Тест 131. Чтение. ЕГЭ по английскому языку

1) Установите соответствие между заголовками 1 — 8 и текстами A — G. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний.

1. Humans cause harm
2. Where is the taiga found?
3. Clever habits
4. Adding two more
5. Young and beautiful
6. Surviving flora
7. What’s the weather like?
8. Native people’s habits

A. The taiga biome stretches across the Northern Hemisphere. It takes in large areas of North America and Eurasia, especially Canada and Russia, respectively. It also spans across Alaska and Scandinavia. The taiga biome occupies about 27 % of the Earth’s surface. It is located south of the tundra biome, which is characterized by a frozen land and constant snow. Because of its location, the taiga biome is rather cold. It is to the north of the temperate forests and grasslands, which are much warmer.

B. There are cold winds that blow cold Arctic air into the taiga biome, making it very cold most of the year. Therefore, this climate is called the subarctic climate. The earth rotates around the sun annually. Due to the tilt of the sun, the taiga biome faces away from the sun, resulting in long snowy winters, which are extremely cold. Another effect is that there is less radiation from the sun to heat the land up. For these reasons, the summer is barely three months long, and the winter is double that.

C. The taiga is home to various species of plants. These plants are used to an extremely cold climate and mainly consist of coniferous trees, evergreens, and spruces. The absence of sunlight in the biome is an important factor, which means plants must have adaptable leaves. The evergreens have green leaves throughout the year, so they have enough food due to the presence of chlorophyll in their leaves. They keep the same leaves for a very long time, enabling them to use minimal solar energy.

D. There is a limit to the number of animals that can survive in the taiga, due to the cold temperatures. Still, there are many animal species, including mammals, birds, and insect species. Like the taiga plants, animals in the biome must have adaptive features to survive in this climate. During the summer, more animals are in sight than during the winter. This is because most of them either migrate to warmer biomes where they can cope easily, especially for birds, or spend the winter sleeping until the next summer season.

E. Surprisingly, there are six seasons, as identified by the native people of the boreal forest or taiga. The seasons are spring, break-up, summer, autumn, freeze-up, and winter. The period in October, when the trees lose their leaves and the lakes become frozen, is known as freeze-up. This period occurs after autumn and ends when winter starts. The other period is when the snow melts, and the ground looks bare. This season is called the break-up season and may last quite long – until all the ice in the lakes has melted.

F. Compared to certain trees that grow in more temperate climates, most of the trees in the boreal forest or taiga are young. Forests are typically less than 100 years old throughout the western boreal zone, and mainly younger than 200 years old in the eastern boreal zone. Due to frequent natural disasters that are the result of an ecological loop that renews the boreal forest, scientists do not believe this amazing forest to be ancient. But they all agree that it is the largest biome on land.

G. The boreal forest contributes greatly to the earth’s oxygen supply by collecting carbon dioxide produced by people. It helps a lot in the preservation of the ozone layer thanks to its green vegetation. However, human activities such as deforestation are destroying the boreal forest’s structure. When a tree is harmed, it takes a long time to grow back, because the biome has an extremely slow growth rate. That’s why the boreal forest has drawn the attention of the environment protection specialists worldwide.

A	B	C	D	E	F	G

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2) Прочитайте текст и заполните пропуски A — F частями предложений, обозначенными цифрами 1 — 7. Одна из частей в списке 1—7 лишняя.

Reusable bags Using fewer resources and producing less waste are issues not only for big corporations and factories to worry about. Each of us can make a big difference in how we impact the environment. People can continue to consume excessively and create billions of pounds of waste each year, ___ (A) a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

Plastic bags do not easily decompose, and they contribute to the pollution of nature. A plastic bag can take from 15 to 1,000 years to break down, depending on the environment. Moreover, the cost of recycling plastic bags outweighs their value. This is another reason ___ (B) to landfill sites. This results in huge piles of garbage ___ (C), releasing bad smells throughout the day and serving as a distraction for tourists.

It is high time for us to use alternative sources, so as to reduce the impact of plastic bags on the environment. One such change is to get rid of plastic bags and use reusable bags.

There are many reasons ___ (D), and it is necessary to switch to reusable bags. A lot of oil and natural gas go into the production of plastic bags, which are not recyclable. Choosing reusable bags saves on these natural resources and protects the environment. Besides, the nature around us is polluted by plastic bags ___ (E) or get into animals’ homes.

