MAKING THE MOST OF THE OUTSIDE– Winter Edition

By Sam Townson

 Challenge: Can you spend at least an hour outside every day this winter? 

The nights are drawing in. It is getting colder. It is getting wetter. It is getting muddier. This can only mean one thing…winter is upon us. 

Here in the UK the clocks have just changed; yes, we are weird in the UK and no I don’t know why we change them. As a result, it is getting dark really, really early and it is getting colder and colder making it harder to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. It is getting a little cold for the wild swimming of summer and the camping trips I told you all about in earlier newsletters (which if you haven’t read; please go check it out). But, it is not all doom and gloom. 

We have a tendency to stay inside watching day become night and the stars take over the sky. I am not saying this can’t be romantic or cosy; I love to get cosy on the sofa with a hot drink and a film when it is dark, wet and cold outside. However, it is not the only thing we can enjoy during winter. We can still get outside, be active and get the feeling of fresh air in our lungs - with the added bonus of a cosy evening with a hot chocolate at the end of the day. 

So, how do we motivate ourselves? 

One way I love to motivate myself to get out in the morning during winter is to think about the feeling of crispy grass crunching under my boots and the clear blue skies above me. Nothing beats being the first person out on the frosty grass laying your footprints across the field before anyone else. And what about cracking the icy puddles? I love the satisfying crunch of ice under my feet more than that of the frosty grass. The same goes for snow, being the first to mark it with your boots and the added bonus of laying down a snow angel; which if you’ve never done, you’re missing out on a lot of fun!

Do I hear you saying - but I hate waking up early in the morning. Well, the evenings and nights are still an option. Going out in the dark with clear skies means stars. It is amazing walking out of the night lights of the city and into the darkness of nature with a friend and seeing all the amazing stars above you. You could even take a camera with you and capture the magic of darkness. 

Once you’ve found the motivation to get outside then there are some steps you should take to keep safe and comfortable though! 

If you’re going out in the dark, then make sure you take a mate. Even though the night can be beautiful it can also be a little dangerous. Tell people where you are going and what time you plan on being back. If you’ve got a phone, be sure to take it with you so you can get in touch with anyone if something is to go amiss. Take a torch (or flashlight for those of you in the US) so you don’t trip up or get lost. 

You’ve got to make your outing as comfortable as possible too, and the key to that is layers and grippy shoes. Winter ground can be slippy and a fall in the mud is not what you want. Get yourself a pair of good boots with some grippy soles and then you can stomp through the mud, snow and frosty grass without any bother. When it comes to staying warm you need layers like an onion and an ogre (PS if you haven’t watched Shrek you should). Wrap up warm with thermals, jumpers, coats, hats, fluffy socks and gloves! My girlfriend just crocheted me an amazing hat so if you’re feeling creative you could even make yourself something warm and cosy!

These are my top tips for getting motivated and getting outside safely this winter! I’d love to hear back from you guys about how you get on with my challenge (sadly, I don’t have a prize for the winner, but I can guarantee it’ll make you feel great!). Please share your tips and favourite bits of winter with me on our social media pages! 

RIDE IT OUT

By Spencer

Depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and weight-gain: constantly these words are being thrown around to describe the state of both physical and mental health across the globe during Covid-19. I ask you, aren’t you tired of hearing about it?, and more importantly, aren’t you tired of being part of the population these words describe? Well I’m here to tell you the cure, it’s not another self-help book, group therapy class, or any bottle of pills, it’s your ordinary bicycle. Biking has been proven to help boost your physical and mental health. So, now is the time to stop watching the world around you pass by and for you to whiz by it. 

