A love for travel often goes way beyond jumping on a plane and jetting off to some faraway place you may have even been to once or twice before, or one which you’re visiting for the very first time. That wanderlust permeates all areas of one’s life, with one of the best ways through which it does that being the compulsion to just get up off the couch and perhaps explore some of those interesting surroundings which are much closer to home. Who would have thought that much-needed inspiration to get up and go outside could ever get fuelled by the nation’s leading breakfast cereal, Weetabix?

I suppose it makes a lot of sense however because an active outdoors lifestyle does indeed require the right nutrition, but Weetabix is taking that a step further, teaming up with Denise Lewis this time to inspire even more people to get up and get outside.

The Summer of Sport campaign, which is running throughout July and August, gives consumers a unique chance to participate in a free sports session through promotional packs spanning the entire range of Weetabix products. The aim is really just to inspire people of all ages and abilities to celebrate the summer of 2016 through sports.

Leading the way as one of the campaign’s high-profile participants is heptathlete Denise Lewis OBE, who in this particular instance is taken right out of her sporting comfort zone and thrown into the cricket pitch to learn how to play what’s been previously referred to “the gentlemen’s game.” This was indeed Denise Lewis’ #sportingstart, sure to make for some interesting viewing.

Drawing on her inherent competitive and sporting nature, Lewis thinks back to the inspirational moments in her life which compelled her to get involved in sports:

“I watched the Olympics in 1980 and just loved it”.

“I didn’t know something like that existed, I was riveted, I watched all of it during the summer holidays, and I just wanted to be an athlete!

“I knew wanted to learn how to be an athlete; I didn’t know what it entailed but I joined up with my local club, so I was pretty active by the time I joined secondary school”

While she’d go on to cover herself in the ultimate glory a sportsperson could ever aspire to (Olympic gold medal), the heptathlete took a totally different sporting challenge right in her stride, setting the tone for more Brits to get up off the couch and perhaps also learn to play cricket as one of the sporting codes targeted by this Weetabix #sportingstart campaign. Here’s what she had to say:

“I’m very excited to be involved in this campaign, and with my background in sport I have a huge passion for nutrition and exercise. I have been presented with the challenging opportunity of learning women’s cricket…something I only played in the garden as a child, so this could be a very interesting experience for myself and somewhat comical for those watching!”

You can see for yourself how she fared, but the cricket ball is now in your hands and if you’re particularly interested in learning how to play cricket as well, look forward to getting a good solid grounding before thoroughly cycling through all the basics of the game.

Denise in action, pitting her newly-learned skills against the English Women’s Cricket Tream:

Denise Lewis’ involvement in the Weetabix ‘Summer of Sport’ Campaign goes beyond her taking up the challenge to learn to play cricket however, with a coaching experience that features her in her capacity as a gold medal-winning expert athlete in her sporting code of the heptathlon. Assisted by coach Ian Grant, Lewis was on hand to impart some of her tips and expert advice, sharing some insider knowledge on everything to do with heptathlon. What better way to inspire the nation to get up off the couch and get active?

Ian commented: “Typically, there are two types of athlete in the heptathlon; Sprinter and Jumper or; Sprinter and thrower…And the key is speed and explosiveness!”

Heptathlon is perhaps one of the best ways through which to get seriously active, quite simply because of what the sport entails. It’s a track-and-field event which includes 100m Hurdles, High Jump, Shot-put, 200m, Long Jump, Javelin Throw, and 800m.

Denise Lewis OBE, when quizzed on why exactly she chose heptathlon: Denise “I loved it, apart from the 800m. I found that I could put together two days relatively well and I didn’t look back.

“Then it was adjusting the training so I could accommodate all the events, that was quite challenging.”

 “Once I embarked on heptathlon I didn’t want to change, there’s just something special about it.

“Training’s tough, but it’s interesting because it’s ever changing.”

“You feel much more immersed in the sport because you are covering so many different events.

“You’re learning a lot more about your own temperament and personality.”