Skip the Math; Get Rid of the Finger; Invest in a Heart Rate Monitor:
To get the most out of your workouts, you need to reach 80% of your heart rate training zone. There are three ways to measure your heart rate. Stop your exercise, hold your index finger to the pulse in your neck and count the beats per minute. The second way is to measure your pulse rate. The third is to use a high tech device called a Heart Rate Monitor. It consists of a chest strap and a wristwatch type band that automatically measures your beats. You can pre-set it to beep when you reach your desired training zone. If you don’t want to bother with mathematical equations to figure your proper heart rate training zone, buy a Heart Rate Monitor. It may set you back upwards of $100 but it will guarantee to measure your heart rate. Most Sports Specialty stores have them. Bicycle shops usually carry them and they can be ordered through fitness catalogues and magazines.
‘Take it to the Next Level’ Circuit Training:
Incorporate circuit training into your fitness routine for a surefire way to reach the next level of endurance, strength and weight loss. Instead of spending 30-60 minutes doing aerobics and another 30-60 minutes doing strength training, combine the two for a more robust workout. Take the boredom out of your routine by spending five minutes on aerobics (standard machines such as treadmill, stair stepper, stair climber, bicycle, elliptical trainer, cross trainer) then alternate with five minutes of strength training (free weights, weight machines, rubber bands.)

In your weight training routine, you don’t have to work all your target areas at once. Instead, work one area a day for about 20 minutes. For example, your program might look like this:

• Monday: Chest and Back Weight Training for 20 min.
• Tuesday: Shoulder Strength Exercise for 20 min.
• Wednesday: Abs Weight Training for 20 min.
• Thursday: Biceps and Triceps Strength Training for 20 min.
• Friday: Grab Bag/Wild Card for 20 min.
• Saturday: Hip and Thigh Weight Training for 20 min.
• Sunday: Chest and Shoulder Strength Training for 20 min.

Choose a set of exercises for each day and follow your weight training program. You can vary it, especially as you add more reps to your arm curls, incline chest presses, shoulder presses, and kickbacks. Remember, you don’t have to devote countless hours to working out to look and feel good.

Many people prefer sports drinks to water because they taste better and it´s easier to drink them more often in a sports nutrition diet.

If the sports drink contains a small amount of carbohydrate, sodium, and potassium, the drink will effectively hydrate the person. The following facts are important to consider when using a sports drink for sports nutrition:

- Sports drinks should contain between 14 and 19 grams of
carbohydrate per eight-ounce serving (six to eight percent). A drink with more than ten percent carbohydrate may cause slow absorption, nausea, cramps, or diarrhea. A drink with five percent or less sugar solution may not provide enough additional sports nutrition energy to increase exercise length.
- Carbonation causes stomach bloating. Dilute carbonated drinks to half-strength.
- The correct sodium level for sports nutrition supplement drinks is 100-110 milligrams per eight ounces. Sodium content in sports drinks can range from eight to 116 milligrams.
- Fruit juices have 10-15 percent carbohydrate and need to be diluted. Mix one part juice to seven parts water.
- You do not sweat out vitamins; there´s no need to buy sports nutrition drinks that include vitamins.
- Water is adequate for exercise under one hour. However, if the exercise is intense or lasts more than an hour, a sports drink will be beneficial.
- If you´re participating in a sports event lasting four hours or more, you need a sports nutrition drink that contains from 110 to 120 milligrams of sodium.

“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.” -Arabian Proverb

1. Move More
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ‘move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that’s great when you’re up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!

2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!

3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or ‘tough guy’ stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.

4. Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.

5. Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can’t live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: ‘Smoke gets in your eyes’…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.

6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.

7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it’s because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don’t? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body’s boss.

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can’t be unhappy when you’re smiling or singing.

10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn’t mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

Ever feel there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you want, including being more active?

In this article

If you work away from home If you look after children

If you’re based at home The early bird

Night owls Maximize your exercise time

For many people, the same computer-based jobs that have taken the physical element out of work also take up so much time that exercise is the last thing they feel like doing when they get home. The key to finding time to exercise is to realize two things:

• It doesn’t have to take very long – just half an hour a day (in ten-minute bursts if necessary) at least 3 times a week.
• It can be built into your day-to-day life - it doesn’t necessarily have to be found as additional time.