Bicycling, of course, has some great physical attributes to contribute to one’s daily life as biking itself is a physical activity. It is defined as an aerobic (cardio) exercise, meaning your heart is working at a steady constant rate that allows the body to exert itself for longer periods of time, unlike exercises where you exert the majority, if not all of your energy and strength in a short period of time, such as sprinting or heavy weight lifting. Aerobic exercises are known to help prevent and/or reduce certain cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis from developing.(1) Other physical benefits of bicycling are it is low impact, builds muscles and bone, and helps make everyday tasks easier. Low impact means it causes less strain than most exercises, it most noticeably causes less strain on the joints. When sitting on a bike, weight that is usually being held up by your legs, such as when you're walking or running, is now displaced on to two bones in your pelvis called ischial tuberosities, relieving extra stress that would otherwise be put on your knees, ankles, and so on. While most of the workout is leg focused, biking also strengthens abdominal, shoulder, and arm muscles. Bones also benefit because,"Resistance activities, such as pushing pedals, pull on the muscles, and then the muscles pull on the bone, which increases bone density," points out Dr. Safran-Norton.(2) Other than building both muscle and bone density, it also helps improve one's posture, balance, endurance, and coordination in everyday life.(3) All this with a riding schedule and the right diet will lead to steady weight loss, and I emphasize, with the right diet. Do not be worried by this, but know that what you eat makes up 75 percent of a successful track to weight loss while exercising makes up the other 25 percent.(4) The diet doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just three meals a day without any snacking and “Portion your plate so you have half your calories from vegetables and fruits, a quarter from complex carbs, and a quarter from lean protein,” says sports nutritionist Leslie Bonci, R.D., author of Bike Your Butt Off.(4) For best results, one should bike two to four hours a day, and studies have shown that if you bike at a steady rate for a half an hour every day (3½ hours per week) for a year you will lose roughly 11 pounds. It’s not the fastest road to weight loss and getting in shape, but that’s how you know it’s real. 

Now it’s time to stop reading and get out there to take a joy ride. Work those thighs and glutes, and finally take some control of your life and your body. Bicycling is easy, and once you know how to...“Wait a second, what about the depression, stress, anxiety, and loneliness? So far all this article has talked about are they physical benefits, does biking even help improve a person’s mental health?” Yes, bicycling really does help improve one’s mental health, but for now you’ll just have to take my word for it and come back next month for the second installment of “Ride It Out.” 

Works Cited:

1. Richard Weil, MEd. “Aerobic Exercise Benefits, Types, Steps & Examples,” October 22, 2019. https://www.medicinenet.com/aerobic_exercise/article.htm. 

2. Publishing, Harvard Health. “The Top 5 Benefits of Cycling.” Harvard Health.  Accessed October 25, 2020. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-top-5-benefits-of-cycling. 

3. Department of Health & Human Services. “Cycling - Health Benefits.” Better Health Channel. Department of Health & Human Services, November 30, 2013. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/cycling-health-benefits.

4. Yeager, ​Selene. “Riding All the Time But Still Can't Lose Weight? These 7 Expert-Backed Tips Can Help,” September 23, 2020. https://www.bicycling.com/training/a20044017/help-i-ride-my-bike-every-day-and-i-still-can-t-lose-weight/. 

THE ANIMALS YOU ASKED FOR

WE ASKED YOU SOME QUESTIONS ON INSTAGRAM AND HERE ARE THE RESULTS

AS WELL AS ANSWERS BY OUR WRITER PRESTON BRUNK.

WHAT DO YOU PREFER?

47% Fur 33% Exoskeleton 20% Feathers 0% Scales

Preston:

I prefer feathers. I think birds are some of the coolest species in the world and have various different color patterns and sizes from flying birds to flightless birds, floating birds to swimming birds, wing beats that are unable to be seen by the human eye. Their migration patterns all over the world can happen in a matter of days or hours!

DO YOU LIKE ANIMALS THAT LIVE ON LAND OR IN WATER?

69% Land 31% Water

Preston:

I am a fan of animals that live in the water. All types of fish are incredible to me and that's why we need to think about what we do to our waterways and how we can manage them better!

IF YOU COULD TALK TO ONE SPECIES OF ANIMAL, WHICH WOULD YOU PICK?

WHAT ANIMALS DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT?

(Facts are quotes or paraphrasing from the source listed)

SLOTHS

• Sloths only urinate/defecate once a week; however they do their business at the same place every time making them vulnerable to predators.

• Contrary to their reputation, sloths only sleep about 10 hours a day. (They sleep more in captivity.)

• Algae grow on their fur, which camouflages them green.

• Sloths diets consist mostly of leaves which gives them minimal energy and nutrition.

