KEEP FIT WHILE MAKING A CUPPA

WEIGHTS? Resistance training? Isn’t that for gym bunnies or budding bodybuilders? We certainly thought so.

But talk to any expert on longevity and it becomes crystal clear: resistance training — using weights to build muscle — is as important as aerobic exercise, eating vegetables and getting a good night’s sleep.

So-called strength training can reduce the risk of heart attacks, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as slowing bone loss and easing the pain of arthritis.

The happy by-product, we’ve found, is shapely arms, firm thighs, the ability to lift and carry more, and better quality sleep. We’d never worked with free weights before (too intimidating, too dull), but our research into ageing convinced us that working with our own body weight and a pair of hand weights was the most efficient, convenient way to build strength. So we have put pairs of weights strategically round our homes: in the kitchen beside the kettle; in the bathroom next to the sink; in front of the TV. Now, every time we brew a cup of tea, we spend a couple of minutes doing bicep curls, shoulder presses, tricep presses and lateral raises. After cleaning our teeth, we do a few squats. If we watch TV, we pop a few lunges with weights and Annabel always stands on one leg to brush her teeth — which is a great exercise for improving balance.

You don’t need weights when you start — you can use books, bottles of water or cans of beans. But by weaving resistance training into our day in bite-sized ‘snacks’, and using snatches of ‘dead’ time, we have became stronger almost by stealth.

Don’t worry about what other people think or about making an idiot of yourself.

We do calf raises while standing on the Tube, squats while waiting at the bus stop and lunges while standing in queues.

Yes, our children squirm with embarrassment, but so what?