No gyms. No mags. No gimmicks. No cost. You can get fit again and it's easy

Whatever your age or weight and regardless of how long it is since you last exercised, here are the simple steps back to fitness that will work for even the oldest and spuddiest of couch potatoes. You'll feel better, have more energy, live longer, have better sex etc etc. You've heard it all before but this time it's true. And, unless you're the sort of bloke who struggles to walk down the street and chew gum at the same time, it really couldn't be simpler…

The standard advice for anyone considering taking up an exercise programme is that they should consult their doctor if they have joint problems, if they have high blood pressure, if their family have a history of heart trouble, if they are over 40 (or sometimes even 35), or if they have not exercised for five years.

But how many people have been put off exercising because they didn’t fancy asking their doc’s permission to do a press-up? For many of us, it’s not necessary. Yes, you should see your doctor if there are possible medical problems like those mentioned above but, for most blokes, age or a long period of inactivity is no barrier - provided you approach things properly. Here’s how (and by the way - there are NO press ups)…

The first - the only? - rule of exercise:
Don’t do more today than you’ll be able to do tomorrow.

The classic pattern when men in their 30s and 40s return to exercise is that in a rush of enthusiasm they dash out and do something they used to do when they were younger - football, squash, or some other competitive or physical sport. Big mistake. The result is that even if you don’t get an injury or three, which is very likely, you’ll find that the next day or the day after, your joints ache so much you can barely get out of bed. End of new exercise regime.

However, there are some very simple, but surprisingly little known, steps that you can take that will build your fitness back up steadily and surely. And they needn’t cost you a penny. You certainly don’t need any expensive gym membership or complicated equipment that you’ll use once and then dump in the corner of the wardrobe. All the equipment you need comes fitted as standard to the average human body. Yes, we’re talking here about walking.

You’ll never keep to an exercise regimes - or a diet - which is bolted on to your life rather than part of it. So the best thing to do is just to start walking as part of your every day life. There is a simple way of doing this: sell the car. Now, obviously, this isn’t practical for everyone but it is worth thinking about whether you actually need a car or just WANT one. Be honest with yourself. For most of us, our vehicle does far more than get us from A to B. Cars are status symbols, they give you a sense of freedom, a feeling of speed and your own space in which you’re the boss. Fair enough but these are psychological reasons for having a car not practical ones.

If you are able to untangle the car from your life so much the better. It’s one less thing to worry about, there’s the instant cash injection from the sale and it will save you a fortune (The AA estimate that it costs over £7,000 a year to run a 1600CC car doing 20,000 miles a year. Click here to cost your car.) You’ll also feel good about yourself because you’re helping the environment. I guarantee that if you sell your car you’ll get fitter. But if you can’t, never mind. Only use it when you need to (not want to). Perhaps only use it at the week-ends. Or park it a long way away. It'll put you off keep using it. And give yourself a bit of exercise when you do.

Walk to work. If you can’t walk all the way, walk some of the way - get off the bus or train a stop earlier, park the car further away (it may make driving more pleasant too if you avoid the busy city centre).

Walk to the shops. OK, so you can’t do the big weekly shop but if you shop more often you can enjoy more fresh produce. (Pick up stuff on the way home from work.) One of the many things that the French find amusing about the English is that half of us seem to find food-shopping a chore while the rest of us, egged on by TV chefs and the Sunday supplements, see it as a lifestyle staement. Both are nonsense. A chore? A fashion item? Monsieur Dupont is rolling in the aisles. You are what you eat is a cliche but it’s true. Food is life. Enjoy it.

Yes, just walk. You don’t have to live in gorgeous countryside, to enjoy the view while walking, all you have to do is look up. The architecture in many of our cities is fascinating but we never see it as we’re too busy looking in shop windows. (Naturally you’ll want to keep half an eye out for the pavement produce of incontinent canines.)

Take a different route. Just walking around your area can be productive. Chances are you’ll find open spaces and shops you didn’t know existed and which will save you travelling miles. For example, just two minutes away from our flat is a great second-hand CD shop. I didn’t know about for 18 months because I had never walked down the road parallel to ours.

Walking will also improve your performance at work. Go for a walk in your lunch break and think over whatever you’re working on. Your brain will work better in the fresh air than when you’re sitting statically in front of a blank screen (it’s in the ions) and a change of scenery will also unlock your creativity. I wrote half of this article in my head walking down to the post-office this morning.

If you fancy doing a little more (but not too much - remember the first rule of exercise), couple your walking with some simple stretching to keep your self flexible. Don’t tell the bench-pressers this but although stretches are the easiest exercises to do, they also have the biggest long term benefit. Lack of flexibility causes more problems in older age than lack of strength or stamina.

Once you get into it, you can power-walk. I know it’s a standard marketing trick to try to appeal to male vanity - you add the word ‘power’ or ‘extreme’ to something and it instantly becomes a sign of virile potency (power-breakfast, extreme ironing etc) and journalists can write an article about it - but in this case it really does work. Walk faster. Buy yourself a heart-rate monitor watch and walk even faster. (OK, I admit, I said that you didn’t have to buy anything but if you just can't resist these things are rather cool.)

You don’t need to wiggle your bum like an Olympic walker or wind up streaming with sweat, just a little breathless will do. The watch will show you how long you’ve exercised for and your heart rate. Aim to exercise within the range of your maximum heart rate - click here for more on maximum heart-rate. Once you’re so fit that you find it difficult to get into your maximum heart rate range through walking alone, then you’re ready to graduate, if you want to, to jogging, running or competitive sports (click here for more on exercise). Or indeed, the malehealth fitness programme designed by England’s most-capped athlete.

And by the way, if you do want to join a gym (they're not all overpriced), here's how to choose one.

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by Wayne Woodman, malehealth staff writer.

What do you think? Surely anyone can get fit this way? What's stopping you?

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