One of the best times of year is upon us: happy Celebrity Traitors season to all those who celebrate.
Of course, here at Women’s Health, we’ve done our due diligence by finding out everything we can about the health and fitness routines behind the cast of this year’s series.
And one cast member who has a refreshing fitness take is 70-year-old supermodel and actor Jerry Hall.
When asked about her current fitness regimen, Jerry told The Telegraph that she’s not a fan of the gym.
‘I do activities like walk the dogs, gardening, canoeing. I don’t go to a gym. I hate that, it’s really boring, not fun.
‘I don’t sit down much. I have a lot of animals – two dogs, a cat, three horses, eight chickens. I do a lot of gardening. I’m very, very busy, and then I babysit my three grandchildren a lot,’ she added.
‘Now, I don’t really like doing any kind of exercise at all. I love gardening; it’s a great workout and I love teaching my grandchildren how to grow food too,’ she also told Harper’s Bazaar.
And Jerry’s right: gardening does count as exercise.
An effective form of NEAT – non-exercise activity thermogenesis – regular gardening can support cardiovascular and metabolic health, while helping to reduce the amount of time you spend sedentary.
What is NEAT?
NEAT simply refers to the energy you expend through everyday movement outside of formal exercise (such as running or resistance training) and sleeping, personal trainer Elliott Upton previously explained to Women’s Health.
Breaking up your day with NEAT is important. A major new study of more than 90,000 people found that spending long, uninterrupted periods sedentary was associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality.
Researchers found that every additional hour a day spent in prolonged sedentary behaviour – sitting or lying down while awake – was associated with a 10% higher risk of dying from cancer.
But in more positive news, they also found that breaking up prolonged sedentary time with light activity, such as household chores or a gentle walk, was associated with a lower risk – with greater benefits observed at moderate and vigorous intensities.
Why gardening is an effective workout
And while gardening contributes to NEAT, some of its more physically demanding tasks – eg, digging, carrying heavy bags of compost, briskly walking from one end of the garden to the other – can push you into moderate or even vigorous-intensity activity.
Scientists have another acronym for these short bursts of vigorous everyday movement: VILPA, or vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity.
A recent study found that just a few minutes of vigorous-intensity activity incorporated into everyday life was associated with heart health benefits in women.
So while more formal workouts do have their place, incorporating NEAT and VILPA into your daily routine can have far-reaching health benefits.
The health benefits of canoeing
And we can’t forget Jerry’s other favourite gym-free way to move: canoeing.
‘I go canoeing quite a bit. Last week I was off canoeing with four girlfriends, stopping at a restaurant for lunch,’ she told The Telegraph.
Bridging the gap between NEAT and formal exercise, research has suggested that paddle sports including canoeing can support aerobic fitness, blood pressure, metabolic health, body composition, upper-body function and psychosocial wellbeing.
If there’s a paddle-based challenge on Traitors – which there usually is – Jerry will be the one to watch.
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Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.
