Ep 27 🌈 Who run the world? Gays!

Okay, we've got three wankers of the week then.

Yeah, well, there's a lot of wankers involved in that.

Welcome to The Outlifting Lounge, the weekly show serving queer conversation,

news and no-nonsense fitness for gay, bi and trans guys.

I'm Alan.

And I'm his husband, Derec.

Coming up today, we're going to discuss Alan's Invisalign lisp,

talk about our brand new Outlifting Lounge.

We're moving house!

Reveal our first ever contenders for Wanker of The Week,

and in the fitness section, who run the world?

Gays, apparently.

Let's start the show by addressing the elephant in

the room, or should I say the lisp?

Thank God you said start the show because I started Invisalign this week.

And can I just say, why did they give it a name with an S

in it when they know people are going to end up with a lisp?

When they have aligners in their mouth.

And I'm, listeners, I am not putting this on.

This is actually how I am sounding right now.

You sound like that Drag Race challenge when Roxxy Andrews was Tasha Salad.

Tatha Thalad.

I can't even say it.

You can!

No, I can't.

Just as well, we've taken a bit of distance from

each other today because I'm spitting all over the place.

Yeah, I asked for the news, not the weather.

Getting rained on.

Oh, rain on me.

God, imagine if I had a spit kink.

This would be perfect.

- God, you'd be in your element. - I would.

Just as well, we did our singing last week because Kylie

songs with these in my fucking mouth would have been ridiculous.

Right, so last week we sang: ♪ Your disco, your disco, needs you ♪♪

Give that a go.

I'm giving you pure evils right now.

Right, hang on.

♪ Your dithco ♪♪

♪ Shocked by the power ♪♪

That one wasn't too bad.

That was okay.

You can do an S-H sound.

I can do an S-H.

I can't do a D-I-S-C-O.

I'll tell you what though, it's doing wonders for my Espanol.

Yeah, your Spanish is sounding much more authentic.

You sound like you're from the Spanish mainland.

So you looked up the word for lisp in Spanish earlier,

which when said with a Canarian Spanish accent, because it's

not pronounced with a lisp, it should be pronounced el ceceo.

That would be a lisp, or to lisp would be cecear.

So how would you pronounce those words?

Theh-theh-o.

See, it sounds very authentic.

And...

Theh-theh-ar.

That actually sounds very authentic.

And then the phrase to say with a lisp would be decir seseando.

Deh-theer theh-theh-ando.

Yeah, God, you're Spanish all of a sudden. Look at that.

I know. I'm like that Catherine Tate sketch from years ago.

Yeah. You're doing good.

There was a phrase that I got you to say.

So we had seen a post on Facebook for something

I wanted to bake, and it was strawberry cinnamon swirls.

I'm not a performing monkey, but I'll do it anyway.

You're on the podcast, so do it.

Strawberry thinnamon swirls.

This is going to be funny.

We are not making fun of people with

actual voice differences or vocal differences or lisps.

We are making fun of Alan.

Just taking the piss out of me.

Do you know what else happened, yesterday, as well?

I had to get a front tooth removed so that there's

room for the teeth to move during this whole process.

So yeah, so I look like, I'm going way back for

this one, and some people might get it, some people not,

but does anybody remember Triga porn from years ago?

And it was just like rough, scally people.

I look like I could be on one of those, with my tooth missing at the front.

I remember.

Oh, is that you're remembering your spitting fetish as well?

Yeah, you do look rough.

I do look rough.

Good news for you, though, is when I go to Sitges

in two weeks, nobody's going to want to come near me.

That'll keep you away from the boys.

There was one other story when we were discussing what we

were going to talk about on the podcast this week.

We always go through a broad range of,

you know, pop culture topics and news topics.

There was one story that we very briefly discussed and decided

we didn't want to touch it with a barge pole.

But I kind of just threw it in because I wanted to hear you

say this headline, which is, Katie Price says her spouse is charged with espionage.

You are pure evil.

Katie Price says her spouse is charged with ethpionage.

I tell you what, check-ins are going to be fun on Monday.

I can't wait to see everybody holding on

their laugh when I'm speaking to them.

