NHS Exercise advice

[Ryeman]

I’ve always been fairly fit and into sport. In the last couple of years I’ve started a pretty intense exercise class and a few months ago upped it from once to twice a week. I also play a sport 1-2 times a week. I feel like this is probably more than ‘most’ people do. But some weeks I’m only just reaching the recommended NHS amount of exercise: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/
I don’t really know what my AIBU is here but it seems like the recommended amount is fairly unachievable for a lot of people - in fact I’m pretty sure a large proportion of adults do approximately zero intense exercise. It’s so important for our health as we age, particularly bone health for women, balance and strength. As well as mental health benefits. Should there be more help and encouragement for people to be physically fitter vs just being in the ideal weight range?

I think the guidelines could be a lot clearer. Moderate intensity exercise is only 50% plus of max heart rate so for a 40 year old max heart rate is 180 and 50% is 90. For most fairly unfit people a 20 minute walk each day will reach this, it does not even need to be that fast.

The guidelines do however also state to do do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least 2 days a week which I bet most people do not do.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/

I find them weirdly subjective. One person’s moderate, is another person’s vigorous. If I go out for an ‘easy’ run for two hours today but my heart rate sits at 160bpm, is that vigorous or moderate? Do I reach the strength target if I only do one ‘strength’ circuits session but also carry heavy things and/or my children most days? I mean, I’m 99% sure I’m doing enough (and do a lot more than everyone I know apart from a handful of ‘elite’ runners and triathletes).

You think most people don't lift and carry anything as part of their daily life? The guidance gives examples of carrying shopping bags and lifting children. I'd say most people do that daily. A lot of people do physical jobs - builders, delivery drivers, supermarket workers, cleaners etc. - all include lifting, carrying, squatting with and without load etc.
Look, I get it. You and I are doing structured exercise and it is easy in our position to start thinking others are not that active because they can't do 3x3 of 60kg chest press. But I can assure you that my 85 year old grandmother who walks 20 minutes a day to a local shop, carries 2kg bag home and then climbs to the 4th floor of a building without a lift with it is meeting her activity targets. And that's even before she starts cooking dinner where she has to reach, bend, move heavy pots around and then clean the kitchen afterwards. She has never done a structured exercise class in her life but was as strong as an ox. Getting progressively weaker as she gets older but not frail by any stretch of imagination.

@MovingTooFast121 over 70% of max heart rate will be vigorous. Assuming you are around age 40 you max hr is 180 (220 - 40) so 160 div by 180 is 89% so your run is definately vigorous.

It's half an hour, 5 times a week if eg walking or 15 minutes x 5 of running (the way I run, I consider it moderate exercise, I'm that slow). Fairly easy to incorporate into most people's days although when I was working 60 hours a week I didn't have the energy to exercise. It's also fairly easy to find short strengthening routines you can do with no extra kit.

It's getting people motivated to get out and move that's harder. When I was at my least fit, even a 20 minute walk was too much for me.

Have already commented but having read the guidelines again, and the thread comments around walking, I actually think the guidelines maybe don't give quite the right message, although I am obviously no expert.

I've always enjoyed walking and also have a lot of nervous energy so regularly pace around my house and get a lot of steps in. But it's only when I did Couch 2 5K that I realised what a difference vigorous activity makes. It was a real eye opener the first time afterwards when I was late somewhere and had to run 200m to get there and could easily do it without breaking a sweat. It is physically possible for most people to achieve this but sadly many people I know cannot. I'm not being smug...currently I'm fit because I run once a week but am not doing much on other days. So people who are regularly walking are very probably healthier overall than me. But I think there is a big difference between a proper brisk walk and a meander back from the school run.

If more people walked rather than just jumped in cars, that would be easily achievable.

You're right lots of people don't do the recommended minimums, it doesn't mean it's unachievable though, its not much a day. It's a shame people aren't made more aware of the benefits of strength training, even with a barbell/dumbells at home rather than needing an expensive gym membership- or body weight even.

@catza The guidance around lifting is pretty unclear though. Is carrying a few shopping bags from a trolly to the car or lifting a child a few times a day sufficient for maintaining muscle? I suspect not and most adults really need to be doing something a bit more structured unless they have a very physical job.

I think the point of the NHS guidance is to give an optimum exercise level.

I always thought NHS guidance was the bare minimum - a bit like how they tell you to eat your five a day when in reality you should be having double that.

I would imagine most people achieve this at work everyday unless they have an office job.

For maintaining muscle? Yes.
Not for building muscle or for preventing sarcopenia in older age. But that's not what the guidance is addressing. For example we know that current protein guidance is not sufficient to prevent sarcopenia either. But the gen pop nutritional guidance is not being changed to reflect that. It's only giving minimal values that everyone should meet.

Surely to be useful that guidance should be about preventing sarcopenia otherwise what is the point of it?

I think the guidelines and the linked exercise videos are a good starting point.

But people have to actually do it - and sadly most don't.

