Vigorous exercise study

[Tubs11]

47% of women have done no vigorous exercise in the past 12 months

This news story had irked me and feels like a women bashing exercise

Me: I haven't done vigorous exercise since pre pandemic and damn right I have no motivation or interest in doing any as I'm still knackered from having to raise and educate kids whilst working during the pandemic. Incidentally I'm the thinnest I've ever been as I didn't have time to eat!!

Anyone else annoyed by this study?

I know that this study looked at both sexes, but I am astounded that people think it would have been a problem if it had focussed only on women.

There have been studies focussing solely on men for hundreds of years - just read Invisible Women! Women have more barriers to exercise and good health than men do, so why the hell shouldn't there be some research which focuses solely on women?

It's about time women were acknowledged as being different from the 'default male', who will have acres of spare time to play football or go running every week. It is really bloody important that we know how big the issue is for women, what the barriers are for women, what actions might make it easier for women to access exercise/sport etc.

Not everything has to centre the experiences and needs of men!

To those who think they don’t have the time, the space or the money for vigorous exercise…..

… try some HIIT tabata exercise routines like the ones below by Growingannanas. They are free! Although there are many similar ones out there I always come back to Anna as her workouts are very well thought out and effective.

Also, a few people have mentioned Caroline Girvan and I agree that she is a fabulous weight/resistance trainer. Her workouts are quite demanding but so worth the effort. Also free on YouTube!

But there's no fun in that.

So women don't do it.

The fun but is what makes you want to keep going back for more, and then the physical benefits happen.

I think a lot of women are put off exercise at school.

I’ve only really discovered it in the last year or so and it’s so good for body and mind.

There’s also a problem with a lot of sports’
funding going to the elite of each sport. I don’t begrudge this at all; but with all the health implications does feel a bit mad to encourage the very small % who are brilliant rather than just getting more people moving overall.

That makes us sound pretty.... Simple... "It has to be fun or we won't do it". Like 3 year olds.
I absolutely hate exercise (master of PE excuses) but I still do at least 30 min (20 what would count as vigorous) 5x a week and own some equipment. It's not much, but it's something.

I agree with the pp who said it energises them and it soooo helps with moods. So not fun for me, more like necessary evil, but always end up happy after. And it's nice to be able to walk up stairs and not sound like steam engine🙈 like i did....

I go cycling and hiking at the weekends, sometimes alone, I've wild-camped alone, and I lift at the gym. I wish I could say I have lots of female friends who do the same, but actually the women in my life all say it's a bit 'weird', that walking/cycling alone is 'dangerous because you might get murdered', lifting will 'make you bulky' and they can't believe I go to gyms 'full of men'. Two have said that going off on all-day hikes/bike rides at the weekend is "a bit blokey", and I suppose it is - given that men do this all the time and no one bats an eyelid. Small-scale competitions, races, loads of fun - but when you're female people do seem to think you're a bit odd for it. This is obviously not when hanging out with friends made through sports. This is the non-sporty types.

Many of them also say that they can't do what I do because their partners will not look after their own children. I find this more shocking, really. To be trapped at home because even their own father won't watch them? That's sad.

A couple have even expressed shock that my husband 'lets me' go to the gym and 'allows me' to go cycling alone. Modern, working women, aged in their mid 30s. Not from 1845 or anything. Really fucking weird.

If you read the article, yes, the study was also on men but their statistics showed they did a lot more vigorous exercise.

@Lunalae that's depressing read

Kudos to you! My mum lives abroad and she loves going into forests by herself. Or cycling. Luckily there it's bit different mentality so she doesn't get this fear from others. Would kill her if she had to sit at home unless someone else can come too. It's keeping her well fit physically and mentally. Nature is great

That makes us sound petty.... Simple... "It has to be fun or we won't do it". Like 3 year olds.

It’s not petty. It’s realistic. It’s much harder to be motivated to something you hate.

Pretty. Sorry. Not petty

I don't agree

For fun read "enjoyable". Not many people will devote all that time to something that's boring and unenjoyable to get the benefits later.

I play badminton because I love it, and like the people I play with and it's sociable The getting fit bit is incidental. I go for long walks because I like the views and looking at nature not because they keep me fit. And luckily for me I can afford the court and club fees but loads of people can't.