So hopefully Alan will get used to his Invisalign,

and it won't be like this every week.

I mean, I've got like 30 aligners to use, and the end

date is anywhere between November and March next year, so I can't

be speaking like this for the next six to nine months.

No, and I don't think listeners will want to listen to you either.

We're going to have to do a disclaimer at the start of every show.

Either that, or you just are going to have to bite the bullet

and take the aligner out for a half an hour while we record.

One or the other.

I think that might be better.

So the other big thing, apart from Alan's Invisalign, is

that we are in the process of moving house.

We have got the keys to our new house,

and we've basically nearly finished moving everything over, eh?

Yeah, luckily we got the keys a little bit earlier

than what we thought, so it meant we could spend

the weekend shifting our shit over to the new house.

You're just trying to say as many words with SH

in them now, because you know, you can say that.

So yeah, we're going to have a brand new Outlifting Lounge very soon,

and we haven't done any video recording of the podcast for a little

while now, but once we're settled into our new lounge properly, we will

do that, and then we'll put some clips out on social.

Yes, very exciting.

Right.

Shall we discuss some news stories?

Yeah, let's do it.

So, we have toyed for a little while about adding a section, a

regular segment, to the show called Wanker of the Week, and, you know

what, we've kind of decided against it, but this week we actually do

have two very strong contenders for the first ever recipient of that award.

The first one is...

Should we let the listeners decide who the recipient is?

Yes, please do get in touch on social media to

let us know who you think is the biggest wanker.

But basically, there is a story that came from Bristol.

You may have seen some footage of some crazed idiot

ripping down pride flags from outside a school in Bristol.

Now, the footage was shared by Turning Point UK.

Says it all really, doesn't it?

Yeah, which is like Charlie Kirk's organisation with the UK arm, and

they shared it as 'concerned parent takes down transgender flags at school'.

So they tried to put a spin on it.

However, when you hear the rest of the story, you know that

that kind of backfires on them, because they backed the wrong horse.

So the guy that allegedly did this, we have

to say, filmed himself allegedly doing it as well.

Then obviously has posted it on social media.

Turning Point UK have then re-shared it, and it turns out the

police are investigating this as a hate crime, as well as...

They have also, they've re-arrested the guy,

because apparently they searched his house.

And they allegedly found a large quantity of cocaine,

and he's been re-arrested on drugs and firearms charges.

Now, they will spend that as a concerned parent, and they're,

again, it comes under this bracket of protect women and children.

He doesn't sound like the kind of guy that you want protecting you.

No, we need protected from him.

He sounds like an absolute psycho.

Yeah.

Allegedly.

So yeah, that's our first contender for Wanker of The Week.

But just before we move on to the second, what I will say is,

there's a couple of gays that I know who have shared some rather warm

words for Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, recently, singing her praises.

Now, I was a bit taken aback by this

because Kemi Badenoch is very homophobic, very transphobic.

And recently, she targeted the Royal College of Nursing because they

had the audacity to fly a Pride Progress flag at the

nursing headquarters in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community.

I'm not saying there's a direct causal link between this, but

there are certain politicians like Kemi Badenoch who are throwing out

these dog whistles and they are egging these psychopaths on.

And then these idiots are going out and ripping down

flags based on what politicians like Kemi Badenoch say.

Yeah, exactly.

It's coming from the top, isn't it?

So it's not surprising that people are acting

in the way that this guy allegedly acted.

And the fact that someone like her is getting

support from people within our community is absolutely crazy.

It's like gays that support Reform.

Reform gays

give your heads a wobble, please.

We've spoken about that quite a few times before, haven't we?

Yeah, and before my blood pressure goes up, let's

move on to our second wanker of the week.

This is not a new story.

However, there has been more details come out this week.

So basically, this is a guy called Mark Jennings.

Now, Mark is a guy whose full-time job apparently is to be offended.

He recently took his employer, the Department for Work and Pensions

in the UK, to an employment tribunal, claiming they discriminated against

his religious beliefs and failed to accommodate his disability.

And what is his disability?