It can be achievable if it's a priority, DH is at the gym now, he'll get back around 9:30 and I'll go for my 10am class. (Tag team childcare) Today we're planning on doing some stuff in the garden, lots of weeding needed, but also a whole cherry tree off off cuts to be split into logs for use over the winter (had to remove it last year as it died) and they will all need to be wheel narrowed and loaded into the log store, the magnolia and camellias need cutting back too and the lawn needs mowing. I'm pretty sure I will ache by this evening, so even if I wasn't going to the gym I would've had an active day. Tomorrow I'm off work so after I've dropped ds at school (1.5 mile walk round trip carrying a scooter on the way back) , I'll take the cat to the vet (10 minute walk there and back) then I'm meeting a friend for coffee, I'll walk the 20 minutes to the seafront and we're likely to go for a walk along the coast, then I'll walk home, the walk to pick ds up and bring him home, might drive to his sports club because that gives me enough time to get back out dinner on and then go and collect him so it's ready when we get in.

DH will cycle to the gym first thing tomorrow and then to and from work. I could drive to everything tomorrow and I think lots of people would, but walking or cycling for transport are good ways of being active. I can't do it every day because of work and pick up times I sometimes don't have enough time but I mostly do. We chose to live somewhere where we can walk to things, neither of us are from here. My brother and his family live on a newish housing estate and it's surrounded by roads and there's nothing to walk to, so they tend to drive everywhere and it means activity as transport is more difficult

I agree. Getting a car was the worst decision I made for my health. It's amazing how it stretches your perception of distance. I wouldn't think twice about walking to the shop for 30 minutes and then carrying heavy shopping home for most of my life. Now, if my partner has my car for a day, I ask him to sort out dinner.
The second worst decision I made was to work from home. Yes it saved me 70 minute commute each way with multiple transport changes. But now I barely clock 2k steps before lunch whereas I'd be up to 9k before getting into the office in the morning.
Walking the dog and weightlifting several times a week doesn't begin to make up for it. Which is case in point, really. Most of our activity should come as part of normal daily life.

I agree but I think it's mostly concerned with cardiovascular health, to be honest. I am not sure if it is sufficient for that either but I'm not quite up to date on research in that area.
Generally, there is a gap of 10-15 years between research and practice. These guidances become obsolete almost as soon as they are updated.

I didn't think it was possible to train as much as I do now.
I run 3 x week, 1 x strength session and 2 x conditioning (yoga, pilates or similar). I plan it out every week and I have backup plans so if I can't so a class, I do yoga at home instead for 20 mins. There's always a slot that something can happen in and 15 mins is better than zero mins. It's a question of recalibration in your mind about how important it is. This didn't happen overnight btw ! I got a remote coach and that helped massively because I felt accountable to someone to stick to the plan. I don't need them now but it was a useful investment for me to get me to rethink my week and exercise

I think the NHS guidelines are minimal and very achievable.

I agree and there will be many people that do more than that!

I think if you take the opportunity to exercise in daily life whenever possible, most people can manage it. Even those with young children and minimal free time. For example, walk rather than drive. Cycle rather than drive. Push a pram or carry child in a sling or carry shopping... Rather than drive. Stairs not lift.

Most people I know would rather drive everywhere. That includes young adults with no children or pets or demands on their time.

I know very few people who walk the 20 minutes into town from our estate rather than drive. There are a handful of people who do but most drive.

Similarly I work a ten minute (safe, off road) cycle or 30 minutes walk from work. Most people I know drive that distance.

People don't want to get wet, sweaty, carry their own stuff, take slightly longer etc.

NHS guidelines for health and nutrition are confusing, and often well behind current thinking.

There also is no need to go to a gym. Most people can access YouTube and there are hundreds of body weight only videos. We find time to go to the hairdressers, get our nails done, watch Netflix. Why do we not find time for self care? Half an hour is 2% - 3% of our day.

I do 2x 45 min spin, 1x hour yoga and 1x hour swimming a week. Sometimes there's an extra spin, sometimes an extra yoga, sometimes a gym session where I'll lift weights.

I think that roughly covers what the guidelines says? I am also a size 20; I think mostly down to medication for a Neuro condition, genetics and a period of time where I was quite sedentary (recovering from illness) and had to take steroids.

I'm assuming that all the exercises and supplements might cushion the blow of not being thin possibly? 🤷🏼‍♀️

@SeptimusSheep start with something like vinsaya flow yoga - all those planks and down dogs means you are using yoor own body as a weight.

I more than met the guidelines yesterday doing normal weekend domestic activites. I spent two hours giving the flat a good clean - including changing the bed linen, scrubbing the bathroom tiles and cleaning the floors by hand (old school style on my hands and knees with a wet cloth).

I then walked 30 mins to the shops, got the bus back with five bags of groceries and walked up a steep hill and then four flights of stairs to my flat.

I then cleaned all the windows which invloved 20 - 30 mins of fairly vigorous polising and climbing up and down a step ladder.

I think it's achievable, I have a really sedentary lifestyle but my walk to work is 30 mins which I do briskly and pre covid that was all I did. Harder now that I'm only in the office 1 or 2 days a week but if I do that once that's an hour plus I do school run once or twice which is 20 mins and I've added in a strength class each Saturday now my kids are older which is an hour. On a good week I do more weights at home for 15 mins once or twice but even without that at the bare minimum I'm getting 150 mins just from one class, one office day and one school run despite doing a desk job 10 hours a day 4 days a week. Of course housework, gardening etc are all on top of this but as I age I am feeling the need to do more so want to gradually do more weekend walking now the kids are at secondary and more independent.

150 minutes of moderate exercise a week isn't hard.

A fitbit will tell you how hard you're working out and moderate can be a brisk walk.

My fitbit also tells me if I've now moved enough each hour.

The NHS guidelines are sensible and perfectly feasible. The problem is people have become lazy. Mostly due to phones!