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Partly cloudyExercise in self-delusion, writes Richard Butt
Exercise in self-delusion, writes Richard Butt
22/12/2006
SPORT England's recent survey about who exercises regularly
showed predictable results.
Half of us do no exercise at all and only about one fifth of us do
enough exercise.
By "enough", Sport England means we should exercise three times a
week for 30 minutes at "moderate intensity". If 80 per cent of us
don't exercise enough, we don't recognise it. We kid
ourselves.
I asked people how much they exercised. Most said they did enough
but when questioned more closely, they admitted it mostly amounted
to ambling around the shops.
I don't know whether a television camera intimidated them, so they
made the best of a bad job, or whether they really believed they
were keeping fit. I hate to break it to them but that's not what's
meant by "moderate intensity". A brisk sweat-breaking pace up a
decent slope might just about cover it but wandering between Greggs
and McDonald's doesn't cut it.
Some said they didn't have the time. Really? Thirty minutes three
times in a week is half the amount of time an Emmerdale viewer will
devote to his or her soap.
The truth is that, even if you do those 90 minutes at moderate
intensity, you're not going to get a six-pack or be able to model
for Versace. Heck, you're not going to be able to model for
Bonmarché.
But at least you'll be reasonably fit - and therefore should be
healthier and might even live a longer life.
I've got two friends who've been prescribed gym membership on the
NHS - a sensible long-term approach to health.
One has taken to it with gusto and now does way more than the
minimum recommendation. It's improved both his physical health and
his mental health. It is early days for the other one.
The Sport England research also highlighted that the richer the
borough, the more exercise the residents do.
So Macclesfield was top in the North West, while Trafford came
first in Greater Manchester, followed by Stockport. Oldham was
bottom. It seems strange that the more you earn, the more calories
you burn.
You can tell you're in a prosperous place not just by the number of
cars in the driveways or by the leafiness of the area but by the
number of joggers pounding the pavements.
Some say the rich have better facilities so, of course, they'll
exercise more. I have no doubt that being able to afford to go to a
decent gym and have personal trainers does give them a decent head
start.
However, gyms aren't the be all and end all. Any able-bodied person
can walk. Most can run (a bit) and somehow we used to keep fit
before "health clubs" were invented.
As for equipment, it's not as though the people of Oldham, for
example, are strangers to shell suits and trainers. There are
plenty of hills there to go yomping up, should the fancy take them
- and there are some great views to reward them when they reach the
top.
So no more excuses when you make your New Year's resolutions!
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