The Open University

Why exercise helps with mental health

19 April 2017

What impact does exercise have on mental health? Lecturer in Sport and Fitness at The Open University, Karen Howells, provides expert insight into why exercise could improve your mental health. Mental health isn’t just the absence of illness “We know exercise is good for us; physically it can prevent diseases such as diabetes and keep us […]

5 fitness trends for 2017

29 December 2016

Simon Rea, OU Lecturer in Sport and Fitness, takes a look back at sport in 2016 and examines the big trends in fitness for 2017… More people are getting involved in sport As 2016 comes to an end Sport England released a very positive report saying that the number of women playing sport has reached […]

We must challenge the culture of silence about child sexual abuse in football

25 November 2016

Professional footballers, including the former Crewe Alexandra player Andy Woodward, have been speaking out recently about their experiences of sexual abuse as children. They include alleged victims of football coach Barry Bennell, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1998, and are waiving their right to anonymity. The NSPCC said a special hotline, […]

Illustration of training swimmers in a swimming pool

‘Super-human’ athletes are at risk from the post-Olympic blues – here’s why

23 August 2016

As nations all over the world welcome their Olympic athletes home, many of us will take a moment to reflect on the whirlwind of psychological pressure, physical strain, elation and disappointment, which they have just experienced. But whether they’re revelling in the glory of hard-won medals, or recovering from heartbreaking defeats, Olympic athletes won’t have […]

Why are Olympic athletes copping so much abuse? It all comes down to gender

16 August 2016

Every four years, the Olympic and Paralympic Games burst on to our screens, showcasing a rich variety of sports, athletes and cultures. For those not lucky enough to be in Rio this year, social media has made it possible to to share jokes, news, triumphs and disappointments with other viewers from around the world. But […]

Making young children give everything to football is a bad idea – here’s why

2 August 2016

As a result, they are taking on players very young. British clubs commonly take advantage of the fact that they can sign players on schoolboy terms from the age of nine. And the clubs invite even younger children to their development centres and have been known to scout five-year-olds. When a youngster signs for a […]

How Ranieri’s Leicester City rode the perfect storm to Premier League success

3 May 2016

Was it the right players, the right manager, the right opposition or all of the above? OU sport and fitness lecturer Simon Rea on how Ranieri’s Leicester City rode the perfect storm to Premier League success… While it was deemed less likely than Elvis Presley being found alive or the Loch Ness monster finally being […]

Leicester City: the classic triumph of the football underdog

3 May 2016

The German philosopher Theodor Adorno once wrote: “Football implies the desire to suffer” and by and large that is probably the experience of most football fans most of the time. But once in a while comes the pure joy that Leicester City fans are currently experiencing. And this is why fans put themselves through it, […]

Woman in fear of domestic abuse. Image credit: Thinkstock

Why sportspeople convicted of domestic violence forfeit their right to be ‘stars’

2 March 2016

When Floyd Mayweather took on Manny Pacquiao last year in what was billed as the “fight of the century”, the pair of us made the conscious decision not to watch the bout, despite an interest in boxing both as spectators and participants. Unlike some reporters, who claimed to be banned from watching it – ours […]

Sport 2016: Here come the Brits

3 January 2016

Simon Rea, Lecturer in Sport and Fitness, looks forward to Team GB creating a carnival in Rio… The London Olympics saw an unprecedented level of British success. This has led the public having high expectations for the success of British athletes at the Rio Games later this year. In 2012 British athletes brought home 65 […]

OU News

Category: Sport