FITNESS: Mimic other active people to get moving

By Paudie O'Donovan

THESE days there’s nearly an app for everything including exercise.

For the last 12 years I’ve used an exercise app on my phone to track all my cycling, running, swimming, walking and gyming. I have tried many different apps but I find Strava to be the best one. Personally I cycle over 8,000kms a year and complete around 100 gym sessions, so it’s hard to track all my activities. 

So when I need to check back what I’ve done last year or last month it’s a brilliant way to see all your uploaded info. How far, how fast, what intensity, what weight and what gradient – it’s all there at a glance. 

I recently got an email from Strava and the headline said ‘People keep people active.’ I thought it was a brilliant statement. It’s so true! It’s because we actually do. You see a group of people walking and you say to yourself ‘I might go for a walk.’ You see a cycling club going for their weekly club spin and you say to yourself ‘I might pull out my bike and go for a ride.’ 

People do actually keep people active. It’s in our nature to mimic other people. Not just in physical activity but in holidays, fashion and lifestyle. So if you do see a person doing something that you always wanted to do or you’ve done in the past and you want to get back to it then away you go. 

Being active will always be king when it comes minding our mental and physical health.