Sometimes animals try to eat these bags, thinking they are part of nature, ___ (F).

1. because they often fly away into trees
2. or they can make changes to adopt
3. why plastic bags are not ideal at all
4. because they want to protect nature
5. which may simply lead to their death
6. why most plastic bags find their way
7. that can be easily seen across the city

A	B	C	D	E	F

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3) Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

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Regular exercise Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. But many face a problem of keeping up regular exercise. What are some of the tricks?

At first, you can keep it short and sharp. My personal trainer, Robert, says a workout doesn’t have to take an hour: “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

My rule is: if it doesn’t work, change it. For example, it rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else. We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: “This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,” there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal-training instructor. Resistance training (which is using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

My second rule is raising the ante. If you do 5-km runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10. As you see those numbers go down, that’s when you should start pushing yourself a bit faster. Robert says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. You’re looking for a change in your speed, endurance, or strength.

Another shortcut to regular exercise is to work out from home. If you have caring responsibilities, you can do a lot within a small area at home. In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training and involves doing six or eight exercises for upper and lower body. This effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout,” Robert says. Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, dips and raises. You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and having a good general workout. These take no more than 15–20 minutes and only require a chair for some exercises.

And what about doing chores? We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Robert. With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – and not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.

So, I think everyone can do exercise regularly and experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

The purpose of the text is to ...
1) explain how not to give up exercising.
2) share the author’s experience of exercising.
3) discuss the health benefits of exercise.
4) give advice on different types of exercise.

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4) Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

Показать текст

Regular exercise Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. But many face a problem of keeping up regular exercise. What are some of the tricks?

At first, you can keep it short and sharp. My personal trainer, Robert, says a workout doesn’t have to take an hour: “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

My rule is: if it doesn’t work, change it. For example, it rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else. We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: “This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,” there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal-training instructor. Resistance training (which is using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

My second rule is raising the ante. If you do 5-km runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10. As you see those numbers go down, that’s when you should start pushing yourself a bit faster. Robert says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. You’re looking for a change in your speed, endurance, or strength.

Another shortcut to regular exercise is to work out from home. If you have caring responsibilities, you can do a lot within a small area at home. In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training and involves doing six or eight exercises for upper and lower body. This effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout,” Robert says. Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, dips and raises. You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and having a good general workout. These take no more than 15–20 minutes and only require a chair for some exercises.

And what about doing chores? We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Robert. With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – and not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.

So, I think everyone can do exercise regularly and experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

What is the best summary of the advice given in paragraph 2?
1) Put regular exercise into your schedule on the phone.
2) It’s vital to make a plan for an efficient workout.
3) A trainer can make your time exercising more effective.
4) A short workout is better than a longer session.

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5) Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

Показать текст

Regular exercise Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. But many face a problem of keeping up regular exercise. What are some of the tricks?

At first, you can keep it short and sharp. My personal trainer, Robert, says a workout doesn’t have to take an hour: “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

My rule is: if it doesn’t work, change it. For example, it rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else. We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: “This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,” there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal-training instructor. Resistance training (which is using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

My second rule is raising the ante. If you do 5-km runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10. As you see those numbers go down, that’s when you should start pushing yourself a bit faster. Robert says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. You’re looking for a change in your speed, endurance, or strength.

Another shortcut to regular exercise is to work out from home. If you have caring responsibilities, you can do a lot within a small area at home. In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training and involves doing six or eight exercises for upper and lower body. This effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout,” Robert says. Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, dips and raises. You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and having a good general workout. These take no more than 15–20 minutes and only require a chair for some exercises.

And what about doing chores? We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Robert. With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – and not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.

So, I think everyone can do exercise regularly and experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

The author’s message in paragraphs 3 and 4 is that …
1) if you fail to do exercise once, it’s likely you’ll give up.
2) being passionate and confident leads you to success.
3) if you fail in some exercise plan, try it again later.
4) testing various ways of exercising will help you stick to it.

🔗

6) Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

Показать текст

Regular exercise Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. But many face a problem of keeping up regular exercise. What are some of the tricks?

