The Crew Cut

If you want to stay fit, enjoy the outdoors and fancy trying something new then paddleboarding will tick all the boxes. London based coach – Jason Bergin from Urban Recovery – tells us why paddleboarding can be a great way to experience a city... I have been teaching water sports professionally all over the world for over 10 years now. During the past five years the sport of paddleboarding has exploded and for good reason. It's relatively easy to learn and it offers incredible health benefits! It really is a full body workout meaning almost every muscle in the body is used at some point during the activity. Because of the balance required, leg muscles will be hard at work attempting to stabilize your centre of gravity, while the arms, back and shoulders are used to propel the paddle & paddleboard in the water. The core, back and abdominal muscles are constantly at work to maintain your balance. Paddleboarding is also low impact, therefore, it is unlikely that you will do damage to the tendons and ligaments of your joints. It's particularly useful for runners that are experiencing shin splints or knee and hip pain, yet still need a good exercise to do while healing! Beyond the fitness benefits, paddleboarding also reduces stress and allows you to connect with nature. Water naturally soothes the body and exercise helps to reduce stress. Add to all of that the soothing sounds as you glide through the water, the sensation of actually walking on water, and the rhythm of your stroke, and the stress you feel starts to loosen its grip on you and melts away. Being out on the water is calming, and engaging with nature can have a positive effect on your mental health and attitude. In addition, getting some extra vitamin D from the sun is really good for you! Just because you choose to live in a city rather than a coastal town doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the sport. London has an incredible amount of useable waterways and exploring them on a paddleboard is truly one of the best ways to experience the capital’s rich history! Here at Urban-Recovery we offer some incredible paddleboard tours throughout the city and surrounding area which are suitable for different levels and experience. For example you can tour the Regents Canal starting at Little Venice and ending in Docklands. It was named after the Prince Regent, later George IV, and is part of London's Grand Union Canal. It’s a quiet and atmospheric waterway, passing by parks, a zoo, Camden Market, Victorian warehouses and celebrity hangouts. It was originally built to link the huge Grand Junction Canal's Paddington branch with the River Thames, but now is mainly a place of leisure for Londoners and visitors alike. If you’re a beginner or enjoy yoga you can join us at Royal Victoria Dock in east London for tailor made sessions. The Royal Docks are London’s unique and historic water space. They were once the largest enclosed docks in the world and today the 250 acres of water provide a spectacular setting for the area’s transformation into a vibrant 21st century destination to live, work and play. For those wanting to experience the best of the River Thames there is a tour from Shepparton to Twickenham. Highlights include: Sunbury Lock, Hurst Park, Hampton Court Palace, Kingston, Teddington Lock, Eel Pie Island and Richmond. This tour takes approximately 5 hours with a tasty lunch stop at a popular riverside pub close to Hampton Court! If you’re interested in taking up the sport (and know how to swim!) contact Jason Bergin to arrange a beginner lesson in the Docks. The Docks offer clean, flat, sheltered water which promotes fast learning and a more relaxed experience. Once you’ve learnt all the basic skills and feel more confident you’ll be ready to explore more of London’s glorious waterways.

With regatta season fast approaching it’s time to think about your kit requirements. We’ve been working with JL Racing for over sixteen years so we know a thing or two about rowing kit. Whether it’s a complete re-design you need for your club or a re-order on existing kit, our sales team will be able to help compile visuals and prices for you. Here’s just a reminder of what we can offer: Fully bespoke on-water and off-water performance kit Easy ordering with our online Teamroom portal Team discounts based on volume Reliable and consistent lead times 16+ years of experience in design and maufacturing

As we head towards Spring our roadshow team are warming up the silver truck, ready to hit the road again with a boot full of Crewroom kit. As always we’ll have your favourite JL Rowing items along with brand new Crewroom products and a selection of bargain bin goodies. Here’s where you’ll find us over the next few weeks: Molesey Veteran Head: Saturday, 18th February Head of the Trent, Nottingham: Sunday, 26th February Reading University Head: Saturday, 4th March Women's Head of the River Race: Saturday, 11th March (at both our Hub and outside AKRC in Hammersmith)

