Why isn’t the government allowing unlimited outdoor exercise?

[Robin45]

Obesity is one of the biggest risk factors for seriousness illness as a result of covid. More people are obese than they realise. Why isn’t the government allowing people to lower their risk of serious illness by getting outside for exercise as much as they want provided they don’t mix with others? By locking everyone at home the government is encouraging people to be less physically active and put on even more weight, increasing their risk of becoming hospitalised if and when they eventually get covid. Some people will exercise indoors but a lot won’t.

They aren’t stopping people 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Catsneezies

Its irrelevant whether it is law or guidance. The rules are there for a reason and I think it is irresponsible to suggest that people should not adhere to the guidance if they don't want to.

I don't think it is irrelevant really. Lots of people seem to be making up 'rules' as they go and then berating people for not following rules that don't actually exist.

@Catsneezies I suspect you're quoting outdated guidance. Back in lockdown 1.0 exercise was limited to one form per day, but not limited in duration. In this lockdown there is no limit on outdoor exercise taken by yourself, with your household, or with just one other person.

Looks like I misunderstood. I thought it was once a day for exercise. If it isn’t then good. But why are they discouraging people from exercising outdoors more than once a day? They should be encouraging everyone to lose weight and get healthier - it’s the one thing people can do to reduce their personal risk of hospitalisation from covid.

LindaEllen - you don’t have to be very obese to be at risk of serious illness. There is a link between excess weight and serious illness from covid.

@Catsneezies

From government website:

Exercising

You should minimise time spent outside your home, but you can leave your home to exercise. This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.

That’s not what the legislation in England says I don’t think.

I’m in Scotland where it’s not restricted. I can barely be arsed going outside once in this shit weather though

Legally there is no limit to exercise. There is also no limit to travel for exercise.

The guidance is there and more strict, but this is not something enforceable.

Just be sensible FFS!

@lughnasadh

In England you can exercise outside all you want.

By law but not under the guidance which very clearly says once a day. Unlike the silly "stay local" bit, once a day is very clear and cannot be misconstrued.

Although you can go out quite a few times if you go for a run in the morning, then cycle to and from work, then take the self-isolating neighbour's dog for a walk and then decide you need milk and walk up to your local shop to get it...

We just go out for exercise as long as we want really. Our favourite walk is more than five miles away and takes at lesst two hours.
And today we saw a couple having a flask of tea and sandwiches on a bench, which made me smile when I pictured various MNers heads exploding.

Because many people are using exercise to mean socialising outdoors with a high-calorie takeaway hot drink or browsing the shops rather than physical activity that might cause you heart rate to rise.

Actually I take back what I said! Yes they are encouraging you to only go out once per day for exercise. But as others have said, it's guidelines rather than the law. Surely it would be hard to determine whether someone had gone outside for exercise more than once?!

If I don't walk at pace the exercise ring on Apple Watch doesn't move, a slow stroll is not exercise

@marshmallowfluffy

Because many people are using exercise to mean socialising outdoors with a high-calorie takeaway hot drink or browsing the shops rather than physical activity that might cause you heart rate to rise.

What's the relevance of the calorie content of the drink? Is that different from going for a walk with a friend with a black coffee from the costa machine at the garage?

You can't outrun a bad diet.

If people want to tackle their weight, it'll be more effective to look at their food choices than quibble with the policy on how much outdoors exercise is currently permitted. Workouts which can be done in very limited indoor space are also readily available.

@Catsneezies

From government website:

Exercising

You should minimise time spent outside your home, but you can leave your home to exercise. This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.

Don't forget further down: "outdoor exercise. This should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)" because it would be wrong to suggest that travel for exercise is not allowed, when it is.

@RedRiverShore1

If I don't walk at pace the exercise ring on Apple Watch doesn't move, a slow stroll is not exercise

For you it isn’t maybe. For some people it might be, everyone has a different physical level.

I guess I'm going against the guidance by leaving the house twice a day sometimes (once to walk the dog for an hour, then for my own run) but my overall activity level has plummeted since March despite my best efforts (and despite having trained for and run a marathon in October!). It's really hard to stay active without all the incidental activity I used to get walking to the station, popping out to get lunch etc. It's really not healthy for activity to be condensed into a single short-ish block and the rest of time sedentary, far better for general health to be a little active often.

You don't need to go outside your home to exercise. If you want to do aerobic exercise get a skipping rope or do a class on Youtube. Want weight bearing - squats, pressups, situps etc.

The issue is not people being allowed outside, it's people taking responsibility motivating themselves to exericse.

Its irrelevant whether it is law or guidance. The rules are there for a reason and I think it is irresponsible to suggest that people should not adhere to the guidance if they don't want to.

It’s not irresponsible to let people know the law - especially in response to a question specifically asking why the government wasn’t allowing it. You say the rules are there for a reason but they’ve made plenty of things law, but kept the exercise one as guidance when they could have made it law, if the rules are there for a reason then so are the lack of rules/different “levels” of rules.
Besides having no time limit but saying once a day isn’t even logical, if you think exercise outdoors spreads Covid then surely one 2 hour long run is much worse than a 15 min jog and a 15 min bike ride.

I sort of get what you're saying OP. Now school is shut I have a 4yo and 1yo with me all day long which makes doing a home workout impossible (I have tried). It's essential to get them out of the house every day for fresh air and exercise but the most we manage is 1-2 hours walking at a 4yo pace (which doesn't raise my heart rate at all). I would like to go out for a run in the morning before DH leaves for work but I'm not sure if that's allowed, if I'm taking the kids out for exercise again later?
Oh and for those saying you can't outrun a bad diet - totally true but I feel much more motivated to eat better if I'm also exercising properly.

I wish gyms were still open. Fitness I
Is king not just towards physical health but mental health too. It's got me through some very dark times. I rely on running at the moment 1xa day

For you it isn’t maybe. For some people it might be, everyone has a different physical level
This is true. Walking is pretty much all I can do due to being fat already and having asthma and arthritis.
Since the government's guidance says I can travel for exercise to an open space, I would like to do that since in avoiding the busy streets in my town I am reducing my Covid-19 risk.

These people were obese well before lockdown.

It is allowed, but in their mission to keep the public confused and terrified with mixed messages, the government are telling us we should exercise but we shouldn't really because we are spreading the virus and people will die if we do. There is no time limit in law, and no limit in law on the number of times a day. The government are spreading the word that there are unofficial limits, to keep the public confused, and to keep the curtain-twitchers busy.

They also want to be able to blame the public when the post-lockdown obesity crisis is the next thing to "overwhelm the NHS". I can just imagine Saint Boris saying "we told you you could exercise, even though we snatched away just about every way to make it enjoyable".

If you have Instagram & YouTube there are some great classes. Dame Kelly Holmes is teaching a cardio class tomorrow evening on her fitness Instagram, Military in Motion.

Anyone who wants to get out and exercise is most likely already doing so, and will continue to do so regardless of the rules.