Despite advances in technology, many of us still spend more - rather than less - time at work. However, there are ways in which you can be more active:

• Go for a walk in your lunch break. Try to find at least three different walks and vary them throughout the week. It might even be possible to find an indoor walking route, incorporating stair climbing, for those inevitable bad weather days.
• Talk to your employers about promoting health at work. If they don’t already, ask if it’s possible to provide showers and cycle racks to encourage people to cycle to work. You might even be able to encourage them to provide subsidised membership at a local gym where you could go at lunchtime.
• Walk to and from work. If you live too far away, park further from the office or get off the bus or train one stop earlier – even a ten-minute walk will help as long as it is hard enough to get you slightly out of breath.

Having children can change everything about your lifestyle. Some parents find their activity levels drop and their weight increases as going to the gym or playing sport become more difficult. Here are some positive steps you can take:

• Exercise with your child. Take them to the local swimming pool or play in the garden or local park.
• Find out which local sports and leisure centres have exercise facilities, so you can exercise while your child is being looked after.
• Walk your child to school. Not only will this help you to be active, it will also help your child develop an early pattern of physical activity that might stay with them into adulthood.
• Find out if there are activities available at your child’s school for the local community. Many schools use their facilities for sports and exercise classes in the evenings and at weekends.

• Plan your week so you have to walk to the shops frequently. By going often you’ll only have to carry light bags of shopping back.
• Look at ways in which you can be more active in and around your home. Use the stairs to exercise, work in the garden or – if you have the space and can afford it - install some gym equipment, such as a mini trampoline or rowing machine, for example. Failing that, invest in a skipping rope.
• Look for community-based activity programmes in your local area. These don’t have to be fitness classes, just anything that gets you moving. Conservation groups can be a great way to get involved in improving your local environment and being active at the same time.

If your normal day really doesn’t let you incorporate exercise, one option is to get up earlier. If you normally set the alarm clock for 7.30am, set it for 7am instead and use the extra half-hour to go for a brisk walk or even a swim if you have a pool nearby. We all experience exercise differently at different times of the day because of our individual biological cycle, and you might not be a ‘morning person’, but it’s worth a try as exercise first thing can really wake you up and leave you feeling invigorated for the day ahead.

Alternatively, if you’re not an early bird, consider looking at how you could use any free time you have in the evening to increase your activity patterns. Most of us spend a lot of time sitting watching TV in the evenings, but you could buy some home exercise equipment and work out while you’re doing it.

Experiment to find a time for exercise that suits you best.

• Make an appointment to exercise - and write it in your diary. You could also record what you did in your workout, so you can keep track of your achievements.
• You can extend this idea by making a real appointment with a friend, colleague or relative to exercise together. If you’ve arranged to meet someone, you’re a lot less likely to skip it.
• Keep some exercise kit handy in the places you spend most of your time. This might mean leaving clothes at college, work, with friends or relatives, or in the boot of your car. By having the right clothes handy you can exercise whenever you get an unexpected free 15 minutes or a sudden burst of enthusiasm.
• Consider taking active holidays such as a cycle tour or walking holiday. You still need to get your exercise five days a week, but getting in shape for your holiday might be a good incentive, and if you enjoy it enough it might inspire you to keep it going when you get home.
• If you own a car, leave it at home as much as possible and walk or cycle to the shops for those small things such as milk or a newspaper.

We’re increasingly living in a world where physical activity has stopped being a day-to-day part of our lives. We have domestic appliances to wash and dry for us and cars to get us around, and with the decline in manual labour many of us spend our working day sitting at desks.

In this article

Strenuous, moderate or mild? Recommended activity levels

Older people Safety first - avoiding illness and injury

When we get home, we think nothing of spending the evening sitting or even lying down in front of the TV. If that sounds like your routine, then it’s important to remember any exercise at all is better than none.

Many people’s views on sport and exercise were formed during school PE lessons – endless laps of a muddy field, or standing around shivering in T-shirt and shorts, hoping the ball didn’t come near you. Most of us have seen film of people running a marathon who look ready to keel over.

Not surprising then that many people regard exercise as something miserable that has to be very, very hard to do you any good. It doesn’t.

