Be active - Pillar 3 of the New 5-a-day
High Intensity Interval Training!!!
Crossfit!!!
Feel the burn!!!
Hyrox!!!
Well, OK - if you want to…. There's nothing wrong with any of these; they are all good ways to get some exercise. If you want to - go ahead!
But how about having a nice walk… or throwing a ball for your dog… doing some stretches in front of Eastenders… or carrying the shopping back from town…
These all count as being Active, and studies across the world identify "Activity" as a key driver of increased life-span and health-span. Blue Zones' Sardinian shepherds aren't doing exercise, but they are keeping active as they walk up and down the hills that are part of their natural environment; the women in Okinawa aren't exercising, but they are keeping active as they walk around their neighbourhoods, visiting friends, and sitting down and getting up from the floor regularly. And these are areas known for their high proportion of centenarians.
Exercise has become a multi-billion pound industry in the UK and across the world, with more options available than ever before and, as ever, with options comes confusion, with expectation comes trepidation, and with challenge comes anxiety.
These gyms form an excellent community, somewhere the fit and focused can commune; but every in-crowd creates outsiders of every else. For every buff gym-bunny who feels at home pumping iron, there are many more of us who feel the anxiety rise at the mere thought of crossing the threshold into that sweaty box:
"What if I don't know what to do?"
"What if I drop something?"
"I'll only be able to do the lightest weights and everyone will laugh at me…"
Exercise is great - it is a great goal to target, and we will spend some time exploring and exploding some the myths that lie behind the anxieties and trepidations mentioned above. For now, though, we are not targeting exercise - we are targeting activity. Being active burns calories, it builds strength, and it keeps joints supple. Strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, balance - these are all indicia of longer life-spans and longer health-spans; and they are all improved through regular activity.
No expectations, no grand schemes.
Each one of us is different in our current level of activity and you are starting where you are - no judgment, no criticism.
In our Be Active chats, we will try to create a world where you can be 1% more active today than you were yesterday; 1% more active tomorrow than you are today. We'll look at simple ways we can all be more active, and share some basic science about WHY it is important and HOW being active will improve your life-span and health-span; we'll look at the latest trends and headlines and delve into the data behind them to help you decide if they are right for you; and we'll share some practical activities and trials that you might want to try for yourself.
