Nick Nairn, celebrity chef, tells Patricia Weston that as an insomniac he needs to exercise in order to sleep and enjoys walking the Scottish hills
How do you keep fit? I do hill walking, mountain biking and windsurfing in the summer. Ideally I like to hill walk for a whole day or four to five hours at a time but I don't have the time so I do it twice a week for a very strenuous hour. I also do one good biking session a week for an hour or an hour and a half. I live on the edge of a lake in Scotland so I have all the gear ready in the summer to go windsurfing. It saves at least an hour in preparation so I can just jump on when the weather is right. I'm surrounded by hills so I can hit up to 25 knots on a good day.
Have you suffered any injuries? I have a bad back so I wear a harness when I'm windsurfing for support. My wife has convinced me to take up Pilates to strengthen my core so I'll have a Pilates teacher coming to the house soon.
As a chef are you conscious of your diet? Yes, I don't eat processed food and I don't add salt to my cooking. Sodium kills and causes hypertension and I think food tastes better if it's not loaded with salt.
What's your diet downfall? I'm terrible at skipping lunch and then eating too much in the evening. I eat lots of fruit and vegetables though. I don't like sweets or desserts but I love chocolate and I like a glass or three of wine.
Do you use alternative medicine? No, I think it's all a load of shite to be honest! My wife is a big fan of alternative remedies. I was having a massage on holidays recently and the masseuse was a Reiki master so she said she'd do Reiki on me but I thought it was a load of rubbish.
How important is exercise for you? I have an aggressive personality that needs to be channelled so I need to exercise aggressively and I'm very competitive. When I exercise I need to push myself really hard and need pain in my workout. Also, if I don't exercise I don't sleep because I'm insomniac. I run five different companies so I suffer a lot of stress, and exercise is a great way of relieving stress.
Patricia Weston says: Windsurfing is a great all over body workout:
The standing position on the board is like a squat because you stand with your legs apart straightening and bending as you move through the wind. This strengthens and tones the legs and the muscles in the bum.
Preventing the sail from dipping into the water also strengthens the back muscles, arms and shoulder muscles. Keeping your abdominals tight during this movement also tones the stomach muscles.
Windsurfing is a high-intensity aerobic fat-burning workout, especially in high winds and choppy waters, burning about 210 calories per hour.
Patricia Weston is an NCEHS fitness instructor, personal trainer and Pilates teacher.