11 minute read
FITNESS FUN Dame Kelly Holmes gives some New Year workout advice
Dame Kelly Holmes has the best advice for beating your New Year health goals
As many of us vow to kick start the New Year by getting fitter, local double-Olympic champion, Dame Kelly Holmes, says the secret to achieving what you want in 2023 could simply be more self-belief…
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“I THINK people could make critical changes to their fitness and the way they look and the way they feel if they believed in themselves a bit more,” says the Hildenborough resident. “I believe a lot of people don’t realise how far they could get, people sometimes don’t push themselves hard enough.
“Our bodies are a miracle, really, and we can do a lot more as long as we look after them.”
The 52-year-old doesn’t believe in resolutions, though.
“No one keeps them,” she reasons. “I do believe in a time to make those fundamental changes and kickstart your year.
“My New Year’s ambition is to be the healthiest I can ever be – that means body and mind,” Holmes adds. “I want it to be a really good year for me, because it hasn’t been great over the years.”
Partly, that means running again. Holmes – who retired from professional athletics in 2005 after doing the historic double – taking Olympic gold in both the 800m and 1500m in Athens – has suffered a myriad of injuries in the last few years, and hasn’t been able to run since a calf tear last March. “It’s really critical for me and my wellbeing to get back to doing what I’m good at, and that is running – at any level.”
Holmes, who has partnered with Nuffield Health, was a fitness instructor in the Women’s Royal Army Corps before her illustrious career as a middle-distance runner, so she knows more than most about how to get bodies into peak physical condition. But she understands it’s not one-size-fits-all.
FIGHTING FIT Dame Kelly says everyone can improve their health
Mentality
“Everyone’s history and relationship with exercise is very different. So it’s about going by your means and not putting yourself off before you’ve started. But knowing that you can keep progressing and knowing that everyone starts from somewhere,” she says. “I have the mentality that physical fitness and mental fitness are absolutely in sync – mine is. I think people have to move their bodies to feel good.”
Plus, our bodies perform better when we feel good, Holmes adds: “[If] we have a more positive attitude to doing something, we will do it more regularly, we will prioritise our fitness. A lot of people say they can’t run, but if you can put one foot in front of the other, and it’s faster than a walk, then you’re a runner – simple as that. How fast you run depends on the training that you do and your ability to maintain health.”
Holmes knows as well as anyone that you can be as physically fit as can be, yet struggle enormously mentally. “I had a lot of mental health issues during my athletics career,” she says. Often she’d explain it away as being injured or not well, “but of course, it was other things going on in my life as well”.
Feeling like she had to hide her sexuality for more than three decades (Holmes came out publicly in June 2022) had a huge impact on not just her mental health, but her physical health.
“Everything I went through and the pressures in my own health, in my own being, for 34 years did not help, and has not helped, with my body,” Holmes explains.
“Mental health is a massive issue amongst the [LGBTQ+] community because not having that freedom to be you is debilitating. I’ve struggled with it my whole life. People struggle every day, and no one deserves to struggle just because of who they happen to be.”
Although family and friends have known Holmes is gay since 1997, until 2000 it was illegal for gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in the British Army, Royal Navy and RAF. She was terrified she would face repercussions for breaking that law during her time in the forces. Even her double Olympic gold win was marred with fears someone would ‘out’ her, she told the Sunday Mirror.
“It’s actually had a big impact on my body, the stress that I really got to in the last two years, and I’ve struggled hugely,” Holmes adds now. Everything seemed to coincide – with two operations on her Achilles, a back injury, suffering from Covid twice.
“I think it was because I was so stressed from everything that was going on in my head. I’ve just not been a happy person and I think it really showed itself in my body,” she says.
“It’s not good to be under so much pressure and have so much anxiety and worry in your life. It’s no good for anybody; it stops your sleeping habits, it ruins the way you nutrition yourself.
“If you don’t take the time for yourself, you don’t switch off your brain, because your brain is constantly having narratives that aren’t good for you.”
While she was in the Army and then training hard as a professional athlete, there was a distraction from the emotional turmoil: “My brain had other things to think about – I could just carry on,” says Holmes.
“But over the years since retiring, of course, you don’t have that same distraction, because you’re starting to think about real life and how that impacts.”
Since coming out publicly though and the release of her ITV documentary, Kelly Holmes: Being Me, she says: “I’ve just been able to relax. I’m much happier than I’ve ever been.”
“Now I’m starting to think, ‘Right, now it’s time to just heal the body and the mind’. Talking about my journey, talking about who I am as a person, what I’ve achieved, but also humanising it and normalising it to say, ‘Yeah, I’m just somebody who had a real good talent but actually has been through these struggles and, through resilience, hasn’t given up and doesn’t want to give up’.