In fact, there’s a well-established theory that mild to moderate physical activity is, for most people, the best way to better health. Apart from anything else, unless you do something you enjoy – or can at least put up with – you won’t stick at it. Similarly, if you start off doing too much too soon, you’ll get fed up and stop, get injured or even make yourself ill.

So what’s the right amount of exercise to get fit and healthy without injuring yourself in the process?

The intensity at which you workout can be described as strenuous, moderate or mild. What constitutes a strenuous, moderate or mild exercise workload for you will depend on your current fitness.

If you’re an Olympic 10,000m runner, jogging one mile in nine minutes would count as mild activity. For most people, though, it would be strenuous, if not impossible. Experts recommend that for purposes of general health, mild to moderate levels of physical activity are all that’s required.

For many of us, this means brisk or purposeful walking, or the equivalent level of effort in another activity. Again, what brisk means will depend on your current state of health or fitness. It’s a pace at which you feel you’re making good progress while still being able to hold a conversation.

As a rule of thumb, exercise of moderate intensity will make you a little warm or sweaty, and slightly out of breath, but no more than that.

According to the government, only 37 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women take enough exercise to get any benefit from it. To avoid obesity, heart disease and other life-limiting conditions, the chief medical officer (the government’s top doctor) recommends the following:

• Adults should do a minimum of 30 minutes moderate-intensity physical activity, five days a week.
• You don’t have to do the whole 30 minutes in one go. Your half-hour could be made up of three ten-minute bursts of activity spread through the day, if you prefer.
• The activity can be a ‘lifestyle activity’ (in other words, walking to the shops or taking the dog out) or structured exercise or sport, or a combination of these. But it does need to be of at least moderate intensity.
• People who are at specific risk from obesity, or who need to manage their weight because of a medical condition, need 45-60 minutes of exercise at least five times a week.
• For bone health, activities that produce high physical stresses on the bones are necessary.

These recommendations also apply to older adults, assuming they’re healthy and mobile enough to manage them.

In fact, older people should take particular care to retain their mobility through daily activity. Specific activities to improve strength, coordination and balance are particularly beneficial for older people.

Remember you’re taking up exercise to improve your health, not to make yourself ill or injured. Bear the following in mind:

• Start slowly. If you haven’t done much activity for some time, it’s important to build up to the recommended activity level over a few weeks. This might mean starting with a walk of just five minutes.
• If you’re not sure how hard you can work because of any health problems you may have, talk to your GP or practice nurse for help and advice. You shouldn’t assume because you have, say, a heart condition or a bad back that you can’t exercise. In fact, there are many conditions for which certain exercises are positively beneficial. But it may be that you need to rule out certain activities, or build up more gradually than other people – so get medical advice first.
• Pregnant women should also take medical advice about exercising. Exercising during pregnancy can be excellent for posture, and strengthening your abdominal muscles and pelvic floor, but there are also signs that mean you should consult a doctor first, such as bleeding, headaches or nausea, or if you have pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, or have had more than one miscarriage, for example.
• Eat sensibly. Often when we talk about a sensible diet, we mean eating a little less, but once you start exercising there’s also the danger of eating too little and having too little energy. We all need a healthy, balanced diet that contains the right vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and proteins, but if you’re exercising you’re burning energy so you need to make sure you have enough ‘fuel’. Again, if you’re unsure about the best diet for you, talk to your GP.
• Don’t get dehydrated. During exercise our bodies get hot, and our main way of cooling down is to sweat, which means we lose fluid. On average, we lose one litre of fluid for every hour we exercise. The longer and harder you work, the more you’ll lose and there’s no way to be exact about how much you should drink. Try to drink 300ml to 500ml of fluid in the 15 minutes before your workout, then about 150ml to 250ml every 15 minutes during exercise. For moderate exercise of about half an hour, water is fine – for longer, more strenuous workouts, specialist sports drinks may be better.
• Warm up and stretch. Again, this is more important the longer and harder your planned exercise is, but it’s a good habit to get into if you want to prevent injuries, such as pulled muscles.

The bottom line is that any physical activity, no matter how little, is better than none.

In this article

Walking Running/jogging Swimming

Cycling Dance Soccer

Gym Racket sports

Some people hold back from getting fit because they feel self-conscious about their ability or body and want to find an activity they can do on their own, but organised classes and sports clubs can provide you with support and motivation, as well as a chance to make new friends.

