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68 STYLE | men’s health<br />
GYM &<br />
TONIC<br />
Fitness advice for the working man.<br />
Words Garry Ferris<br />
1.<br />
My first gym allowed mixed changing rooms on Tuesday and<br />
Thursday mornings before 8.<strong>30</strong> and mixed spa pools every<br />
weekday before 8am.<br />
Very quickly, I discovered I liked to work out in the mornings.<br />
From those teenaged beginnings, the gym door and my body have<br />
been slightly wary bedfellows. I’ve always liked the idea of going<br />
shirtless at the beach without having to hold in my stomach to the<br />
point of popping a hernia – but it’s not been a smooth friendship.<br />
After a couple of decades of pretty consistent gym classes –<br />
including an appalling incident on the mini-tramp – and despite the<br />
best intentions, the realities of life have brought the whole routine to a<br />
crashing halt. Longer hours at the office means any downtime is spent<br />
sharing the load at home, and an Auckland mortgage doesn’t leave<br />
much for the membership.<br />
But that doesn’t mean I don’t keep an eye on my ageing body.<br />
Here are my TOP 3 TIPS to lose the lard during the working week<br />
– and not a cent to spend:<br />
LEG IT<br />
If public transport is reliable, take it. And as you eat your toast on the<br />
run (saving time), walk an extra stop – perhaps two – before catching<br />
the bus in the morning. Do the same in reverse on the return journey,<br />
with the weather a good guide for deciding how early to get off (try to<br />
ignore the tiredness factor – because we’re always tired).<br />
Suddenly a 2-3km brisk walk is a daily routine without really thinking<br />
about it. And no change of clothes or warm-ups required.<br />
Hippocrates said, “Walking is a man’s best medicine,” and 15,000<br />
steps – a day in the life of a postie – seems to be the golden mark<br />
these days. The International Journal of Obesity (are you surprised it<br />
exists in <strong>2017</strong>?) studied 111 postal workers and those who took at<br />
least 15,000 steps a day had almost no risk for heart disease. Time<br />
magazine’s health nuts reckon you should be aiming to take 10,000<br />
steps a day, which is what the average factory walker will knock off.<br />
Nurses aren’t far behind, wandering 8500 steps around the wards.
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