A recent study has revealed which UK cities have remained the most active throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
And Manchester has come out on top.
According to the latest research by TechTalk (Garmin x Currys PC World), Mancunians were said to exercise 2.54 times a week, with 41% of us training three to six times a week, and 15% working out one or two times every seven days.
The survey also saw half of us claim to live a moderately or very active lifestyle – with 35-44-year-olds most likely to describe their lifestyle as “very active” – and at the other end of the scale, 22% admitted to living a somewhat or very sedentary lifestyle.
Liverpudlians are the second fittest people in the UK, with London coming third place.
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When it comes to the age groups consulted for the research, the survey found that millennials work out the most by averaging 3.1 times a week – compared with a national average of 2.3 times, and that’s not all either, as when gyms and fitness centres were first forced closed for lockdown back in March 2020, those of us in the North West were also the most likely to swap it for great outdoors.
Another title Manchester can be proud to claim.
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Unsplash / Amy Humphreys
Health and fitness expert Lee Cain – Managing Director of HFE (Health and Fitness Education) – is a big advocate for using exercise to boost mental wellbeing, especially over this past year, saying: “Aside from the physical benefits of physical activity and exercise, there are also a profound number of mental and emotional benefits, including reduced stress, anxiety and a more stable mood”.
He also revealed there are plenty of ways to stay fit at home during lockdown too.
“There are lots of things that you can do around the house, like a virtual yoga or Pilates class, some online Zumba, or even just an old school aerobics class, [and] YouTube is full of programmes like these that you can do for free.” he said.
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He also believes that when it comes to effective exercise, it’s important to keep trying different things that you may not have originally thought of.
“With exercise, variety is necessary in order to prevent boredom, staleness and plateaus in progress.”
“If, over-time, you perform the same exercises, in the same order and at the same or similar intensities, the body will find ways of meeting those demands with less [and] that means that every time you exercise, you burn fewer calories, so it’s important to keep mixing things up so the body is forced to continually adapt.”
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And it doesn’t have to be traditional exersice you get stuck into to feel the benefits either.
Lee continues: “Whether it’s cleaning windows, gardening, making beds, walking the dog, ironing, mopping or sweeping the floor, the amount of energy expended while performing these tasks can be some four to five times greater than that at rest”.
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Other everyday tasks that can also burn calories include ironing, baking and sleeping, and did you know that you can even burn calories more rapidly when you take a hot bath thanks to your body temperature rising, although Lee explains that it’s important to recognise that exercise and physical activity are not the same thing and that “their effects as far as ‘calorie burning’ is concerned, can be equal, but not the same”.
He continued: “Exercise is a structured form of physical activity that is usually performed with the goal of improving one or more aspects of fitness, whereas physical activity is a little more general, and may simply include walking up the stairs.”
You can read the research in full and access more tips and advice from Lee Cain via the TechTalk website here.
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The cheapest Christmas Markets in the world for mulled wine have been revealed
Daisy Jackson
The most affordable Christmas Markets for drinking mulled wine have been revealed – and Manchester is nowhere in sight.
With Christmas markets across Europe preparing to welcome millions of visitors, festive fans looking to enjoy a warming cup of glühwein without breaking the bank might want to take note of the latest findings.
Festive experts at Christmas Tree World have analysed mulled wine prices at Christmas markets around the world to discover where visitors can enjoy the seasonal favourite for less.
Topping the rankings is Brussels’ Winter Wonders, where mulled wine is available for as little as £2.14 – about a third of the price of a mulled wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Cologne Cathedral Christmas Markets and Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik share second place, with starting prices of just £2.56.
Other European favourites also feature prominently in the rankings. Budapest’s Christmas Market at the Basilica takes fourth place, with mulled wine costing £3.19, while Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas Market comes in sixth at £3.55.
Germany makes another strong appearance, with Dresden’s Striezelmarkt and Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt (which handily just launched new direct flights from Manchester) both offering mulled wine for £3.85.
Meanwhile, Vienna’s Christmas World rounds off the European entries in ninth place, with prices starting at £4.28.
For those planning a festive adventure further afield, Tokyo’s Christmas Market also makes the top five, with mulled wine costing £3.22.
However, not every destination offers such a bargain. Across the Atlantic, New York City’s Winter Village takes the title of the most expensive market in the study, with mulled wine costing a rather less festive £11.74. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket isn’t far behind, charging £8.80.
Manchester Christmas Markets start on Friday 6 November – we’ll see how our prices stack up then.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Emily Sergeant -
11th January 2021 
