Irish exercise inspiration

My Nottingham City Hospital consultant Dr. Chang drew my attention to a recent '2,000 steps a day challenge' initiative by the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association, so I contacted them, made a donation and received the pack they have produced.

All this came about because of a conversation I had with Dr. Chang about exercise and the fact that since my open heart surgery at the end of February 2017 I had set myself the target of 5,000 steps a day, which I try to manage at least 5 days a week.

A few months ago my wife Susan bought herself a new Fitbit and gave me her old one, which I wear daily. I measured my steps with Susan's help, so I have a good idea how far I walk in terms of distance but I focus on my 5,000 steps a day. If I find myself around teatime short by a few hundred or a couple of thousand steps (as I can), I walk between our front door and patio door at the back of the house. An in-house 'circuit' is always 35–36 steps and I do c.100 a minute, which equals 1,000 every 10 minutes. When the day is damp and cold and I don't go out, I do the 5,000 steps in the house in a couple of 20–30 minute sessions. About 1,500 steps usually comes from just pottering about the house; making tea, preparing food etc.

Back in 2017 I made the decision to try and manage 5,000 steps a day after attending a 6 week cardiac rehab group during the early summer. I went home 10 days after my open heart surgery and it was 8 weeks before I went back to the City Hospital to see how I was progressing, by which time they wanted me to be walking 30 minutes a day — which I managed to do by walking 5 minutes during my first few days at home, then adding 5 minutes each week so that by the 6th week I was doing my 30 minutes a day. It was after that that I set myself the target of 30 minutes a day, which I have maintained and now bettered with my 5,000 steps a day target, often exceeding without any thought.

The point of telling you this is to point out that it is better to set and achieve a modest target than to be over ambitious. By being over ambitious you are setting yourself up to fail and to be disappointed — which is is why the ILFA programme is so appealing even though I will continue to walk 5,000 steps day most of the time.

I had thought at first that the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association (ILFA) programme was based on 5,000 steps a day but it's actually 2,000 steps a day and to know this gives me quite a fillip.

By being active and a small amount of exercise you improve your physical (and mental) strength, which in turn helps you to fight of infections and to keep going longer. I feel already that such a simple thing as modest exercise has extended my life and that I'm one lucky bunny.

Below is a copy of the leaflet you can read. There is a link to the ILFA 2,000 Steps a Day Challenge at the beginning of this post: