Why keeping fit should be more than a walk in the park

Are you able to keep fit? Chances are, probably not.

We all know that maintaining fitness levels is crucial not only for our waistline, but also for our mental well-being. Still, a recent study found that two-thirds of us had become much less active since the Covid pandemic hit. This is especially unfortunate when we are dealing with a second wave, as staying fit is also essential for keeping our immune system in good shape.

A 2019 study in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, for example, found that regular exercise increases the levels of circulating immune cells, making our bodies better prepared to fight infection.

But even if the onset of shorter winter days makes aerobic exercise such as walking, running, and cycling less attractive, there is an equally important form of exercise that we can do at home without special equipment: resistance exercise.

Studies have shown that resistance exercise – which aims to build strength – not only preserves our muscles as we age and helps keep weight off (muscles burn calories even when we sleep), but also important components of our immune system like deadly T cells, which fight infections.

They can even increase the effectiveness of a Covid-19 vaccine: A study from California showed that healthy volunteers who did a 15-minute arm and shoulder workout – using elastic resistance bands [a bit like a giant elastic band] – produced a much more potent immune response after being vaccinated against influenza than a control group just sitting there.

Resistance training has been part of my morning routine for the past few years: I get out of bed, turn on the radio and do a series of push-ups, squats, abdominal crunches, lunges and the plank for a few minutes – where you lie in a straight line your stomach and balance on your forearms. This combination works all my major muscle groups.

They only last a few minutes and I have gradually increased the amount I can manage. For example, I can now do 50 pushups in a row, although the last few are a struggle.

It’s not a lot of fun, but I’m sticking with it for its proven benefits. In a recent study of more than 1,000 U.S. firefighters, researchers found that those who could do 40 or more push-ups at the start of the study were 20 times less likely to have a heart attack over the next ten years than those who could manage that on their own a few.

The other great resistance exercise that everyone should try on a regular basis is the squat, which works the biggest muscles in our body, in the butt and thighs. A combination of push-ups and squats also strengthens the core muscles in the abdomen (making bending and twisting easier) and back muscles, so we are less likely to get back pain.

The best way to determine how strong we are in general is to measure our grip strength. This appears to be a good measure of overall muscle strength and health: Studies show that people with stronger grip not only have a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, but also score better on cognitive tests, including memory and IQ.

You can measure the gripping force with a dynamometer, a device that you squeeze and gives you results in kilograms (you can buy them online quite cheaply).

Like overall strength, grip strength tends to weaken as we age. A typical woman can press 35kg in her 20s and drop to 20kg in her 60s. For men, the figures are 47 kg and 39 kg respectively.

I am in my 60s, but thanks to my current training regimen, my grip strength is 56 kg, something I hope to maintain as I get older by gradually increasing the intensity of what I do.

As with any exercise, it’s important to start gradually and get them right, so find out exactly how to do new exercises on YouTube or by Googling. There are also many free apps available to download to your phone, with guided workouts, such as a workout called 7 minutes.

In addition to increasing my resistance exercises, I also plan to work on my balance, which isn’t great. As with strength, your balance usually gets worse as you get older. Doing balance exercises regularly can reverse these age-related changes and reduce the risk of falling.

To check your balance, try standing on one leg with your eyes closed. If you can hold on for more than ten seconds without moving your foot or falling, you’re fine.

One way to improve balance is to do yoga, which I never really found time for. Tomorrow I will start my first internet yoga class. I’ll let you know how I am doing.

Zooming with your dog? Unfortunately that barks crazy

One of the greatest loves of my life is our dog Tari, a nine-year-old King Charles Spaniel. In addition to being brilliant companions, a wealth of evidence demonstrates the health benefits of having a dog. It can lower blood pressure, reduce stress and even reduce the risk of heart disease.

Dogs are even used to track down people with coronavirus. But one thing dogs don’t seem good at is communicating via Zoom or FaceTime. I’ve tried to get engaged to Tari when we’re talking to our kids via video calls, but she just looks surprised.

Research suggests that although your dog recognizes your face in real life and in photos, he gets confused when the images start to move. This is because they have a higher ‘flicker sensitivity’ than ours, so they only see blurry images and colors.

Another reason, new research in the Journal of Neuroscience finds, is that dogs, unlike us, don’t have areas of the brain that respond specifically to faces. It turns out that dogs mainly recognize us by our smell.

So the next time I’m gone, I’ll ask my wife, Clare, to wave one of my old socks under Tari’s nose to see if that piques her interest when we have a video call.

We shouldn’t be cracking down on the truth about hospital food

Hospital food has a bad reputation and as I’ve spent a lot of time filming in a wide variety of hospitals over the years, I think it has a good reputation.

Still, people who are sick need nutritious food to speed their recovery – it’s ridiculous that this is still not a priority.

So I was delighted to read a review that Chef Prue Leith and others published detailed steps to improve the standard of meals in NHS hospitals. Among the changes I would like to see implemented are:

Make sure everyone in the hospital – from the principal to the patients – is offered the same meals. A survey from last year found that more than half of the staff would not eat the food served to patients. If those responsible for catering budgets ate the same meals as the patients, they could ensure that everyone is getting quality food.

Food should be cooked fresh rather than frozen. One survey found that nearly two-thirds of hospitals do not cook fresh food; The Daily Mail revealed last year that some patients are served meals cooked and frozen up to a year earlier.

Be careful with the presentation – how food looks makes a big difference. A recent study found that 17 percent of hospital food is still served in plastic containers. Why not use the right knives, forks and dishes? A 2015 University of Oxford study found that minor tweaks to improve the presentation of even the most basic of foods – like a garden salad or steak and chips – make it much more palatable.

This recent review is, of course, not the first attempt to improve hospital nutrition. In August 2014, there was a report claiming that hospital patients in England would be given a higher nutritional standard. Six years later and the food served is still pretty awful. I just hope the promise of change really gets through this time.