"Colossal" 30-day challenge to support Guernsey Mind

Monday 28 December 2020

An islander has set himself a gruelling ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’ challenge of his own creation, in order to raise money for charity in the first 30 days of the new year.

Personal trainer Joe Collenette will undertake the colossal challenge that he hopes will inspire others to participate. His goal is to raise £1,000 for Guernsey Mind, which was chosen because he is passionate about the link between positive physical and mental health.

“I hope this will raise awareness on how to improve and maintain physical well-being,” said Mr Collenette.

“I find it strange that we shower our bodies at least once a day, but rarely our minds. Sometimes we find it hard to let thoughts, feelings and beliefs go.”

Every day, for 30 days, Mr Collenette will be completing four physical and mental exercises as part of the challenge. These are:

1. 100 minutes of meditation – “nothing too fancy or transcendent, just 100 minutes of focusing on my breath. The aim is to stay present with my breath, and simply observe thoughts and feelings passing in and out of my mind.”

2. 10 minute swim – “it’s going to be cold, but that’s the point,” he said. A study from the British Medical Journal suggests that cold water swimming could have an impact for people struggling with depression; it stimulates the heart and creates a surge of adrenaline which ‘flushes out’ cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.

3. 10 sets of 10, 100kg squats – “It’s a great activity for putting your weight into the ground via your feet, sending your energy in the opposite direction to where we live most of our lives; with our thoughts.”

4. 10km run – “There’s nothing else to think about when you’re out of breath but the lactic acid in your legs, and the oxygen trying to get back into the lungs.”

Mr Collenette is encouraging other islanders to join him for his challenges, or try any amount of the challenge that they feel they can accomplish. Donations can be made via his JustGiving page, and his progress will also be tracked through a Facebook blog he has set up for the challenge.