At first, you can keep it short and sharp. My personal trainer, Robert, says a workout doesn’t have to take an hour: “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

My rule is: if it doesn’t work, change it. For example, it rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else. We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: “This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,” there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal-training instructor. Resistance training (which is using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

My second rule is raising the ante. If you do 5-km runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10. As you see those numbers go down, that’s when you should start pushing yourself a bit faster. Robert says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. You’re looking for a change in your speed, endurance, or strength.

Another shortcut to regular exercise is to work out from home. If you have caring responsibilities, you can do a lot within a small area at home. In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training and involves doing six or eight exercises for upper and lower body. This effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout,” Robert says. Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, dips and raises. You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and having a good general workout. These take no more than 15–20 minutes and only require a chair for some exercises.

And what about doing chores? We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Robert. With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – and not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.

So, I think everyone can do exercise regularly and experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

Which is FALSE about training recommendations after the age of 30, according to the text?
1) The combination of different types of exercise works best.
2) It’s better to avoid balance exercises because of age changes.
3) Without regular exercise your muscle mass will decrease.
4) Adding training with body weight or special tools is vital.

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7) Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

Показать текст

Regular exercise Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. But many face a problem of keeping up regular exercise. What are some of the tricks?

At first, you can keep it short and sharp. My personal trainer, Robert, says a workout doesn’t have to take an hour: “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

My rule is: if it doesn’t work, change it. For example, it rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else. We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: “This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,” there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal-training instructor. Resistance training (which is using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

My second rule is raising the ante. If you do 5-km runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10. As you see those numbers go down, that’s when you should start pushing yourself a bit faster. Robert says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. You’re looking for a change in your speed, endurance, or strength.

Another shortcut to regular exercise is to work out from home. If you have caring responsibilities, you can do a lot within a small area at home. In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training and involves doing six or eight exercises for upper and lower body. This effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout,” Robert says. Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, dips and raises. You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and having a good general workout. These take no more than 15–20 minutes and only require a chair for some exercises.

And what about doing chores? We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Robert. With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – and not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.

So, I think everyone can do exercise regularly and experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

The expression raising the ante in “My second rule is raising the ante” (paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to …
1) noticing progress.
2) checking with equipment.
3) increasing the level.
4) changing your attitude

🔗

8) Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

Показать текст

Regular exercise Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. But many face a problem of keeping up regular exercise. What are some of the tricks?

At first, you can keep it short and sharp. My personal trainer, Robert, says a workout doesn’t have to take an hour: “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

My rule is: if it doesn’t work, change it. For example, it rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else. We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: “This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,” there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal-training instructor. Resistance training (which is using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

My second rule is raising the ante. If you do 5-km runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10. As you see those numbers go down, that’s when you should start pushing yourself a bit faster. Robert says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. You’re looking for a change in your speed, endurance, or strength.

Another shortcut to regular exercise is to work out from home. If you have caring responsibilities, you can do a lot within a small area at home. In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training and involves doing six or eight exercises for upper and lower body. This effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout,” Robert says. Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, dips and raises. You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and having a good general workout. These take no more than 15–20 minutes and only require a chair for some exercises.

And what about doing chores? We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Robert. With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – and not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.

So, I think everyone can do exercise regularly and experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

According to the author, doing exercise at home is …
1) possible with a good personal trainer.
2) convenient for busy people.
3) hardly enough on a regular basis.
4) more comfortable than at a gym.

🔗

9) Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

Показать текст

Regular exercise Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. But many face a problem of keeping up regular exercise. What are some of the tricks?

At first, you can keep it short and sharp. My personal trainer, Robert, says a workout doesn’t have to take an hour: “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

My rule is: if it doesn’t work, change it. For example, it rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else. We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: “This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,” there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal-training instructor. Resistance training (which is using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

My second rule is raising the ante. If you do 5-km runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10. As you see those numbers go down, that’s when you should start pushing yourself a bit faster. Robert says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. You’re looking for a change in your speed, endurance, or strength.

Another shortcut to regular exercise is to work out from home. If you have caring responsibilities, you can do a lot within a small area at home. In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training and involves doing six or eight exercises for upper and lower body. This effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout,” Robert says. Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, dips and raises. You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and having a good general workout. These take no more than 15–20 minutes and only require a chair for some exercises.

And what about doing chores? We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Robert. With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – and not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.

So, I think everyone can do exercise regularly and experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

It is implied that household chores …
1) are better done with somebody else.
2) are more difficult than exercising.
3) should be intensive to count as exercise.
4) can hardly contribute to workout.

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