• Sloths can retain their grip after death.

https://www.globalanimal.org/2014/06/17/15-surprising-sloth-facts/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwit_8BRCoARIsAIx3Rj6R9hmzvYolfQ7zop1WyelAbdrk3bGnwS5_hruh3PqrPXHHWkzRR1YaAlpbEALw_wcB

BIRDS OF PARADISE

• There are more than three dozen (36) species in the birds of paradise family.

• Birds of paradise are found in New Guinea and surrounding islands; you can also find some in Australia.

• Most are distinguished by striking colors and bright plumage of yellow, blue, scarlet, and green.
  Birds of paradise are so attractive that their appearance once made them the target of skin hunters, who decimated some species.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/group/birds-of-paradise/

BLUE WHALE

• The blue whale is the largest animal inhabiting the earth. They are about the length of three school buses and the heart alone is the size of a small car. There are records of individuals over 100 feet (30.5 m) long, but 70-90 feet (23-27 m) is probably average. An average weight for an adult is 200,000 to 300,000 pounds 

• Blue whales have been found in every ocean of the world, except for the Arctic.

• Females give birth to calves every two to three years. They remain pregnant for about one year before giving birth.

• Blue whales can eat up to 6 tons (12,000 pounds) of krill a day during a feeding season!

• The blue whale was too swift and powerful for the 19th century whalers to hunt, but with the arrival of harpoon cannons, they became a much sought after species for their large amounts of blubber. With protection, today, there are between 5,000-10,000 blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere and about 3,000-4,000 blue whales in the Northern Hemisphere. 

https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/cetaceans/blue-whale.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwit_8BRCoARIsAIx3Rj5Rw3PwMoROvzzKufen8Hp0KtAObMurJbIKctU335o5tsfwtX-OMgYaAg2CEALw_wcB

JUST ABOUT ANY SEA ANIMAL: We picked the SEA PIG for you!

• Sea pigs are not actually pigs, but sea cucumbers. 

• Sea cucumbers are invertebrates with soft, elongated cylindrical bodies around 4-6 inches long—kind of like a bloated, water-filled sausage.

• Sea pigs live in some of the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. They also have water-filled, fragile bodies that nearly disintegrate when brought up from these extreme depths, ranging anywhere from 4,000 to 16,000 feet below the surface.

• Deep-sea predators don’t try to eat sea pigs because their skin is laced with poison. But parasites pose a threat!

• Sea pigs are valiant protectors of baby king crabs, who clutch onto sea pigs for protection.

• We don’t know much about the cute odd creatures because they are so hard to study.

https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2019/07/03/everything-need-know-sea-pigs/

Preston was also curious about specifically deep sea marine species! Here’s why:

There is something about their ability to survive where light does not exist besides the light radiating from some of their bodies.

We agree! What a different world to imagine from what we experience!

KOALA

• Koalas aren’t bears – they’re marsupials!

• The koala has strong cartilage at the end of their curved spine, allowing them to make eucalyptus trees a comfortable home.

• Their special fibre digesting organ, called a caecum, helps to detoxify the chemicals in the eucalyptus leaves which are poisonous to most animals.

• Like sloths, koalas sleep a lot (up to 18 hours a day!) because they don’t get much nutrients from leaves. 

• Many koala populations are faced with nowhere to go when their forest habitat is destroyed by deforestation. Just in the last two years, tree-clearing has tripled in New South Wales, leaving important koala habitats incredibly fragmented or completely lost.

https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/10-interesting-facts-about-koalas#gs.ju3s1b

WASPS

• There are around 30,000 identified species of wasps.

• They come in every color imaginable, from the familiar yellow to brown, metallic blue, and bright red. Generally, the brighter colored species are in the Vespidae, or stinging wasp, family.

• All wasps build nests created from wood fibers scraped with their hard mandibles and chewed into a pulp.

• Wasps are divided into two primary subgroups: social and solitary. Social wasps account for only about a thousand species. 

• Despite the fear they sometimes evoke, wasps are extremely beneficial to humans. Nearly every pest insect on Earth is preyed upon by a wasp species, either for food or as a host for its parasitic larvae. Wasps are so adept at controlling pest populations that the agriculture industry now regularly deploys them to protect crops.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/wasps/

IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL, WHICH WOULD YOU BE?

Thank you to all of our Instagram followers that helped make this really fun segment happen!