During the current lockdown, we are fortunate enough that every member of the household is allowed one piece of exercise outside of the house each day. As many of you may know, the PE Department have been setting a variety of challenges through their twitter account to get our girls active. Click here to see NHEHS Sport’s Twitter.

We know everyone has different ways to keep active, so we thought we would ask three of our elite athletes how they are finding the lockdown and what they are getting up to during this unprecedented time.

Jasmine Palmer, a Year 11 student, is a long distance runner  for NHEHS, Middlesex and her club Thames Valley Harriers:

1. What sort of training are you currently doing while in lockdown?

Currently I am running 5 times a week (around 43km) with three hard runs that my coach has included in our training programme, and then two longer but slower runs around 8-12km. I am lucky to have my older brother as we are able to do these sessions together in the Isle of Wight so this really keeps us both motivated as I am not alone, especially when I am trying to run fast!

2. How do your teammates make practice fun?

Twice a week I do strength training with my team via Google Meets which is a great way to see everyone and train together. We have entered a competition where within our group we are put into teams and each person must run a set distance, decided every 2 weeks, with the winning team with the fastest times getting to choose the next distance. So far we have done 5 km and 1 mile. Again, this keeps us all together and keeps the competitive side of us all going!

3. How does being an athlete make you a better student?

Being able to run has helped with my mental health massively, allowing me to be more productive as a student, not only at school but at home. Having fresh air and a time to de-stress benefits my mental health in so many ways, allowing me to feel more positive in a general sense.

4. What is your favourite food to eat during lockdown?

In lockdown, cereal has been my favourite – no matter what time of day I am always able to convince myself to eat a huge bowl with a banana on top!

5. What is your favourite quote that is helping you keep motivated during this time?

I saw the other day when I was running that a house painted on their wall the quote ‘live for the little things in life,’ and I think right now, especially, this is such a lovely way to view everything. We are all so fortunate to have what we have and should not take that for granted.

Alex Down, a Year 7 student who is an up and coming swimmer for NHEHS and her club, Hounslow Jets:

1. What sort of training are you currently doing while in lockdown?

I am doing swimming training in a paddling pool  (pictured) while attached to a bungee rope (!) and I am doing workouts created by Olympic swimmers such as Jazz Carlin and Aimee Willmott. I also ran a half marathon in my garden last week (it was 700 laps)! I am also attempting all of the NHEHS Daily sports challenges as I think they are fun and they improve my co-ordination skills. However, this exercise is still not as much as I usually do, because normally I swim 12 times a week!

2. How do your teammates make practice fun?

My teammates make swimming practice fun because we spend so much time together we can relate more than my non-swimming friends. We also try to make each other work hard and motivate each other, so when I’m not with them it’s harder to keep on going. Also swimming is very much a ‘mental’ based sport because you spend lots of time stuck with just your thoughts, so I enjoy when I can talk to them at practice.

3. How does being an athlete make you a better student?

Being an athlete definitely makes you a better student because you have the right mental attitude to never give up and to carry on trying because if you don’t persevere you won’t be successful. I also am more focused in class because I want to do well because school comes first, so if that fails, I cannot do all the sports I love doing!

4. What is your favourite food to eat during lockdown?

My favourite snack to eat is a healthy smoothie I make with yogurt, milk, oats, blueberries, raspberries and honey. This is very filling even though it is just a smoothie.

5. What is your favourite quote that is helping you keep motivated during this time?

My favourite quote is ”Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” This is especially inspirational to me because it reminds me to carry on training because if I don’t work hard in the troubling times like this, all of the work I was doing before is just going to go to waste, which I definitely don’t want to happen.

And finally, our Games Captain Jojo Loxton, a Year 13 student, is a keen hockey goalkeeper and rugby player for NHEHS, Ealing Hockey Club, Wasps & Middlesex:

1. What sort of training are you currently doing while in lockdown?

During lockdown, I’ve been doing the strength, fitness and prehab sessions that I have been given by Wasps’ Centre of Excellence. I’ve also been sent a pre-season programme from Exeter University (which is where I’m hoping to go in September) that includes strength sessions and sprint sessions, which I have been doing in my local park. In addition to this, I have a Wasps CofE strength and conditioning session on Zoom every Tuesday and we get set a skills video at the start of each week that allow us to work on our hand eye coordination in creative and fun ways.

2. How do your teammates make practice fun?

My team mates and I make training fun by having different themes each week, that help us to stay focused on training but also have some fun. We also have time on our Zoom calls to catch up together socially as we are missing doing that.

3. How does being an athlete make you a better student?

Being an athlete makes me a better student because it teaches you skills that are transferable to academic life, such as time management, discipline and focus. These are all skills that if I didn’t have at training and throughout my week, I wouldn’t be able to get both my school work and my sport done. Being able to juggle multiple training sessions during the week with the pressures of A Levels is difficult, but is a great skill to learn for later life!

4. What is your favourite food to eat during lockdown?

During lockdown it can be quite difficult to stay healthy but I’ve been loving apple dipped in peanut butter. I also make a protein shake with frozen banana, frozen berries, chocolate protein powder and milk which is so good.

5. What is your favourite quote that is helping you keep motivated during this time?

“Champions are made when no one is watching.”

Keep up all the great training, girls. It will definitely pay off!