Pressure
“I think that goes for a lot of people, from any walk of life, who feel under pressure, maybe undervalued or stressed through home life, financial worries, relationships. And then looking at themselves and feeling down, knowing their health isn’t as good, constantly thinking, ‘I need to train, I need to get better, I need to eat better’, but you don’t do anything about out it.”
Instead, Holmes adds, we need to be saying: “‘Right, OK, no more talking about it, I’ve got to do it’ – because no one will get better if they don’t actually make those changes. Including myself.”
Dame Kelly Holmes has partnered with Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity, to help boost the nation’s physical and mental health. For more information visit
nuffieldhealth.com/gyms
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How to enter Bewl Water’s nature inspired photography competition
By Molly Miller
LAST year, more than 200 amateur and professional photographers from across the county submitted their entries to Bewl Water’s seasonal photography competition, ‘Best of Bewl’ which has re-opened for the winter.
Bewl Water wants visitors of all ages to get creative and capture everything from water to woodland. The winner will receive an annual parking pass worth over £300.
Those wanting to enter have up until the end of the winter and can submit their photographs via Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook (@bewlwater). All entries could be in with the chance of being displayed with credits throughout the site.
Operations Manager Kevin Parker said: “We appreciate the talented photographers that visit Bewl Water and the whole team love seeing the outstanding images they produce.
Beauty
“They reflect the beauty of the reservoir and its natural environment,” he continued.
The competition made its return in the autumn following Bewl Water’s commitment to inspiring more people to get outdoors in 2023.
Part of Bewl’s mission sees work being carried out to sections of the public footpaths and bridleways to improve the overall conditions for walkers, cyclists, and horse riders.
New self-guided walking trails have also been introduced, along with 50 per cent off cycle hire and a new woodland adventure trail for children which is free to explore.
Outdoors
“We want to make it easier than ever for people to enjoy the great outdoors,” said Mr Parker.
“Bewl Water isn’t just for summer. The reservoir and woodlands are beautiful all year round and we are continuously maintaining them both to ensure the safety of our visitors and wildlife.
Home to hundreds of native species, Bewl Water is a haven for birds, animals, and insects protected by the estate’s close partnership with the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
“The nature reserve remains one of the most effective efforts for protecting our endangered species,” Mr Parker told the Times.
“People love visiting and we hope we can inspire more people to get outside and embrace the world around them,” he explained.
Bewl Water is leased to Bewl Events & Waterpark, part of the group that owns One Media, publisher of the Times.
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Nationwide records longest losing streak in house prices in 14 years
HOUSE prices in the UK have notched up their longest losing streak since the 2008 financial crisis as average prices continued to fall in December, albeit less rapidly than in recent months.
The average price of the houses that were sold during the month dropped by 0.1%, the Nationwide Building Society said last week.
It was the fourth time in a row that prices had dropped month-on-month, and means that house prices are now just 2.8% higher than they had been 12 months ago.
Nationwide said that the average home sold for £262,068 during December, down by a little over £1,700 compared to November.
“December saw a further sharp slowdown in annual house price growth to 2.8%, from 4.4% in November,” said Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner.
He added: “Prices fell by 0.1% month-onmonth – a much smaller decline than in the previous couple of months.
“However, December also marked the fourth consecutive monthly price fall – the worst run since 2008, which left prices 2.5% lower than their August peak.”
Mr Gardner said there was some reason for potential sellers to be optimistic looking into the New Year.
Interest rates on home loans are easing back from the high levels they reached following the mini-budget in September.
Meanwhile, wages are growing fairly rapidly – at about 7% – so people might be able to spend more on their homes, he said.
However, those pay rises are still lower than inflation.
“But the main factor that would help achieve a relatively soft landing (especially for house prices) is if forced selling can be avoided, and there are good reasons to be optimistic on that front,” Mr Gardner said.
“Most forecasters expect the unemployment rate to rise towards 5% in the years ahead – a significant increase, but this would still be low by historic standards.”
“Moreover, household balance sheets remain in good shape with significant protection from higher borrowing costs, at least for a period, with around 85% of mortgage balances on fixed interest rates.”
The slowdown in the annual increase was the most noticeable in all parts of the UK over the last three months of 2022.
Hesitant
The increase slowed down the most in the south west of England, but also decreased rapidly in Scotland and elsewhere.
Matthew Thompson, head of sales at estate agent Chestertons, said that the market had been supported by 'seasoned buyers' in December.
“Meanwhile, first-time-buyers and second steppers have been more hesitant and decided to observe how the market might develop in the new year,” he said.
“We also noted that, due to the festive season, December has seen fewer appraisals compared to previous months.
“This will lead to fewer properties coming onto the market during the first quarter of 2023, which will inevitably lead to a more limited choice and more competitive market conditions for buyers.”
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