I have used Runkeeper on my iPhone since 2010 and I try to activate the app each time I engage in any activity I’d record as exercise. This includes cycling (on road), mountain biking (this year was mostly Rail Corridor and Pulau Ubin), brisk walking (mostly PCNs) and hiking (field trips and coastal cleanups). If I am trapped at home by the haze, or need to build my fitness before going on a hike or long ride, I turn to the elliptical and stair-climbing.
Singapore’s Health Promotion Board recommends that individuals “aim for 150 minutes of physical activity every week” [HPB]. That works out to 600 mins/month (ignoring evenness). Having tried a little harder this year, I wondered if I spent enough time on exercise in 2015, i.e. did I at least achieve the minimum every month?
According to my Runkeeper data, I reached 600mins/month on only seven months in 2015. That’s unnerving.
The months of my terrible first semester (Aug – Nov) see reduced activity every year, and this was badly dampened by the haze this year – and not made up with time on the elliptical. Other sub-par months were February and June – perhaps dampened by bouts of the flu. On the other hand, I managed a decent 1,000 mins of activity in January, May and July.
Now that I know how 2015 worked out, let’s see what I can do about it next year. Wish me luck!
Otterman speaks... 