STEW

With Easter just round the corner it felt only right to include an Easter recipe this month. This authentic vegetarian casserole makes a delicious first course, or serve alongside slow-cooked lamb as part of a Greek Easter feast

Giant Butter Bean Stew

Until Next Time, Big Love Team Valesco xxx

Save The Date

GYM RE-OPENING – MONDAY 12th APRIL – on track

Scale It Up Triple Threat – 25th July (date moved back one month)

Scale It Up Safety in Numbers – 3rd October

2021 Valesco Christmas Party – 11th December

The Riot workout submission deadline – to be confirmed

Who Wore It Best

For this months who wore it best it seems only right to take it to an online class and an awesome spot by Coach Meg.

Loving the team WOD memo that these lot clearly received. We love a bit of 4 way twinning – Vicky Perrin, Claire Dunn, Alex Guest and Susie Lednarova!!

Valesco goes ONLINE!

Now, more than ever, is the time to move! So we are taking Valesco online to enable our current community and anyone wanting to join us to do just that. In a fun and inclusive environment, we bring you the very best of our training methodologies and community...ONLINE!

FIND OUT MORE