From the January gym rush to long- term survival

It's that time of year when your gym, which has been deserted since the second week in December, is suddenly filled with people you've never seen before - and they're all wearing suspiciously new looking gear.

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Many of them, and this was yours truly until three years ago, are there in the mistaken belief that they can burn off their Christmas and New Year excesses, where they partied like they were on tour with the Rolling Stones in the early 1970s. But like me back then, they are sorely mistaken.

This column is not here to sneer at gym newbies. It welcomes you with open arms. It's great to see you all and if exercise had just been invented last week, you'd be able to get it on prescription.