Being scared of pride flags and rainbow laces and drag

queens and anything basically with a rainbow on it?

Yeah! So pretty much, yeah.

So the tribunal happened in November last year.

It was dismissed on all counts, and he did not win the case.

It was thrown out.

But he then requested that the tribunal give

him written reasons why it was dismissed.

So those written reasons were finally published this week, and we got to

view it, and by God, it paints a sorry picture of this guy.

Do you know what?

It's actually a little bit reminiscent of Section 28.

That's what I was thinking about, because he says in his

statement about the promotion of LGBTQ rights, trans ideology, people forcing

their pronouns onto people in any promotion of being gay, basically.

And that's the first thing that I thought about,

because obviously we're of that generation of Section 28.

And if some listeners aren't sure of what that is,

it's basically back in the 80s, the government prohibited any

promotion of gay life within schools and education.

It definitely has echoes of that.

Basically, this guy was assigned to work in Canterbury Job Centre,

and he wanted the DWP to ban all LGBTQIA+ imagery.

That's rainbows.

He wanted to forbid anybody that used pronouns.

I mean, how you're expected to have a conversation without any pronouns

is beyond me, because I as a pronoun, you as a pronoun.

Apparently there's only he and she, according to these people.

The guy's crazy.

He said that anything LGBT basically triggered him and

caused him to have what he describes as autistic

shutdowns, which I think is just an absolute excuse.

He's trying to, in my opinion, use these

things as an excuse to attack LGBT people.

In one of the sections it says that he

had a shutdown because he viewed the drag queen.

Yes.

Here's something for you.

Why don't you just close your eyes and then you won't view the drag queen?

It also mentions in the tribunal report that he also was

triggered because he was watching Match of the Day and some

of the players were wearing rainbow laces on their boots.

I mean, come on.

I know, I know.

And the thing is, the job centre where he was assigned to

work, you would be forgiven for thinking that the place was absolutely

festooned with rainbow flags and imagery and things like that.

No, no, no, no, no.

The tribunal report makes clear that this guy, by his

own admission, saw one rainbow flag on somebody's desk.

That's it.

That's what the whole thing stems from.

One rainbow flag.

But he was also asked in the tribunal by the judge

if he would have objected to a job seeker coming in

wearing some, like a rainbow t-shirt or a pride imagery.

And he said, no, he could handle that.

It was the permanent or semi-permanent stuff that triggered him.

Not that.

So, it's quite clear that he knows that he can't say

that that would trigger him because that would probably actually be

grounds for dismissal if you're saying that you can't deal with

people because they're wearing a rainbow on a t-shirt or something.

So, he's then tied himself in knots saying that he wouldn't

have a problem with that, but pride flags on somebody's desk

or a poster or something like that would trigger him.

But do you know why he said that?

Because apparently he can separate the sin from the

sinner and he has gay and transgender friends.

No, you don't, pal.

No. I would say that this guy needs to get a hobby, but

he describes himself as a Roman Catholic and also an evangelical Christian.

He gave testimony to the tribunal saying that he attends

three different churches every Sunday, one Catholic and two evangelical.

So, there's his hobby right there.

He just basically goes to all these churches.

He told the court that he thinks that what he calls

trans ideology is the work of the devil and that the

pride flag is co-opting God's rainbow from the story of Noah.

I didn't realise that God had copyright on a rainbow.

I know!

Lots of organisations use the rainbow as symbolism.

The Bible uses it.

It's not the Bible that invented the rainbow.

It's a natural phenomenon.

But this isn't the first time that we've heard of Mark Jennings, is it?

Because he tried to sue NatWest last year because they

were using pride imagery in their branch during Pride Month.

Yeah, he tried to sue them for £35,000, saying that

he was triggered by the imagery in the branch.

Now, when it was taken to the Sheriff Court, it was thrown out.

And not only was it thrown out, but he got absolutely

humiliated because he represented himself and he quite clearly used ChatGPT.

And in his court filings, there were citations

for other court cases that didn't exist.

There were at least three made-up court cases.

Absolutely crazy.

That's karma coming to get you.

And if you didn't know it, Mark Jennings, karma's a bitch.

