From pushing a pram around the park to hula hooping in the kitchen: #ThisGirlCan campaign is encouraging millions of women to find ‘unconventional’ ways to exercise
- Sport England chief exec says the pressures of modern life prevent exercise
- Many women also lack the confidence and motivation to be active
- Sport England wants women to find unconventional ways of fitting exercise in
A motivational #ThisGirlCan campaign is encouraging millions of women to start exercising.
Whether it be pushing a pram around the park, trampolining with friends or even hula hooping in your own kitchen, Sport England wants women of all ages to have fun and get active.
‘Many of the pressures of modern life do not make it easy for women to have the confidence and motivation to be active,’ Sport England’s chief executive Jennie Price said.
‘The health and wellbeing benefits of being active should be available to all women.
‘And that is why we have a new message to celebrate the creative and often unconventional ways many women are fitting exercise into their busy lives.’
In a motivational new video, Sport England encourages women of all ages to start incorporating exercise into their daily lives – even if it means hula hooping in the kitchen
Busy mothers are shown how they too can get active by running around the park with a pram
Full-time carer, Caroline, who stars in the ‘Fit Got Real’ video, said: ‘At the end of the day, I always felt I was either too tired, didn’t have enough time or wasn’t motivated enough to exercise.
‘But, one day I realised how important it was to spend some time on myself and, with the help of my friends and support groups in the community, I could see a way out!
‘Rather than spending half-an-hour watching TV, I now get out to a dance class or over to the trampoline classes at the local community centre.
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The 36-year-old added: ‘With added daily pressures of work and family commitments, I completely understand how easy it is to get into a routine of not doing much exercise.
‘But I feel so much happier and healthier from being more active.
‘Even it’s a quick run up and down the garden it’s better than nothing!’
The video shows women laughing as they make time to attend an exercise class
One is even shown learning how to swim after looking it up on YouTube
Groups of friends can be shown combining socialising and exercise in a trampolining class
Sport England wants women of all ages and ethnicities to start exercising after finding stark differences in how active females from different backgrounds can be
A survey by Sport England suggests women in lower-paid jobs are almost twice as likely to do less than half-an-hour of exercise a week than those in managerial roles.
Differences also occur between women of varying ethnicities, with 36 per cent of south Asian women failing to be active for 30 minutes a week.
This is compared to 29.4 per cent of black women and 25.3 per cent of white women.
The survey, funded by National Lottery, also suggested a lack of time, fear of being judged and poor confidence are the main reasons many women put off exercise.
TV and media may also portray exercise as only being for women who can afford gym membership or fancy workout gear, according to Sport England’s research.
As well as helping women stay a healthy weight, exercise also helps to maintain their mental health by releasing feel-good hormones.
Known as a runner’s high, this can make women feel positive when their hormones naturally change, such as before their period or during the menopause.
Exercise also helps to build bone strength, which is important for women due to them being at a higher risk of osteoporosis.
This comes after research released earlier this year suggested stopping exercise can worsen depression in as little as three days.
Ceasing activity in sufferers of the mental-health condition causes symptoms, such as a continuous low mood, to appear almost immediately, according to a study review by the University of Adelaide.
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