If you’re interested in football, hockey or other team sports, for example, many local clubs will have several teams of varying abilities, while there are plenty of aerobics or yoga classes specifically designed to cater for beginners.

You’re never too old to learn to swim, or you can take classes to improve your technique if that’s what’s holding you back.

But many activities can be done by yourself, and require neither technical expertise nor much in the way of equipment or expense - just your willingness to give it a go.

Here are some of the best, easiest and most popular ways to start getting fit, as well as some suggestions for alternatives, plus organisations that get you started or put you in touch with a local club.

Walking

Most of us walk at some point each day but we do it far less than we used to – the government calculates there’s been a decline of more than 20 per cent in the number of miles walked since the mid-1980s.

But walking’s the simplest and cheapest of all exercises, and making it a regular activity and focusing on the intensity or distance covered can greatly increase your fitness.

Walking improves the condition of your heart and lungs (cardiovascular fitness) and works the muscles of the lower body. It’s a weight-bearing activity, so it may improve bone density, yet it’s also low impact, putting less stress on the joints than some other forms of exercise.

Aside from the health benefits of walking, some of the country’s most beautiful scenery can only be accessed on foot, so if you don’t try walking, think what you’re denying yourself. If you’re a novice, go in groups or as part of an organised outing via a ramblers club.

Walking up hills expends more energy - even walking down again uses more energy than walking on the flat, but if you don’t think you’re ready for the hills yet, boost your fitness by walking just about anywhere.

You could try power walking in the park, for example: the idea is to walk at such a fast pace that it would actually be easier to break into a run. You burn more calories walking at this speed than you would running at the same pace.

If you do little activity at the moment, the following tips can help kick-start your walking programme:

• Walk, don’t drive, to the local shop. If you have a lot to carry, take a small rucksack.
• If you have children, walk them to and from school as briskly as you all can manage.
• Get off the bus or train a stop or two early. This will give you some extra daily exercise - and might even reduce your fare.
• Take a walk during your lunch hour. Half an hour’s walk after a meal will cut the amount of fat you store by using it to fuel your exercise.
• Once a week take a longer walk along a completely different route to keep things interesting.

Running/jogging

Running might just be the ultimate way to get fit: it’s cheap, can be done anywhere, at any time and, most importantly, is very effective. There’s really no difference between running and jogging, although jogging is often used to describe running at a slow pace. Whatever you call it, all you need is a good pair of running shoes and a little enthusiasm.

As long as you’re healthy and take it easy to start with, anyone can run. If you have a history of diabetes, chest pain, angina, asthma, epilepsy, high blood pressure, have had recent surgery or are pregnant, consult a doctor first.

As a high-impact activity, running may maintain or increase bone density, helping to offset osteoporosis. But it can also put more stress on your joints than lower impact activities such as walking and cycling, especially if you’re overweight. Again, if you’re concerned, consult your GP.

As with all exercise, you must warm up first. Start by walking at a brisk pace, then gradually break into a slow jog. Run at a pace at which you can still hold a conversation, but which definitely feels harder than walking. If you’re getting too breathless to talk, slow down or walk for a while until you’re breathing more easily.

To begin with, aim to run/walk in this way for ten minutes in total. Do this every second or third day, gradually reducing the walking time and increasing the running until you can run for the full ten minutes.

At the end of each session, warm down by finishing with a slow jog or brisk walk until your heart rate and breathing have returned to more normal levels. Stretch while your muscles are still warm.

Next, start to increase the total duration of your run by a minute or two every third session, until you can manage 30 minutes three times a week. Even if you’re feeling good, don’t be tempted to increase your running time by more than ten per cent each week.

Many people are put off running because they find it boring. For this reason, it is important to get a bit of variety in your running. There are many different sorts of running – road running, cross-country running, fell running (running in the hills), or you could run at your local athletics track, or even on a treadmill at the gym (though running on a moving treadmill uses less energy).

Other ways to stay motivated include:

• Have a clear aim, such as competing in a local fun run or being able to run non-stop for an hour.
• Be realistic. Don’t commit to run a marathon in three months if you’ve never run before.
• Think of yourself as a runner and make running a habit, just like cleaning your teeth. Think in terms of “when I go for my run” rather than “if I go for a run”.
• Keep a diary. Record your progress, the time of day, weather, how you felt, where you went and so on.

