The Sportablog

On Wednesday the 19th, we invited a few runners to attend our first Sportable running event! We organised everything solely through the app with the aim of going for a 5km run around Old Street and topping the evening off with some delicious smoothies and healthy snacks.

As an avid basketball & volleyball player, I always understood the hunger and passion team players had for sport: You prep for a game, get on the court, match up the competition and work together towards a unified goal. But as runners, it’s a completely different approach. You’re challenging yourself but also competing against other runners on a physical and mental level. It was really refreshing to sit amongst a set of runners that had accomplished some very impressive marathons as well as ultra-marathons.

It was great to hear them talk about running, their favourite marathons and just sport in general on an equally passionate level as Adam & myself.

Cheers to the following for attending our event:

Charlie from www.therunnerbeans.com

Tom from www.theallrounder.co.uk

Sophie from www.beprettyfit.com

Rebecca from www.thestyledynamo.com (who ran with a broken arm!)

Paul from www.run247.com

Amy from www.53marathons.co.uk

Summer is all about looking good & feeling great so we’ve kicked off a new initiative called #Sportable100 to keep the good vibes rolling…

It’s quite simple, choose a start date and try as many new sports or activities as possible within 100 days!

Why join us?

Sometimes we just need a push to keep things interesting, switch up our work out routine or an excuse to reconnect with old friends. This will be a great way to keep you motivated to reach your goals! 

The Sportable team have started the challenge with salmon fishing, zip lining and dog sledding! We hope you join us on the #Sportable100 journey – and make sure to post any pictures of new activities you complete and we’ll attempt to try each new sport you tag us in too!

About to go on the longest zip line in the world at 5,495 ft. - Icy Strait Point, Alaska.

Survived!

Husky camp with over 300 dogs!

This one was my favourite!

Over-excited about Salmon fishing apparently...

Adam’s got the fishing down.

Four great reasons why weekends are the best time to get active:

1. You have more time

2. More time means more energy

3. More energy means less excuses!

1) GET INTO A ROUTINE

Much easier than done, but creating a manageable routine is key to a fit 2015.  Please note how we said “manageable,” this means to not set your alarm clock at 4am for a morning run, breakfast at 6 and finally cycling to work by 7 – simply unsustainable, unless you’re Chuck Norris ;)

  2) FIND A BUDDY

 If you can’t motivate yourself to get off the couch or head to the gym after a long day at the office, get someone to force you or guilt trip you. In all seriousness, it’s harder to let someone else down than yourself. 

3) GET INVOLVED IN THE OFFICE TEAM

This is probably the easiest and most excuse-free method to get your *ss up. You’ll be working on your fitness along with bonding with your colleagues. If the exercise isn’t enough to get you motivated, then don’t forget the pub drinks after the game ;)

  4) DO WHAT YOU LOVE

Yes, be it obvious, but if you’re going to complain about going to the gym then DON’T GO! What do you truly enjoy doing, tennis? basketball? swimming? football? Whatever is it and in the words of Nike – Just Do It.

5) CHECK OUT THE SPORTABLE APP

We have dedicated the whole of 2014 to creating a revolutionary sports app that will make it easier to play the sports you love most. We are launching soon, but if you want a sneak peak, then sign up on our website: www.sportable.co

Sportable’s guide to the TOP 5 best 5-a-side football pitches in London.

As far back as I can remember I have always been active, whether that’s part of a school sports team or a local club in Johannesburg. As I grew up I became more and more aware of the importance of nutrition and the significant role it plays in getting the results we all seek for a healthy lifestyle.

I see a number of my friends who go to the gym and are often disappointed by their hard work, some are simply unaware that what you put into your body is responsible for about 80% of your results! The ratio is simple – results are 20% from the gym and 80% from the kitchen.

World Food Day occurred this month and we want to make you all aware of what you're eating and that you can easily reach your goals by being a “smart eater.” Just to clarify, I’m not suggesting to only eat organic food or become a vegetarian. It’s all about the balance: exercise regularly and try to stick to food and ingredients which you can trace the source of - when you don't know where your food is coming from, it's probably not good for you! Make sure to treat yourself once in a while too, everyone needs a break from time to time...

We went down to the Real Food Market (http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/market/) in South Bank to check our their tasty selections and want share with you our feast of a lunch!

The Beginning

If I could advise anyone to start their own business and stray away from the corporate job, I would say – DO IT. I left my 9 to 5 job in October 2013 and decided to take the plunge into the tech start-up world. One thing is certain though, this job is not for the faint hearted. There are no good days or bad days, however there are extremely good days and extremely bad ones too! Be prepared to deal with both, but take my word for it, those awesome days make it all worth it. 

Sportable, which was known as SportBox until February 2014, was founded by Aya Ahmad and myself (Adam Dewji). We were living the stereotypical “startup life” – late nights, bottomless cups of coffee, attending networking events, scheduling our days by hour, numerous brainstorming sessions and the need to draw our ideas on large pieces of paper. It took us 6 months to really grasp the elements that we needed to maintain sanity in this rollercoaster ride of a startup.

Check out the brief timeline laid out in pictures of our Sportable journey so far, hope you enjoy it!