I think this guy needs to get a life.

I think of the two, he is definitely my Wanker of the Week.

But you know what?

We're just going to keep doing our thing.

We're going to keep existing.

We're going to keep living and flying our flags.

And you stay mad, Mark.

Yes, supporting our rainbow siblings the whole way.

And do you know what?

See, since it's the first week that we spoke about Wanker of

the Week, why don't we give it to both of them?

Yeah.

Wankers.

And if we were to give a group Wanker of the

Week award, I think it would be to the UK government.

Why's that, Derec?

Well, there were new statistics published and revealed

by Rainbow Migration, who do really, really good

work protecting LGBT asylum seekers and refugees.

The detention of LGBTQIA+ people in the UK rose by 70% last year.

What the hell?

That is huge.

I know. But at the same time, the UK government, a couple of weeks ago,

was announced as the host of the European IDAHOT Forum in 2027.

So that's the forum against homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, all that.

And when they made that announcement, the government put out a press

release saying that they were also announcing a funding package of £21

million to advance global LGBT plus rights through civil society partnerships.

Now, the quote from government ministers was that this investment

reaffirms the UK's commitment to defending the human rights and

freedoms of all people, including those who are LGBT+.

We will continue to work in partnership using our diplomatic influence

and development expertise to help ensure that everyone, everywhere, can live

their lives without fear of violence, persecution or discrimination.

Now, that's one UK government department saying that.

Then you go to the Home Office, and it's... - A completely different story.

Completely different story, because they have almost, like,

well, they've set a 70% increase in the

amount of LGBTQIA+ people in immigration detention.

Everyone everywhere?

Okay.

Exactly.

And violence, persecution and discrimination that these people

are fleeing, that the Foreign Office openly acknowledges.

So, you can't have it both ways.

You can't be seen to be a shining beacon for LGBT

people worldwide, while at the same time locking them up in

immigration detention, because they have the tumerity to ask for asylum.

Okay, well, I've got three wankers of the week then.

Yeah. That's, there's, well, there's a lot of wankers involved in that.

There's an embarrassment of wankers there.

God, this was a, this was quite a cathartic episode, actually.

It was.

All I've done is rant.

It was quite good.

I'll stop running my mouth, and let's actually talk about running instead.

Oh, I like what you did there!

I know, I'm good with a segue.

So we've moved on to the fitness section, and this

is definitely Derec's remit, because I am not a runner.

I don't even run for the bus.

I would much rather teach a 45-minute Bodycombat

class than go for a 5k run.

But you have forced me out in a run a few times.

Yeah. And it's been, in fact, shall we talk about that time in Sitges

when I went for a run for the very first time ever?

Yeah, it didn't go very well.

No, I couldn't walk for about a week after it.

My calves were so, so painful.

And that probably put me off it as well.

Yeah, and that was, it was quite a flat run,

because we ran along the seafront, along the promenade.

We ran topless down the promenade, and a

young lady crashed her bike into me.

Listeners, in case you didn't know, Derec is very humble.

Well, you were there.

That's exactly what happened.

She was eyeing me up, and then she ended up losing

control of her bike and crashing it into me.

And I was like, hen, wrong bus!

In fact, wrong bike!

Yeah, I cycle the other way!

My bicycle has no seat.

So, moving on to running, Derec is going to

have a little chat to you about running.

Yeah.

So, yeah, we decided we would talk, we talk about a variety of different

fitness topics on this show, and we thought running might be a good one,

because it is marathon season, and we spoke recently about our clients, Michael and

Stuart, who ran the London Marathon, and they are super inspiring.

They both got excellent times, especially

Michael for his first ever marathon.

Can I just interject, first and last?

He said he's never doing a marathon again.

I don't know, maybe, do you know, this is what we all say.

No, trust me, he's never doing a marathon again.

And Stuart as well.

I mean, did Stuart get a PB?

He did. He got a PB, yeah.

So, they did really, really well.

They're super inspiring, and they have inspired me, because I, have not really been

out running for quite a while, and I want to get back at it.

So, this week, I am going to buy some running shoes.

