WOMEN Active at Work – that’s the name of latest campaign launched by Scottish Women in Sport at the end of March. It got me thinking – why do we need campaigns to get people fit and active.
Why are we putting so much energy into this? Isn’t being active an everyday thing, doesn’t it come naturally to us? Looking back quite a few years ago, most of the population didn’t have time to get fit or get active, going about their day-to-day life was all that was necessary.
That is one part of the past that, sadly, we have lost and could do with getting back. Technology is terrific and it has delivered a variety of choices on how we carry out our day-to-day life and given freedom to many women. However, I believe it has also had an impact on our health. Mobile phones, TV remote control, cars, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and don’t forget fast food; the list is endless. Each one of these welcomed inventions, along with many others that we use on a regular basis, hailed at the time as giving us more ‘me’ time, has in effect caused us to change our lifestyle so dramatically that we need to be advised, cajoled and even bribed into getting fit and healthy.
It is bizarre that while we now have so many labour saving devices available to us, many people are still struggling to find some spare time in which they can take some exercise.
Back in my grandmothers’ time, and that wasn’t yesterday, each day had a specific task, a regime that had to be followed and these daily chores required bundles of stamina, burnt calories and got you fit, without even thinking about it.
Monday morning, strip the beds and take your turn at the wash-house, washing, rinsing, putting the laundry through the ringer, hanging out the sheets to dry and bringing them back in to iron and put back on the beds, all on the one day – I’m exhausted thinking about it.
Oh, I forgot to add on top of that you had to get in the shopping daily, as you didn’t have the luxury of a fridge, so that meant a walk to the shops, buy the groceries, cook the dinner, look after the kids, clean the fire, I could go on...
Now I am not advocating that we should go back to the ‘good old days’ but we do need to realise that activity should be an integral part of our daily lives.
We must try to incorporate activity into our lives at every turn, and by recognising and adopting these changes, we will, through time reap the benefits.
That’s why Women Active at Work was launched. Recognising the pressure that most of us are under, it offers some simple solutions, suggesting ways that we can include activity into our working day.
The premise is we make a commitment with a friend to include some type of activity in our day and we schedule it to happen; for instance, on our way to work by walking or cycling. If you prefer, try to fit in your activity at lunch-time, perhaps a quick game of no-rules netball or even a game of fives after work. While we have chosen only eight activities to highlight, these are not exclusive for participating in the campaign, you can decide on your own activity and you and your friends just give it a go.
More info on the campaign at www. womenactiveatwork.co.uk
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