“I want to be able to play with my sons”

Michael Van Clarke, 60, from London

Before the first lockdown I’d been forced to take a year off training due to surgery for a torn shoulder tendon, and my surgeon had warned me not to do anything for a year to 18 months.

I noticed an awful lot of changes. I lost half a stone of muscle from my upper body. It would have been more weight but I added some to my midriff. I didn’t feel great. When you lose muscle mass your ratio of hormones changes; you have less testosterone and more oestrogen. I felt different. I think that’s what a lot of men my age experience. And that’s because they allow muscle mass to waste away after the age of 40.

As well as four daughters from a previous relationship, I have twin sons with my partner Gaby, a personal trainer. When lockdown started I decided it was time to get back into shape, so that I can be the fully active dad I want to be for my sons.

Fortunately before lockdown started I’d bought a Peloton, so I use that every other day, as well as 20 minutes of weights and then some yoga. I try to do something every day of the week, which more recently has been about five days a week. The key is routine and trying to do the same time every day if it’s possible.

The boys keep me fit. They love playing “Tree”, which involves naming the kind of tree they want me to impersonate and then climbing up me.

Gaby took the boys out for a run recently and they ran a kilometre non-stop in six minutes and 30 seconds. Two days later they did it in six minutes, three seconds, and they’re six years old! It’s not going to be long before I’ll struggle to keep up with them.

I believe our natural life expectancy is probably closer to 120, but most of that is shortened by lifestyle, Covid being the exception right now.

What we do and eat each day takes quite a chunk off what could be a longer life.