I have got a running buddy, and we're going to start

going out doing a few 5k runs to begin with.

I am not the running buddy, by the way.

No, you're definitely not.

All you would do is moan the whole

time, and you get a miserable experience.

- Wow. - Yeah.

So, yeah, we're going to talk about running very briefly.

We're going to give some tips for any

aspiring runners who might be listening in.

So, just before we do, let's just talk about why run.

So, there are lots of reasons why you might want to...

Yes, why?

Why?

It's not why, it's why.

Okay.

There we go.

It's positive.

So, there are many reasons why you might want to run.

Everybody has their own.

First off, there's a really low barrier to entry.

Like, anybody can go out running.

It's not that difficult.

You don't need a fancy gym membership.

And that's why it has such mass appeal.

Okay, that's one point.

I'll give you that.

Second of all, it's really good for your cardiovascular health.

Undeniably so.

Two points.

It is a very good way to burn calories if your goal is to lose body fat.

Yes.

Caveat, though, it doesn't just have to be

running that you do to lose body fat.

There are other options out there because I know a lot

of people think, Oh, I need to go for a run.

Everybody's running.

And that's the only way that you can,

you know, burn calories and lose body fat.

But it's just one way of doing it.

And if you enjoy running, perfect.

If you don't, don't put yourself through the misery.

- Yourshelf? - Yourshelf.

And the last one that I've noted, and this is

one definitely for me, it's the mental health benefits.

It really does help to clear your head and it

gets you out of a gym setting and into nature.

Maybe not.

Maybe you live in a big city and you don't have that

much nature around you, but just getting outdoors and different scenery.

And there's just something about it.

I find for me, maybe the first kilometre or two kilometres that

I run, I'm kind of like, I just want to stop.

And then there's something happens that when I get in, I find my

stride, I find my pace, and all of a sudden, my mental state

changes, and it just, it really helps to clear my head.

There's something almost meditative about running for me, and

it is, it's just that like, boom, boom, your

feet hitting the ground, and your head just clears.

Yeah, I find it great for that.

Yeah, I think that's a really good point, actually, especially if

you are someone that maybe has a bit of gym anxiety,

but you want to do something to increase your fitness, like

all those points you've just said there are really good.

They help you just get started, and you don't need

to be anywhere near the gym to do that.

This is a really good time of year to start running

as well, because it's not overly cold in the Northern Hemisphere.

It's actually quite warm at the minute, so you're not

really having to battle with the weather quite as much.

And also, in the Northern Hemisphere, the

lighter days and evenings make it safer.

One thing I will say, though, about this time of year is remember to wear

appropriate sun cream if you're going out when it is sunny, because I saw a

TikTok during the week, and it was a slideshow, and it was a guy who

had run the Edinburgh Marathon, and didn't think anything of it until the next day,

and he has basically got a very prominent vest tan line.

Well, not even a tan line, a sunburn line, burned in.

He's the same colour as a drumstick lolly.

Yeah. He is bright red, and then where his vest was is white,

and he's going to have that for years and years and years.

To be fair, though, he was running in Edinburgh, so he

probably thought, oh, it's only Scotland, I don't need to bother.

But, you know, the UV rating can be high in Scotland as well.

Yeah, definitely.

And especially, sometimes it can be cloudy.

I can't remember.

I think the Belfast Marathon in 2010, I want to say.

Maybe it was 2008.

But I ran, basically, and had misjudged, because it was cloudy.

There was not really any, like, direct sunlight all day.

But yeah, I got, like, a little bit of a sunburn.

Not much, but just a little bit on the top of my head.

So yeah, you do need to be very, very careful, because depending on how

long you're out for, even if you're out for a half an hour just

running or jogging, you can get a significant amount of sun in that time.

And also, especially with the way the weather is just now in the

Northern Hemisphere over the past week, make sure that you are staying hydrated.

You don't need to really worry too much about some of

these things if you're just beginning, because let's face it, you're

not going to be going out for very long.

But the very first tip I think I would give for anybody who is

beginning or maybe getting back into running is to actually have a training plan.

Now, that doesn't need to mean that it's overly complicated.