There are running clubs in most towns that welcome new runners of all ages and standards. Your fellow runners will be able to encourage you and can give you advice on appropriate clothing and other kit.

Swimming

Swimming is another popular way to start getting fit because most towns have a pool, it’s still relatively inexpensive and you need even less kit than you do for running.

Most pools also offer lessons if you’re a non-swimmer, or you haven’t swum for years and want to improve your technique.

Swimming is a great way to tone up and trim down, because to swim you need to move your body against the resistance of the water. Just swimming a few lengths involves most of the major muscle groups, giving your body a good workout. And if you crank up the pace, you’ll get a brilliant aerobic workout, too.

Swimming is also an effective form of fat-burning exercise: because you can swim at your own pace, slowly if you wish, you can keep swimming for long periods, and maintaining your staying power is a vital goal in fat-burning exercise.

The other big advantage is that water supports your weight and takes the stress off your joints, so you can put your body through a good workout without your knees, hips or spine paying the price.

Research shows that exercising in waist-deep water reduces the pressure on joints by 50 per cent, while exercising in chest-deep water reduces it by as much as 75 per cent. This can also make it a great exercise if you’re recovering from an injury that means you can’t run or play your normal sport.

However, while this is great if you have joint problems such as arthritis, it won’t build up much protection against the brittle bone disease osteoporosis because it’s not a weight-bearing exercise, so you make want to alternate swimming with other activities.

Cycling

Many of the short trips we make by car are ideal for a quick spin on the bike, plus you’ll be helping to protect the environment. A staggering 70 per cent of all car trips are less than five miles. Even though most of us own bikes - there are an estimated 27 million across the UK - we just don’t use them.

Some of the main benefits of cycling are:

• A healthy heart. A major study of more than 10,000 people found those who cycle at least 20 miles a week are half as likely to have heart problems as those who don’t cycle at all.
• Weight control. Some research suggests we should be burning up at least 2,000 calories a week through exercise (actually far more than used by the recommended 30 minutes of moderately intensive exercise five times a week). Cycling burns about 300 calories an hour, so if you do it twice a day, the numbers soon add up.
• It can be part of your routine. If you’re worried about making time for exercise, why not see whether it’s feasible to cycle to and from work, which would incorporate excellent exercise into your normal daily routine.
• Because the bicycle supports your body, cycling isn’t necessarily a weight-bearing exercise. This means it’s good for people with certain bone and joint problems because it puts very little pressure on them, but it makes it less effective for protecting against osteoporosis.

Dance

Dancing is largely an aerobic activity that improves the condition of the heart and lungs, as well as testing your balance. To dance for any length of time also requires muscular endurance and motor fitness.

Many people think they can’t dance because they have poor coordination, but anyone can dance. The main purpose is to enjoy moving to music, so dancing is suitable for people of all ages, shapes and sizes.

As with most activities, it’s a matter of starting gently and building up to the right level of activity. See if your local college, social club or leisure centre runs classes. As well as keeping you fit, something like a salsa class is an easy way of meeting other people.

Soccer

It’s one of the world’s favourite participation and spectator sports, but soccer is just one of many examples of team sports that are accessible to people of all ages and both sexes.

Almost all towns and cities in North America have soccer clubs that operate at varying levels, from social to professional. In addition, leagues are set up for the full game and five-a-side, and are organised through sports and social clubs, health clubs, sports centres, schools and even pubs.

Soccer is a multiple sprint sport requiring players to spend some of their time sprinting and other times running fast or slowly, walking or even standing still.

Varying degrees of fitness are required, depending on the player’s position in the team, the amount of time spent on the field and the level at which the game is played, but a full 90-minute match, for example, demands high levels of aerobic fitness.

Gym

The gym can be a good place to work on overall aerobic fitness and build muscle strength, or just somewhere to exercise on days when you can’t face the cold or the rain.

Gym-based activities include aerobic exercise such as running, rowing or cycling machines, weight training, and classes, such as aerobics or aerobic dance. All ages and fitness levels are catered for and improvements can be measured and exercise programmes tailored to your needs.

Check your instructor is qualified to recognised standards, especially if you’re weight training. Incorrect technique can easily lead to injuries or make existing problems worse.

Some gyms can be expensive to join, but many facilities often offer a cheaper alternative where you can pay per session rather than shelling out for an annual membership.