I'm also lucky in that I have the time to easily fit this in

If I had to "keep fit" by cramming in some tedious motivational YouTube video on my own at 6.30am or after kids had gone to bed, I would no way do it!

i wish I could say I have lots of female friends who do the same, but actually the women in my life all say it's a bit 'weird', that walking/cycling alone is 'dangerous because you might get murdered', lifting will 'make you bulky' and they can't believe I go to gyms 'full of men'.

@Lunalae i can’t believe women are still pedalling this nonsense of lifting making you look “bulky”. At the same time, so many people ask how to get a “toned” look which is just dropping fat and building muscle - exactly what weights do!

I also agree how depressing it is to hear that women say they don’t have the time to exercise. Everyone should have time to exercise, it’s ridiculous to say exercising time eats in to “family time” because feckless fathers can’t parent their own children and leave the mum to have some free time to herself

Thank you for engaging with the substance of my post.

Not much energy left after being the default parent, working and doing the bulk of the housework. Oh, and 9x more likely to be a single parent. I'm not surprised at all

It’s disheartening to see so many people don’t prioritise exercise. I feel a huge responsibility to look after my body as much as I can, more so for my mental health but of course it benefits my physical too.

I know a lot of people who drive to work, sit down all day, maybe drive to the shop for lunch, drive home and sit down all night. They say they’re too busy or too tired to exercise but I wonder how many truly are or if there’s some other reason they don’t feel motivated.

It is, but as people have said, it has to be brisk, and as a lot of the threads on here during the lockdowns attested, most peoples' idea of walking for daily exercise is not brisk.

I find the majority of people walk really slowly. You need to walk fast enough to get mildly out of breath and break a sweat.

However, I do think an active lifestyle will keep you fairly fit. Someone who walks or cycles a lot to go shopping or take the kids to school, and gardens will burn off plenty of calories. They may not do the strength work that we need as we get older, but that is easy to do at home however little space you have. A weight, a band and free videos on YouTube and you are all set. Staying out of your car when you can makes a big difference.

Okey dokey.

It's hard to get motivated when it's not fun, however, we are adults who understand sometimes some things are not super duper fun. We go to work, we clean, we do all kind of stuff which is not "fun". We brush our teeth, we wash our bins out. Million things which are not exactly fun, but have to be done. All that things though have one thing in common. Satisfaction after - the result. Same as the exercise.

Now, it's absolutely great if someone finds exercise they really enjoy and find it fun, but "this is not fun" is case for many of us. It is though something that has to be done, like tooth brushing, for our own health.

"Women won't do it if it isn't fun" sounds like talking about kids. Not adults

I do think it's quite hard to fit lots of exercise in if both parties want to do it & both are ft workers with small dc. You often see on here women saying their partners go cycling all weekend or you see a women saying she does a class each evening but her partner is happy to stay at home.

gardens - ie does gardening - not walking and cycling to gardens (though that would also work :) )

If people are saying they are too tired to exercise I don't understand why you think they're lying.

My current job has much better working hours than my previous one because I switched when i had a kid. My day is get up at 6am to shower before DS is awake, have him until 7:30 before starting work at 8 where I'll either wfh or get the bus to work, I will pop out at lunch for 5 mins if in the office then leave at 4, collect DS from nursery, busy until he's asleep at 7-7:30 at which point I start food / all the various housework.

Many of my colleagues have kids at schools that no longer provide before or after school clubs since Covid so that's worse than my situation. In other jobs it was expected to work until late at a moment's notice. Plus a whole host of friends are now working second jobs "hustling" to try to meet increased living costs. I genuinely think many people don't have the time.

We go to work, we clean, we do all kind of stuff which is not "fun"

That's a bad analogy. I find my work fun because I love my colleagues & job. A job that you hate would be soul destroying.

Thin doesn't mean fit and healthy though

There will of course be many people who struggle to find an exercise they enjoy to do and this quickly becomes a barrier,

I think in that case you need to recognise the long term consequences of this = not good.

So then it's a case of accepting you may not enjoy the process but wait to feel the benefits and do it for that.

This is what I was attempting to say only much better than I did

Good for you. While I like my job and colleagues I would atill abandon ship if i won lottery 😁 For me it's now with who and what but the must part. I must go to work whether I like it or not. 'Cause bills. I must do some exercise whether I like it or not cause family predisposition to cardiovascular issues. Like I must beush my teeth whether I like it or not because i can't afford having all new ones put in😂