Government changes guidelines for physical activity

fit20 UK

The UK fitness industry should make a concerted effort to highlight the importance of strength training, following the publication of the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) guidelines for physical activity.

That is the message from Dr James Steele, principal investigator at the ukactive Research Institute, who says that the new CMO guidelines rightly described muscle strengthening as "fundamental to the ability to perform daily tasks".

Published on 7 September, the guidelines recommend all UK adults to undertake muscle strength exercises.

In an open letter to the fitness industry, Dr Steele said muscle strengthening had been the "forgotten guideline" for too long.

"In previous iterations of the CMO’s guidelines, the focus had been upon the importance of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity – with the importance of muscle strength, and activities to promote it, playing second fiddle," Dr Steele said.

"The latest guidelines are now more reflective of the known value of activities such as resistance training for all adults – and now the recommendations position strength training activities equally alongside the aerobic activity recommendations.

"It is encouraging to think that these guidelines and simple recommendations may be the first step towards not only a more active nation, but also a stronger one.

"Muscle strengthening has been the forgotten guideline, but now is the time for our sector to play its role in helping raise awareness of its importance, alongside moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity, providing information and facilities to help people achieve these exercises in a way that best suits their lifestyle, and helping get the nation stronger."

The CMO guidance states “Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week”. So, what can you do to strengthen your muscles? There are many options. But the things that could stop you sooner or later, will be lack of time, lack of results, lack of motivation, not knowing what to do, injury, a dislike of regular gyms, or some combination thereof. And that’s where fit20 comes in. It’s based on science and backed up by a decade of positive results. We’re so confident, we guarantee it in one highly effective 20 minute personal training session per week! Why don’t you give it a try?