To clarify the one hour of exercise 'rule'

[Itstheprinciple]

I've seen this mentioned on so many posts and I've seen people clarify it within the post but I've not seen a specific post about it. I thought this could help people who seem confused about what is 'allowed'.

Michael Gove was asked on the Andrew Marr show what he considered to be reasonable exercise. This is his response:

"I would have thought that for most people, a walk of up to an hour, or a run of 30 minutes or a cycle ride of between that, depending on their level of fitness is appropriate."

So it is not a hard and fast rule or law. No one is standing with a stopwatch as it gets to 59 mins. It's guidance and it will vary between individuals as Mr Gove says himself.

I go out several times a day, adhering to the social distancing rules of course. People need to use their common sense. We are not living in a police state (yet).

indeed,

but the public will destort anything they are given

don't forget he only said 30 minutes for runners.....but people don't talk about the 30 minute exercise rule

What a minister "would have thought" is not relevant to the law, which does not explicitly prescribe any time limit to any exercise.

There is no one hour rule.

There just isn't.

it's an urban myth.

It's a rule of thumb, be reasonable.

I'll walk slowly for an hour,any friends will run faster and for longer, others less.

Just be reasonable and keep your distance.

Not a law but, seemingly, a good measure if common sense.

I only ever see these 'rules' on here tbh.

That’s Gove’s opinion. And even he says should be enough for most people which suggests even he thinks some people will need to exercise for longer.

The bloke puffs round his park like an unfit badger. I’m not surprised he thinks a 30 min run is enough.

But there Legally is no time limit.

Also number of times per day.
From:
www.itv.com/news/2020-04-10/how-do-the-coronavirus-lockdown-rules-differ-across-the-uk/

How often can I go out?

The laws in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not specify - or limit - how many times per day someone can leave their house for any of these reasons.

Although the Government advice is to exercise once a day, the law does not say how many times a day this is allowed to happen.

But in Wales, exercise is permitted "no more than once a day".

So in England, Scoand and NI, we can legally go out more than once a day for exercise. 🤷‍♀️

@HildegardeCrowe

I go out several times a day, adhering to the social distancing rules of course

So, you go against Government guidelines?

There is no time limit in the legislation.

There is no time limit, there is also no restriction on how often you exercise. The law as written and the guidelines say different things. Many people are quoting the guidelines as law.

It's one type of exercise not one hour. You could be out all day ridiculous rule in my opinion but that's what it is.

The bloke puffs round his park like an unfit badger.

A columnist described him as running like a nun being chased by a bee.

The guidelines are there for a reason though, not just for fun.

So, you go against Government guidelines?

What guidelines say you can only go out once a day?

one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household
Copied from gov website

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do

It's one type of exercise a day not one hour .
I honestly don't understand why people take opinions as fact . We all have access to the internet so if not sure check the government website.

Guidance isn't law.

The guidelines are a sensible enough guide to what's likely to be reasonable in many situations.

If you live somewhere rural which doesn't attract outsiders, low density of people so you're not denying anyone else's chance to exercise and you know how to walk on footpaths, deal with stiles and gates sensibly etc .... then the only real reason to limit to one hour a day is to avoid people in other locations being envious. Alternatively just don't proclaim your habits on social media.

I sometimes go out several times a day and yesterday I drove DS along the coastline and home again because he needed time out of the house. We socially distance when we're out and when we do go for a drive it's because its essential to his wellbeing and we don't stop anywhere. We have reasons for doing this and we are acting within the guidelines.

I know guidance or, indeed, Michael Gove's opinion, isn't law. That's exactly why I posted this. And why I put 'rule' in inverted commas. I was just trying to explain where these times had come from and that they were not set in stone and were, I'm fact, dependent upon individual circumstances. I've seen so many posts saying about 'one hour exercise' as if it was almost mandatory and others asking where this time limit had come from so I hoped this would explain to both camps.

Why does something have to be a law to be something people adhere to? One exercise a day for a reasonable length of time is surely quite sensible now?

If everyone went out multiple times a day or for hours at a time because "it's not the law" then it would be much harder for us to avoid each other. I don't understand why people can't think about others who are in the same boat and do the sensible thing. It's not hard.

The hour rule isn't a thing though, We go out for a 45 minute walk a day. My daughter goes out with her small children for about 1 1/2 hours. She has no outside space. We have a small garden.

The leglisation

Again

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/350/regulation/6/made

Restrictions on movement

6.—(1) During the emergency period, no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a reasonable excuse includes the need—

(a)to obtain basic necessities, including food and medical supplies for those in the same household (including any pets or animals in the household) or for vulnerable persons and supplies for the essential upkeep, maintenance and functioning of the household, or the household of a vulnerable person, or to obtain money, including from any business listed in Part 3 of Schedule 2;

(b)to take exercise either alone or with other members of their household;

(c)to seek medical assistance, including to access any of the services referred to in paragraph 37 or 38 of Schedule 2;

(d)to provide care or assistance, including relevant personal care within the meaning of paragraph 7(3B) of Schedule 4 to the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006(1), to a vulnerable person, or to provide emergency assistance;

(e)to donate blood;

(f)to travel for the purposes of work or to provide voluntary or charitable services, where it is not reasonably possible for that person to work, or to provide those services, from the place where they are living;

(g)to attend a funeral of—

(i)a member of the person’s household,

(ii)a close family member, or

(iii)if no-one within sub-paragraphs (i) or (ii) are attending, a friend;

(h)to fulfil a legal obligation, including attending court or satisfying bail conditions, or to participate in legal proceedings;

(i)to access critical public services, including—

(i)childcare or educational facilities (where these are still available to a child in relation to whom that person is the parent, or has parental responsibility for, or care of the child);

(ii)social services;

(iii)services provided by the Department of Work and Pensions;

(iv)services provided to victims (such as victims of crime);

(j)in relation to children who do not live in the same household as their parents, or one of their parents, to continue existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children, and for the purposes of this paragraph, “parent” includes a person who is not a parent of the child, but who has parental responsibility for, or who has care of, the child;

(k)in the case of a minister of religion or worship leader, to go to their place of worship;

(l)to move house where reasonably necessary;

(m)to avoid injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the place where a person is living includes the premises where they live together with any garden, yard, passage, stair, garage, outhouse or other appurtenance of such premises.

The government also states:

You can leave your home for medical need. If you (or a person in your care) have a specific health condition that requires you to leave the home to maintain your health - including if that involves travel beyond your local area - then you can do so. This could, for example, include where individuals with learning disabilities or autism require specific exercise in an open space two or three times each day - ideally in line with a care plan agreed with a medical professional.

If everyone went out multiple times a day or for hours at a time because "it's not the law" then it would be much harder for us to avoid each other. I don't understand why people can't think about others who are in the same boat and do the sensible thing. It's not hard.

If you live in a place where the density of people is near its limit then adhere to the guidelines. If you live somewhere with a greater density you might need to limit your time even lower, and/or try to choose different times.