As many of you head off on half term adventures this week we thought we'd have a Crewroom competition for the best photo of your Crewroom kit in action. The lucky winner will receive our new Equilibrium Gilet worth £120! So whether you're snowboarding down snow capped slopes, running across rocky terrains or dipping your blades into waterways at home or abroad we'd love to see what you and your Crewroom kit are up to. Just make sure you remember to tag us into your FB, Twitter or Instagram posts using @crewroom or email us and we'll pick a winner at the end of February. Get snapping!!

2017 is here and, once again, we’re looking forward to the future and all the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. Before we kick of the New Year, we wanted to go back and reflect on last 12 months as we sometimes forget just how much has happened in such a short space of time... Earlier in the year we saw Oxford and Cambridge take to the water in the annual Boat Race challenge. As technical kit suppliers to the race for the last three years we were keen to continue our relationship and we were incredibly happy to be selected as the official supplier again for 2017. Rowing is our heritage so to have this opportunity and the chance to work closely with our partners – JL Racing USA – is an honour. Then into summer we saw our sporting heroes head out to Rio. What many people don’t know is that work on the kit our rowers and canoeists were wearing began over two years ago. Again, working closely with JL and the official apparel sponsor – Adidas – we helped coordinate the kit project in the UK to ensure our athletes received their full kit allocation. The GB medal haul was astounding and we must make a special mention to Crewroom Ambassador and friend – Jess Eddie – who won silver in the women’s eight. On the retail side of the business 2016 saw us develop and extend our retail offering to ensure we could stock our three stores with innovative new products and supply our ever increasing online demand. We worked hard to make products that we knew people would love but also products that other retailers would want to sell. And, we’re chuffed to report that in 2016 the Crewroom brand was taken on by specialist running retailers including Run and Become in London and Run 4 It in Scotland. As a brand we constantly have to review our designs and ask ourselves if we are making the right products for our customer base. So it was an affirmation when, in December, we received not one, but two awards in Women’s and Men’s running Magazine. We won’t be resting on our laurels though, we know we need to continually develop desirable products and our design team is busy creating collections for 2018! 2016 has been another big year for us. We're passionate about our heritage and our vision so we're looking forward to 2017 and all the exciting opportunities and challenges ahead. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers who've joined us on the journey so far. Your enthusiasm for the brand and support really has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today. We hope you'll stay with us for the next chapter in our adventure and wish you all the very best for 2017!

If a healthy lifestyle is one of your resolutions this year then you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the right kit to get you fit. To get you motivated we’ve just started our best sale ever with more of your favourite Crewroom products added to the mix and bigger discounts. Here are just few products that will help get you moving… The Go South! Hoodie: Save £20 At this time of year, you need a good mid-layer to protect you from the elements. This is a fully functional piece of performance kit which is amazingly soft. The technical fabric is brushed so it feels great against your skin and it wicks and breathes. We've included distinct reflective branding for visibility, cuffs with thumbholes, secure zip pockets and an internal headphone loop so you can run to the beat. The Defy Legging: Save £20 Protect your legs on frosty days with a decent pair of leggings to make sure your muscles stay warm and blood is circulating. Using a four-way stretch, non-pilling fabric you'll love how these leggings fit and feel against your skin. Not only do they look great but they wick and breathe. The Take Cover Short: Save £17 We've used four-way stretch fabric which is wicking, breathable and extremely comfortable. These are the longest pair of shorts in our men's range with a 9" inseam and they include internal liner shorts to make them a fully functional pair of shorts across a number of activities from trail running to core training. The Hyggle Gilet: Save £49 This is ideal for when your core needs just a little bit more. An incredibly functional gilet with a Pertex Quantum shower resistant shell, Primaloft fill for warmth without bulk and super soft brushed fleece with four-way stretch. Perfect for protecting your core when you're out in the elements.