Racket sports

Racket sports, especially squash, have a great reputation for fitness, but beware: to play racket sports safely and prevent unnecessary injuries you need to be properly prepared - and already pretty fit.

Racket games, like squash, tennis and badminton, come under the heading of multiple sprint sports, which tax all the energy systems and require a combination of skill, stamina, strength, power and reaction time.

These are sports one should get fit to play, rather than play to get fit. Injuries and even sudden death have been associated with the high-intensity bursts of activity characteristic of racket sports.

The most likely causes are a lack of fitness and a failure to warm up and stretch before playing. Those most at risk are people who are highly competitive and often under a great deal of stress. These people should ensure they play regularly and often (at least once a week) and that they also train for the sport. They should also ensure they have enough time to warm up and stretch before playing

In this article

The statistics The excuses

School sports How much exercise do I need?

The statistics

• In the most official recent survey, doctors found 16.6 per cent of boys and 16.7 per cent of girls aged under ten are obese
• Three in ten boys and four in ten girls aged two to 15 are not doing the amount of physical activity recommended by the chief medical officer
• On current trends, 22 per cent of girls and 19 per cent of boys between the ages of two and 15 will be obese by 2010

It seems fewer and fewer young people are interested in playing sport or getting involved in other physical activities – and there’s a battery of excuses for avoiding it. It’s true the thought of exercise doesn’t make everyone jump for joy, but no one was born with a ‘rubbish-at-sport’ gene so, however hopeless you think you are, there’s an activity out there to suit you.

The excuses

• “It’s not cool.” Try telling David Beckham, Andy Murray and Ellen MacArthur. All right, we can’t all reach the very top, but we can all get a lot out of being fitter. People who tell you it’s not cool are usually the ones who couldn’t run to catch a bus if their lives depended on it.
• “None of my friends or family does it.” Be a trailblazer. They might be inspired by your example. If your friends and family make fun of fit folk it might actually be because they’re jealous.
• “It’s a boy thing.” It’s true more boys than girls do exercise, but that’s not because girls are rubbish at sport. Many girls don’t find the activities at school suit them, but there are things to try outside school, such as dance or martial arts.
• “It’s sore/uncomfortable/sweaty.” It should never be sore for long, or uncomfortable, and feeling a bit stiff after activity is natural. Yes, activity does make you sweat, but if you’re enjoying yourself you probably won’t notice - and everyone else gets sweaty too.
• “I don’t want muscles.” Being fit and having bulging muscles don’t necessarily go together. To get big muscles you have to do a programme of specific exercises.
• “I’m overweight/skinny/have a disability.” Don’t worry about what you think you look like - get in there and enjoy yourself. If you’re genuinely very overweight, not just a stone or less, talk to your doctor and tell them what you want to do. If you’ve got a disability, don’t let yourself be cut out of the action - getting fit benefits everyone.
• “I don’t like joining in/teams.” Fine. If teams leave you cold, check out activities you can do by yourself or with a friend.
• “I’d rather play with the computer/watch TV/talk to my mates.” It doesn’t have to be either/or - you can do both.

Once you’ve got over worrying about looking daft or getting sweaty, think about all the positive reasons for being physically active.

Apart from the health benefits people of all ages get from exercise, it’s also an opportunity to meet up with friends or make new ones, it can provide a fun break from the stresses of school and exams, and it can give you a real sense of achievement - you never know, you might discover a talent you never knew you had.

School sports

Some people are particularly uncomfortable about sport and exercise at school. If that’s the case for you, try these steps to resolve the problem:

• Talk to the teacher concerned on the quiet, if you can, and explain what’s bothering you. Teachers are there to encourage you into doing more than you think you can. If you really can’t, then say so.
• If a particular sport or activity is a nightmare, ask if there’s something else you could do instead. Come up with some suggestions so it’s clear you’re being helpful rather than just trying to get out of it.
• If you’re worried about what you look like, talk to your teacher. Ask if it’s possible to wear tracksuit bottoms or baggy clothing if you’re worried about your weight, for example.
• If periods are a problem, talk to the teacher (or a female teacher if your PE teacher is male). Exercise often helps with period pain once you start, but if they’re particularly bad, ask to sit out.

How much exercise do I need?

The government recommends that children and young people get one hour of physical activity a day.

