Published: 17 November 2022
On Thursday 10 November, we were joined by alumni Physiotherapy alumna, Fran Brown, and Biomedical Science alumnus, Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi, for the first Alumni Perspectives event of the academic year. Our Alumni Perspectives events are an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our alumni and share their stories, while providing valuable insight for current students into different career paths.
Fran is a three-time European Paratriathlon Champion who won Gold for Great Britain in the Para-cycling Road World Championships in Canada in August this year, and Dr Al-Zubaidi is a lifestyle medic and long-distance triathlete with a regular slot on the channel 4 show, Steph’s Packed Lunch. Fran and Hussain spoke about their career journeys since graduating from St George’s and some of the challenges they faced along the way.
Fran has always had a passion for sport, and took part in climbing competitions throughout her time at school. She spoke about her return to sport following an accident at work, which resulted in a C4 spine injury: ‘My way of adapting was to use the challenges I was presented with and turn them around to get back into the things I did before. A lot of people in my friendship group were climbers, and rock climbing was like my gym, it was a way to get strong again.’
She shared advice with others on managing time during training: ‘Have a plan that is very clear, but also very flexible. It helps me to have a broader-picture plan when I have to fit sessions around work – making sure I get in a few key sessions over a period of a few weeks.
‘Whichever sport you do, there are days when you won’t want to train. But all of those sessions add up and have a huge impact on your overall performance - and those skipped sessions are the sort of thing that detract from that in the long-run.’
‘The main piece of advice I’d share with someone juggling sport with a career, or even just getting into a sport, is consistency. Just showing up and doing the work every day is probably the most important thing.‘
- Fran Brown -
‘Whichever sport you do, there are days when you won’t want to train. But all of those sessions add up and have a huge impact on your overall performance - and those skipped sessions are the sort of thing that detract from that in the long-run.’
Hussain, who competed in three marathons and an Iron Man event last year to raise money for The Myton Hospices, spoke about his own personal journey of taking up physical activity from a previously sedentary lifestyle.
‘For quite a large chunk of my life, I’ve been quite overweight. It was a big shock to be told that I had fatty liver disease, and the first thing I did was to try to improve my nutrition and lose weight through that.
‘But it was going to parkrun for the first time that really changed my perspective on things. It was the wake-up call that I needed to realise that I couldn’t lead the lifestyle I was living.
‘The most important step if you’re trying to improve your lifestyle is to set a realistic goal. Patients will come to me with really big goals initially. It’s fantastic to have a dream, but a dream can only be achieved through lots of small, simple steps.’
- Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi -
In the Q&A, Fran and Hussain both shared valuable advice for those interested in pursuing similar careers to themselves. You can find details of some of the resources they mentioned below.
Catch up on the event
If you didn’t make it to the event but would like to send a question to Fran or Hussain, please email alumni@sgul.ac.uk.
Advice on getting into Sports Physiotherapy
- Take on a sports-related volunteering role. Getting a pitch-side First Aid qualification - for example, through the FA - can be a good way to allow you to take on more hand-on roles.
- Visit the link to find out more about the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in sports and exercise medicine (ACPSEM). ACPSEM helps members to develop their knowledge and skills, and provides a network of sports physiotherapists to promote experiential learning opportunities.
Advice on becoming a Lifestyle GP
- Nutritank is a website run by medical students around nutrition and lifestyle.