It can be as simple as Couch to 5k, which is the one that

I would always recommend to people because it is a really good programme.

If you don't know how that works, basically, you

start off very, very gently in week one.

I think it's mostly just walking.

And then you work your way up, you walk for a little bit, then

you do a light jog for maybe a minute, walk for a minute, jog

for a minute, and it builds up your stamina bit by bit.

So it kind of combats that all or nothing mentality and it breaks

it down into little steps so that at the end of the Couch

to 5k programme, you're actually able to run 5k without stopping.

Yeah, it's the one that we always recommend to clients whenever they mention

that they want to start running and have never done it before.

It's really good.

Yeah, so based on your own ability, I mean, you might be able to

skip ahead a little bit if it starts off too basic for you, but

actually having that kind of training plan so that you can see progression and

you know where you're going stops you getting frustrated with yourself.

If you maybe are not, if you discover that you're not as

fit as you thought you were when you take up running, that

can be a source of frustration, which makes people give it up.

But having that kind of training plan that you

can take at your own pace combats that.

The second tip is the importance of correct footwear.

We drove past someone yesterday that was out running and it

sounded like he was running on flip-flops because the way his

feet were hitting the ground, they sounded so flat and they

just sounded like normal fashion trainers that you had on.

I think it was a pair of Converse and

there was like zero padding, they're just really flat.

And you do see this quite often where people take up,

and I think I'll just wear those, the impact on your

joints, on your knees and your hips can be quite severe.

And you might not notice it at first, but it can lead to problems.

So when I started running, I was a bit clueless, and I got

a pair of running shoes that were not entirely suitable for me.

And it was only when I started running some longer

distances that I started having knee issues and hip issues.

Then I had a gait analysis done, which basically you go

on a treadmill and it looks at how your feet land,

and then they recommend the right shoes for you.

So I need good stability shoes because I overpronate.

Where can you get one of those gait assessments done?

A lot of the running shops do it.

I think Decathlon might do, and places like that.

There are other ways that you can do it from home.

There are certain methods if you Google it.

I think like if you get a sheet of paper and you wet your

foot, and then you put your foot down to see how it lands.

There's all these different ways.

You can also just try different shoes and

see what you feel best supported in.

But the best method is to go and get an actual proper gait analysis done.

A lot of these places will do it for free because

they know that you're then going to buy shoes there.

So it's a win-win for them.

But there's nothing to be scared of in doing that.

It means that you're going to have proper

footwear for you, and it'll protect your joints.

And although you really do need to try to get some decent footwear, the next

tip is that you don't need all of the gear to start off with.

Really, you just need some decent shoes,

some appropriate clothing, and maybe some headphones.

Headphones, definitely.

Like music is going to keep you motivated.

And like you were saying earlier, the boom, boom, boom with your step.

If you get something that is a particular beats per minute,

and it's going to help with your pace and stay motivated

and focused, then yeah, that's the tip as well.

And also the Couch to 5k is an audio

programme that you listen to as you run.

So that's another reason why you might need them.

In terms of appropriate clothing, there's no hard and fast rule.

Just you don't want something that's going to chafe

when you're starting out, so just think of that.

The next tip as well, so obviously we said it's quite light

at the minute, but if you are going out running when it's

a bit darker, make sure you're wearing reflective gear, or maybe you're

wearing a light, something to make you visible, because it's safety first.

A lot of running shorts and running tops that are marketed as those,

you might think what makes those running gear and ordinary sports gear not?

It's because quite a lot of them have reflective elements to them that

you only really notice when it's dark and you flash light on them.

The next tip I would say is that you can run on

treadmill, absolutely nothing wrong with that, and if that helps you get

your confidence levels up and your fitness levels up, do that.

But there is a big difference between treadmill running and road running in terms

of the impact that it has on your body and on your feet.

So don't, for instance, train to run a 5k distance and

then be surprised that you find it difficult to do a

5k outdoors if all of your training has been treadmill.

Just on that, actually, I was just thinking, Parkruns are a really

good way, like a social way to actually get into running as well.

