Boating–just what the doctor ordered.

Interesting programme on telly last night.  Horizon I think.  For those who didn’t see it, it concerned weight loss and fitness and some new research by academics in various countries that is showing that traditional long held beliefs about fitness and exercise are somewhat askew.  To cut a long story short, it seems that whilst sweating it out in a gym for hours a week does no harm, it is in fact is no better for your general health than a few very short, very intensive bursts of exercise.  In this case the presenter, a doctor, was asked to go flat out (and he really did go hell for leather)  on an exercise bike for three twenty second periods, three times a week.  This it was claimed is all the cardio vascular exercise you need in order to get healthy.

At this point I couldn’t help recalling our descent of the Hatton locks flight last year.  Those big lock paddle mechanisms are just right.  Twenty seconds of lung bursting activity every few minutes.  I have a habit of jokingly chanting “It’s doing me good, it’s doing me good” at such times and now it seems that that might be true.

The other interesting finding of the programme was that sitting still for long periods does you no good.  In fact it can be harmful.  You don’t have to leap about and fling heavy weights all day, just get up and walk about a bit at least every hour.  Even just standing is better than sitting.  Perhaps that’s why my mum lived until she was 94.  She couldn’t sit still for 5 minutes.  Anyway doesn’t all this sound like a day boating?  On your feet all day, frequent opportunities to walk about a bit and occasional bursts of frantic exercise.

Maybe that explains why Kath and I are laid so low with a fluey virus at the moment.  We haven’t been boating since well before Christmas. 

Next time I go off boating, I can say I’m only doing it for health reasons