This activity should be of at least moderate intensity – in other words, you should work up a bit of a sweat and get slightly out of breath. But if you can manage something a bit more strenuous, then that’s even better.

At least twice a week you should include activities to improve bone health, muscle strength and flexibility. Activities that are ‘weight bearing’ (in other words, where you are on your feet, rather than in water or on a bike) help build strong bones.

By 2008, the government hopes to have 85 per cent of young people aged five to 16 spending at least two hours a week on high-quality PE and school sport, both during the school day and afterwards. It says by 2010 it aims to have all schoolchildren doing twice that much.

But a report by medical experts, published in medical magazine The Lancet last year, says even an hour’s activity a day, which most young people don’t achieve, isn’t enough. If you want to avoid heart disease and obesity, you need to do 90 minutes exercise a day, experts say.

In this article

The excuses

Don’t be a statistic

Keep mobile

The excuses

The pressures of home and family life can also mean it feels as if there’s little time left to fit in exercise. It’s certainly tough to get started.

So, it’s worth thinking about what you gain from regular exercise and making even a partial improvement to your fitness.

• Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease - in other words, if you don’t exercise you dramatically increase your risk of dying from a heart attack
• Conversely, exercise means a healthier heart because it reduces several cardiovascular risks, including high blood pressure
• Being physically active can bolster good mental health and help you to manage stress, anxiety and even depression
• Regular exercise can help you achieve and maintain an ideal weight, which can be important in managing many health conditions, or may just make you feel happier about your appearance
• All exercise helps strengthen bones and muscles to some degree, but weight-bearing exercise, such as running, is especially good in promoting bone density and protecting against osteoporosis, which affects men as well as women
• Different exercises help with all sorts of health niggles, such as digestion, poor posture and sleeplessness, and physical activity can be beneficial for a range of medical conditions, from diabetes to lower back pain

Don’t be a statistic

There are lots of positive reasons for getting fitter, including meeting new people, discovering new interests and generally feeling better, but if you need to be scared into doing more exercise, consider the following:

• On current trends a third of men will be obese by 2010, according to a 2006 Centers For Disease Control (CDC) Report.
• Between 2003 and 2006, obesity in adults rose by nearly 40 per cent
• The picture is just as worrying for our young people - by 2010, it’s predicted 22 per cent of girls and 19 per cent of boys between the ages of two and 15 will be obese, with girls under 11 at particular risk
• Obesity is responsible for 9,000 premature deaths a year in this country, and is a major contributory factor to heart disease
• Coronary heart disease (CHD) is still the leading cause of death in the US, accounting for about a fifth of all deaths, according to CDC Statistics
• About a third of deaths caused by CHD are among people aged under 75

Keep mobile

Almost half of adults in the US will be aged over 50 by 2020. We tend to assume the benefits and pleasures of sport, exercise and fitness are only for younger people, but think again. The rewards of improved fitness later in life can be great – both for your health and social life.

Statistics show activity levels decline steadily with age, and by their mid-50s few people take regular exercise.

But regular activity is especially important as you age because it has beneficial effects on conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and helps you maintain mobility and mental well-being and, consequently, your independence.

There’s no reason you should give up the sport you love just because you’re getting older. There are plenty of exceptions to the statistical trend of decreased activity as we get older – at clubs up and down the country, for example, there are runners in their 50s, 60s and beyond whose fitness puts people 20 or 30 years their junior to shame.

And even if you weren’t especially active or sporty at a younger age, it’s never too late to start. Male or female, single or with a partner, there’s lots you can do, and enjoy.

Some of the health benefits you’ll get are the same as younger people, but there are things that are of particular benefit as you get older:

• More energy - exercise makes you feel more energetic, while sitting around not doing much makes you feel sluggish and unable to do anything
• Improved sleep - your body and mind feel as though they’ve done something and are ready for rest at night
• Stable weight - regular exercise helps to keep you at a healthy weight
• Improved circulation and lower blood pressure
• Delayed ageing - keeping active strengthens your muscles, joints and bones as well as helping with mobility and balance, important as it helps to prevent falls, which are the leading cause of injury and death for the over-75s

On top of the health benefits, exercise can be an excellent way to meet new people, whether it’s at a gym, a rambling or running club, or just people you meet while walking the dog.