Maybe not as a beginner because it's a 5k and if you're maybe not

up to that level yet, but if you're running at the minute and your

distances are maybe like 3, 4k and you want to push yourself, Parkruns

on Saturday mornings in the UK are a really good way of doing that.

I actually think that's a really good goal.

And a lot of running clubs that run Couch to 5k programmes

will use a Parkrun 5k as almost like a graduation.

That's your target, that's your goal at the end and then you go,

you run the Parkrun and that is your achievement at the end.

So yeah, it is really good.

And on that note, the next tip is actually about

look into running clubs or maybe having a running buddy.

If you find that motivation is difficult or if you have concerns with

safety or even just you want like-minded people to go out with.

There are plenty of running clubs out there.

I mean, most cities have a Frontrunners, which

is usually the LGBT running club.

So look into that, just search for your city and Frontrunners afterwards.

So for instance, I know that there's

a Newcastle Frontrunners, Manchester, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh,

Aberdeen, they're all over the world essentially.

There's Frontrunners in New York and cities everywhere.

So have a look into those.

Also as well with the Frontrunners, they have a

really good social element to it as well.

Stuart, our client, he's a member of the Glasgow Frontrunners and

quite often he's out with them, you know, doing different things.

So again, if you want to meet new people,

it's a really good way of doing it.

Yeah, absolutely.

I remember when Stuart joined, because I used

to go out running with the Glasgow Frontrunners.

I remember when Stuart joined and he was running shorter distances, you know,

he'd 5k and then worked up to 10k and got really, really into

running and I mean, now look at him, he's running regularly, running marathons.

He's doing brilliant.

Yeah, he did Rome Marathon a couple of weeks before London.

Yeah see, it's addictive.

The next tip I'm going to give is a smartwatch is a really

good way of keeping track of your runs and logging these things does

help because you can look back on your progress and what you've done.

But if you don't have a smartwatch, don't let that be a

barrier because your phone can pretty much do a similar job.

But what you might want to do then is just get maybe

a cheap running belt or an arm strap or somewhere that you

can secure your phone so you're not having to carry it about.

And then I've got one last tip and I know that

this is something you'll agree with because in general, for any

form of exercise, it is very important, but particularly for running.

Warming up and cooling down.

Absolutely.

Yeah, I think this is probably the most

important tip that you're going to give here.

Warming up and and cooling down.

Do not skip them.

Yeah, they're super, super important.

Warming up just to get your body ready for the actual run.

And what would that comprise of, Derec?

So, dynamic movements.

You want to open up the joints.

You want to get the synovial fluid in your joints flowing.

So, think of things like running on the spot with high knees.

Maybe you're lunging forward.

You're opening up the joints.

You basically, there are lots of warm-up routines that

you can find on the likes of YouTube.

So, don't try to reinvent the wheel.

You just want to move your body about, get it ready for some exercise.

Now, conversely, you do a different kind of cool down.

So, that would be more static stretches during your cool down.

So, think of stretching out your hamstrings where you're bringing one leg forward,

you bend the back knee, you feel that stretch up the back of

your leg, and you hold it for maybe like 20 or 30 seconds,

that gentle stretch to elongate the muscle after your run.

Yeah, super, super important

just to prevent injury, and just get your

body back down to equilibrium after the run.

So, yeah, make sure, as well as looking at a running plan,

you're looking at a warm up and cool down plan as well.

Yeah, all good advice.

Right, I think we have talked to death

about running, so let's wrap up the show.

So, remember, as ever, Alan and I run Outlifting, which is an

online service for gay, bi, and trans guys who want to improve

their fitness, reach their goals, build confidence, and we do that

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is so, so much to the service that we offer, and

we have got an ever-growing community of guys just like you

who are achieving amazing things with some support.

So, if that sounds like the kind of thing that you might

benefit from, we offer free, no obligation and no pressure discovery calls.

You can book one of those, meet with us by video, discuss

your goals, we can discuss how we can help, and then you

can decide whether or not we are a good fit for you.

So, the link is in the show notes, you can book

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Absolutely.

We will be back next week with another show.

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But for now, over and Outlifting.

But for now, over and Outlifting.