The Truth About Getting Fit

I'm medical journalist Dr Michael Mosley.

It's that time of year when, like most of us,

I'm already struggling with my New Year's resolution

to become much more active.

Ooh! Now, I know I should do more regular exercise

but the honest truth is, I have neither the time

nor the inclination.

What I want is the absolute maximum gain for the minimum pain.

The good news is that new science is giving us the best ways to keep fit,

without taking up too much time.

More research is going into exercise than ever before and I'm delighted,

because what the latest science is showing us

is the most effective ways to get fit and healthy

with the minimum sweat.

So I'm teaming up with the scientists...

Off you go.

..who are turning what we know about fitness on its head.

That's excellent.

Together, we'll show you a far more effective way to walk yourself fit

than 10,000 steps...

- Going to follow me? - Yes! - Here we go. Right.

A little bit faster.

..how two minutes of intense exercise a week

may be all you need...

That's quite an easy way to get back into fitness.

..the latest research that will help you

actually stick to your fitness plans...

If you're relying on willpower for you to exercise,

it will probably fail.

..and the activity that can make you instantly cleverer.

It's so amazing to see the results, because I just think,

"I can shake, shake, shake, but actually to know, wow, I'm getting smarter..."

Whether you want to get fit, look good, lose weight,

gain strength or be healthier,

we're going to use the latest research to find

the most effective ways for you.

This is The Truth About Getting Fit.

SYNC by DakinPEx SUBSCENE

We don't all love the gym.

In fact, 20 million Brits are classed as physically inactive.

But, if you are unfit, scientific studies show

you'll make the biggest health gains from doing even a little exercise.

So, what shape are you in right now?

How can you tell how fit you are at the moment?

Well, I'm going to show you a couple of simple tests you can do at home,

without having to use any fancy equipment.

Very good! Faster!

These are tests you can do right now in your house

and they will give you a quick, but reasonably accurate,

measure of your current fitness.

Helping me is Professor Lorna Paul,

a health scientist at Glasgow Caledonian University.

I like the idea that if you can't be bothered to go to the gym,

you bring the gym to your house.

Yeah. And, indeed, that's what we've done. What we are going to do today

is two tests that everybody can do in their own homes.

The first test is how long it takes you to stand up and sit down

from a chair ten times.

All you need is a hard chair and a way of timing yourself.

This test assesses one of the key aspects of fitness, our strength.

It's an important test,

because it's testing our big muscles in the lower limbs,

so our quadriceps at the front, and our gluteals at the back.

- These big muscles. - Biggest muscles in your body!

These muscles start to weaken if we don't use them,

so it's the use it or lose it.

It's the time it takes that gives you your score.

That's 15. Well done. 17. Well done.

The faster, the better.

- How are we doing? - Eight seconds.

OK! Good!

This test is used around the world

as a measure of how fit you are for your age.

Men under 35 should be able to do

ten chair stands

in ten seconds or less.

For women, it's 12 seconds.

If you're under 55,

men should do it in 13 seconds.

Women in 15 seconds.

And men over 55 should take

less than 18 seconds.

19 seconds if you are a woman.

It's harder than it looks.

- Yeah. - Nine, ten.

Now it's time for test number two.

So, although this is clearly a bit of gym kit,

presumably you can just use the steps at home.

Yes, so if you've got stairs in your house

or you've got a front doorstep, just use the step you've got at home.

This is a test of aerobic fitness -

how strong your heart and lungs really are.

We're going to get you to step up and down on the step

for three minutes.

But we're going to set the pace, and we want you to keep to the pace.

It's up, up, down, down.

- OK. - Up, up, down, down.

The key thing we're looking at is heart rate.

The lower your heart rate, the fitter you are.

If you're less fit, then your heart rate is going to have to go up more.

Yeah, your heart is going to have to pump harder to get that oxygen to

your tissues. So that's why heart rate

is a good indicator of your fitness.

Three minutes of steps later, it's time to take my pulse

and work out my beats per minute.

If you can't find it, think about where your index finger is,

and just come straight down.

If people find that hard, that might be a bit easier.

I reckon my pulse is about 96 at the moment.

For a man of your age, we'd certainly be looking

for a pulse under 115, so that's great.

That's a good measure of fitness.

What should your heart rate be?

If you're under 35 and male,

it should be

under 105 beats per minute.

For a woman, 110.

If you're a man under 55,

less than 110.

115 for women.

Over 55 and male, 115.

Female, 120.

So, those are a couple of tests you can do at home

to measure how fit you are at the moment.

But what should you do if you actually want to get fitter?

Well, keep watching.

One obvious way for most of us to get fitter is walking.

But how much do you really need to do to make a difference?

There is one number everyone bangs on about - 10,000 steps a day.

These days, you see a lot of people wandering around,

wearing something like this.

It's an activity monitor. And, amongst other things,

it keeps track of the number of steps you take.

10,000 steps a day is the goal.

10,000 steps to stay young and healthy for ever!

It's become a huge health craze -

13 million Brits now tracking their steps.

But where does that magic number come from?

In the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics in 1964,

a company came up with a device they called a Manpo Meter.

That literally means a 10,000 step meter.

So that magical figure didn't come as a result of

rigorous scientific studies, but was actually the product

of a clever marketing campaign.

It was clearly a great marketing slogan,

but is 10,000 steps really worth doing?

I've come to a factory in Sheffield,

where six employees have agreed to help me put it to the test.

Hi, all. Hello.

Thank you very much for agreeing to take part in this.

They all have different reasons for wanting to get fitter.

I'm very aware that I'm not as fit as I used to be

and I've put a lot of weight on.

My only hobby at the moment is knitting.

I've got a little six-year-old girl that runs about like a dafty

and I can't catch her up.

We're going to put the fabled 10,000 steps

up against a much shorter walking target.

Running the experiment is Professor Rob Copeland,

from Sheffield Hallam University.

So, you're going to test 10,000 steps against something

which may be more doable and more practical

and also, perhaps, more effective?

That's what we're really interested in,

exploring this concept of 10,000 steps -

is that really the best thing to aim for?

Or is there something that perhaps you could fit into your life

that might give you the same bang for your buck, if you like?

Fantastic. I'm in, then.

Rob is splitting our six volunteers into two groups.

Today, Dave, Darren and Gillian

will, a little reluctantly, be attempting to hit

the 10,000 step target.

That's around five miles.

All I want you to do is to incorporate 10,000 steps

into your normal day. Simple as that.

Meanwhile, Nathan, Gary and Judy

will be trying something Rob calls Active Ten.

What I'd like you to do today

is try to incorporate three ten minutes of brisk walking

into your normal day.

- We'll do it together. - We'll do it together. - And I'll race you.

- Walking buddies. - Yes.

That's a good idea. I like that. It's a good idea.

Three sessions of an active ten minutes of brisk walking

adds up to a total of around one and a half miles, more like 3,000 steps.

Rob wants to compare the health effects

of these different approaches.

Everyone is given a monitor to track their activity.

And Rob is particularly interested in how much

they increase their heart rate.

Everyone goes back to work, with their new targets.

The 10,000 step group have quite a challenge on their hands.

To get 10,000 steps, today, one of the things I've been doing

is parking my car further away from the factory.

In an attempt to get my steps up,

I'm going to load the dishwasher item by item.

Fitting five miles of walking into a busy day can take some ingenuity.

For the Active Ten group, the aim is to get their pace up,

so they're working their heart and lungs.