The Crew Cut

Last month Crewroom friend and ambassador – Anna McNuff – headed to the Andes along with Bernard (her trusty bike) and fellow adventurer, Faye Shepherd. After landing in La Paz, a few Spanish lessons and encountering a few zebras (of sorts), Ana and Faye saddled up their bikes and took their first ride into the Andes. The first challenge was to pedal up to Chacaltaya ski station at 5,200m high. With support from locals and an adventurer’s fire in their bellies, the gals made it up to 4,200m but that’s where the proverbial wheels started to fall off. The oxygen percentage in Anna’s blood dropped to 74% (it should be 96%!) and altitude sickness set in. Sensibly, Anna and Faye headed back downhill to rest and re-fuel with hot chocolate before taking in the shores of Lake Titicaca the following day. Since then the pair have passed through La Cumbre Pass, along The Death Road, over the hills above Irupana and they’re currently crossing the crystal white Coipasa salt flats. Encounters with scorpions, llamas and Enrique Iglesias (well almost) are just a few of the moments which make Ana’s adventure a must read. To find out where Ana is now, have a look here. And to keep up with here regular blogs and vlogs make sure you follow her here.

Crewroom friend and women's health and fitness coach – Baz Moffat – tells us how to stay motivated throughout the winter months… For many reasons winter is always a tough one for me to stay motivated. It’s cold, dark, the rivers and lakes I love to swim in are now unappealing and I hate training inside. I receive many calls at this time of year from people who need motivation so I thought I’d share some tips on things which have worked for me. Know you: Think about what you’ve loved in the past and hated. Don’t start swimming if you love playing netball and find pools boring. If you love pushing yourself hard and being surrounded by disciplined, competitive types then maybe CrossFit would work for you. If you get bored easily and need someone to keep you moving for more than five minutes then look for outside exercise groups like One Element. Fix the niggles: We’re not all 20 anymore! If you have any niggling injuries or conditions they’re not just going to disappear because you’re ignoring them. Your body will still function but the injury (weakness) will be putting strain on your system so something else is likely to go. Go and get it checked out by a physio. Get kit that fits: Go out and buy yourself some active wear that makes you stand tall and feel good. It’s amazing how much more you want to exercise if you’ve got well-fitting, fit for purpose kit on as opposed to oversized t-shirts or saggy leggings that fall down as soon as you move. There are so many options to suit all frames and budgets but without a doubt the best leggings around are from Crewroom. Their waist bands have to be tried to be believed, high and secure – there’s no budging. Crewroom are an independent company with three stores in London and an online presence at www.crewroom.co.uk so ticks all round. Find a coach that makes you feel great: The sign of a good session for me is when I walk out with my head held high, having laughed, where I’ve learnt something, worked hard and got better. A good coach will be able to engage everyone in the room and give them a great session. Enter an event: This is the classic motivational tool, an oldie but a goody. Enter an event, ideally with a friend and keep each other motivated. Three times a week: This is the magic number for me. If you commit to exercise three times a week you really do start to see improvements. Anything less then you won’t see much improvement so you’re more likely to give up. I hope that some of these ideas will help you. Now that the temperature has definitely dropped and the clocks have changed these are just some tips to keep you going until Christmas and into the New Year. For those of you interested in a bit more support I offer a Strong to the Core programme – which is designed to get you back on track over 4 months, where I guarantee that whatever your goal I will help you get there.

John Lewis has just aired its emotionally uplifting advert with foxes, badgers, squirrels and hedgehogs bouncing around on a trampoline so it can only mean one thing – Christmas is coming! So here at Crewroom we’ve packed up our sledge (which looks suspiciously like a VW Transporter) and we’ve got the reindeer on standby to bring lots of fabulous Crewroom kit to a town near you. So far we’ve booked up the following roadshow events with more to follow (check our FB page for updates): City of Oxford RC: Saturday, 19th November Vesta Scullers Head, Putney: Saturday, 26th November Walton Rowing Club: Saturday, 10th December British Indoor Rowing Champs, Lee Valley Velo Park: Saturday, 10th December

As we’re getting into the festive spirit we thought we’d give you the chance to ‘bag a goodie’ which could be a lovely gift for yourself or a perfect prezzie for a bezzie. The dark nights are here and the temperature has dropped so what could be more useful than a snugly insulated and weather resistant jacket - our Glacier Lightweight Down Jacket. To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the question below and email your answers to enquiries@crewroom.co.uk. We’ll select the lucky winner on Monday 21st November: What are the two main fabrics we use in our Glacier Lightweight Down Jacket?

On Sunday, 9th October Crewroom joined in with 16,000 runners to take on the stunning 13.1 mile route through the capital’s world-famous landmarks and four of London’s eight Royal Parks in the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. As proud sponsors of the Royal Parks Foundation official charity – Team Squirrel – we thought it only right that we join all the other ‘squirrels’ and take on the challenge. Our team of five Crewroom nuts included Jacqui from our Putney store – a first time half marathon runner – who has been well and truly bitten by the running bug. So much so she's just signed up for the Hampton Court Half Marathon next year. Joining Jacqui was second time RPFHM runner and our roadshow rower – George – who ran an impressive time in 1:34:46. Not bad for someone who’s more used to riggers than runners! It certainly wasn’t difficult to miss our squirrels in their brightly coloured, sustainable Crewroom running vests. The hi-viz and orange vests were made with our very own Vapour-X fabric which incorporates recycled polyester and carbonised bamboo. With sustainability top of the agenda for the Royal Parks Foundation we created the fabric back in 2008 for the first RPF Half Marathon and we’re incredibly proud that, eight years on, we still supply all the runners (over 16,000 of them) with our VX running shirts.

Last month the Mayor of Wandsworth, Richard Field, hosted a celebration of our local Olympic and Paralympic heroes who did their country proud in Rio. As a local company with close links to the rowing community, we were chuffed to be invited along to the Mayor’s Parlour at Wandsworth Town Hall for a chance to meet and chat to some of our country’s top athletes. Local talent included Phelan Hill (Olympic gold medallist, rowing men’s eight), Jess Eddie (Olympic silver medallist, rowing women’s eight) and Aaron McKibbin (Paralympic bronze medallist, table tennis). Alongside the athletes, the Mayor invited a group of up and coming youngsters who had a chance to meet their sporting heroes and it was evident to see just how inspired they were. The Mayor paid tribute to the dedication and hard work that these athletes have endured over many years to achieve their ultimate goals and awarded them with a commemorative pin. It has to be said, there was definitely a bit of competition between the Mayor and the athletes on who had the best bling!