Can three busy professionals meet the recommended minimum of half an hour’s exercise a day, five days a week?
We should all be exercising for a minimum of half an hour a day five days a week, say new health guidelines. But squeezing a daily run or gym session into our working lives is an impossible challenge for many people, especially multi-tasking mothers and over-tasked commuters.
Women are especially at risk – a recent report from the UK Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation revealed only one in five women takes enough physical activity. Scientists warn that even people who do not exercise but appear slim may be “fat inside” because they are storing fat around organs, putting them at risk of heart disease.
So how manageable are these exercise targets? Three London-based volunteers were provided with a personal trainer for a week to ensure they did their required two-and-a-half hours. Here are the results.
The Fitness Phobic
Sophie Goodchild
Exercise history: A weekly half-hour swim used to be my only official form of exercise. But even that has slipped. Now I only get a 20-minute walk to and from the Tube, a couple of walks around the office and a daily trip to the canteen. Sometimes I manage a 40-minute walk home from Knightsbridge to Pimlico, which leaves me feeling faint.
Weight: 8 stone 3Ib
Height: just over 5ft 3in
Age: 37
Diet: I never eat breakfast but try to avoid bread and dairy.
Fitness week: First, I’m assessed by the “Body Oracle” – a pair of callipers that determine where I’m storing fat, why it’s there and how to get rid of it. My buttocks and thighs are my problem areas – no surprise there. My trainer Jamie also tells me my dominant hormonal “type” is oestrogen, which means I should avoid London tap water (too polluted with the contraceptive pill) as well as soya products (these can increase the risk of breast cancer for women with high oestrogen levels).
My new fitness programme is based on toning thighs and buttocks as well as building up strength. The first exercise is relatively gentle – like a press-up, except I lie on my back with knees bent and toes raised then lift my bottom. Next, I try the “Prone Bride” – I lie on my belly with my elbows under my shoulders and then raise my body up. Jamie also shows me how to move across the floor with a super-size rubber band around my ankles to firm up my thighs and calves, and some gentle squats.
Verdict: After just a week, my attitude towards exercise has been transformed. I’ve always blamed my work/social schedule for my lack of exercise but realise this is an excuse – half an hour five days a week is achievable. Jamie’s exercises are easy to do at home and just strenuous enough without being off-putting. Before, I had trouble getting to sleep but now go under almost instantly.
Have you kept it up? No. I keep meaning to but I limit myself to a few squats while brushing my teeth.
The Exercise Dilettante
Christina Madden
Exercise history: I’ve been sedentary for about a year and it’s showing. Gyms have never appealed but I’ve remained trim by cycling, usually an hour a day. The combination of a new home and a new job means a new route that I’m too nervous to tackle in rush hour. I do stretch myself with country walks, weekend dance sessions, the occasional jog and irregular salsa classes.
Height: 5ft 9in
Weight: around 10 stone
Age: 36
Diet: Lots of fruit and vegetables and only eat meat twice a week.
Fitness week: The weekly programme created by my coach Kathryn involves cycling to work, a power walk through a park, a dance class, pilates or hot yoga, and a clubbing session. We go for a “test” run in the park – Kathryn says I have good residual fitness and a decent running technique (bad posture can lead to back problems).
The verdict: I did make the effort to fit in exercise, even if the cycle to work remains daunting. I managed: Monday: half an hour cycling. Tuesday: a walk through the park. Wednesday: half an hour’s cycling. Thursday: a half-hour walk through the park. Friday: a half-hour jog. Saturday: ran for a bus (30 seconds) and four-and-a-half hours of sweaty dancing in a club. Sunday: two hours’ walk in the country.
Have you kept it up? A bit. This week I cycled to work twice.
The Couch Potato
Matthew Bell
Exercise history: I wake up tired every day and there’s no time for breakfast. I usually cycle to work, although my bicycle was stolen last week, so I walk the 15 minutes downhill. Usually have a croissant and a latte at 10 at my desk. Lunch is a sandwich and a can of coke, or I take a contact out. That means three courses and a bottle of wine. Then later it’s out to parties and dinner. Then a cab home and to bed at about 1am.
Weight: 9 stone
Height: just over 5ft 10 in
Age: 25
Fitness week: My coach Matt asks what I want to achieve. I tell him I have no upper body strength, suffer from lethargy and sleep badly. So he devises a programme to achieve two things – improve my cardio-vascular fitness and build up muscle and definition in my arms, chest and shoulders. First is a 10-minute treadmill run to test fitness.
Despite me giving up smoking only three months ago, Matt pronounces my heart and lungs healthy. A pair of forceps are attached to my arm to measure fat deposits beneath the skin. I have nine per cent body fat – relatively low. I record everything I eat and drink which shows I need to eat more protein and carbohydrates. Alcohol accounts for 12 per cent of my calorie intake.
In the gym I lift dumbbells, pull a bar down, lie on a bench press lifting weights and move my arms in a flapping motion from the sides to the front in resistance against weights.
The Verdict: After my first session I have more energy and not unpleasant aches all over. I have huge reservoirs of energy, and sleep long uninterrupted nights.
Have you kept it up? Yes – until this week when Matt has not been around at the gym urging me on.
