HMS Queen Elizabeth: Royal Navy pioneers biggest fitness programme ever devised on Nato deployment

All 1,000-plus members of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s company were involved in the ‘Flagship Performance’ programme. The scheme is a physical and mental health and general wellbeing initiative.

Deputy Principal Medical Officer, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Roocroft, produced a hardback book which outlined how sailors can remain in top physical condition while abroad. This included a hectic programme of activities and events, as well as plant-based high protein options at mealtimes.

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Lieutenant Commander Oliver Hounslow, Training Management Officer, said: “We launched Flagship Performance using the mantra of ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ to encourage ownership of physical and mental health, drive engagement with communal activity, and push an agenda of personal and professional development."

The programme is founded on six ‘pillars’: sleep, daylight (namely, get some), nutrition (eat well), movement (fitness), mindset and connection (mental health and general well-being). More than 40 events, activities and drop-in sessions are organised on HMS Queen Elizabeth weekly.

These are organised by ambassadors, not just from the carrier’s medical team and physical training instructors, but also the training management team and regular members of the ship’s company.

Keen weightlifter Able Seaman Francis Raptis, of the aircraft carrier’s meteorological department, is the project’s ambassador. He said: “No problem has been too formidable for me as long as the luxury of the gym is available.

"No excuse has been too great so as to overpower my love and enthusiasm for stepping into the gym and pushing to be a better version of myself, not only physically though also in a psychological sense – as long as the mind is strong, the body is ready to cooperate and this perspective has been strengthened through exercise.

"It can be difficult for a lot of people at sea, particularly when the deployment is lengthy and when there is the consideration of family affairs at home. Being a flagship performance ambassador gives me the opportunity to enable people on board who may feel lost and confused to realise the great power of exercise in boosting resilience and building a strong and determined outlook.”

Writer Andrew Pellatt said that “physical and mental health wellbeing should be a right for anyone, of any background". He worked with people with special needs before joining the force and has used that experience to help and said the programme made the crew “physically and mentally robust for the challenges ahead”.

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Able Seaman Adam Gater organised training classes to educate them on how to look after each other’s mental health “because as a team you’re only as strong as your weakest member”. He said: “It is sometimes easier to talk to a close friend down the mess before going to sickbay.

"Therefore having better distributed training among the fleet could benefit anyone regardless of rank.” In total, some 300 sessions/activities were organised across the board.

These were held at no extra cost to the Royal Navy and fitted around the carrier’s operational programme.