Fitness
Lisa Hogan, 54, stays in peak fitness with this ‘accidental’ workout: ‘I’ve given up the gym’
Clarkson’s Farm star Lisa Hogan is in peak physical shape, but you won’t find her spending hours in the gym. Instead, she credits her fitness to the completely accidental physical labour required to run Diddly Squat Farm.
In an official promotional interview for Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm, she explained how harvesting goods for the farm shop she owns with husband Jeremy Clarkson has transformed her routine. ‘We spent a day picking elderflower from the hedgerows, we’re always foraging: I’ve given up the gym now, being on the farm keeps me fit,’ she said.
Besides foraging, her daily farm workout consists of various functional movements like lifting heavy crates, walking miles across uneven farmland terrain, and chasing livestock (an occurrence in pretty much every episode, if you haven’t seen it). In various other press interviews, she’s also mentioned using muscles she didn’t know she had, plus covering tens of thousands of steps across the farmland.
Her active lifestyle is built on the concept of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). According to a study published in the American Journal of Physiology, NEAT represents the energy we burn doing everything that isn’t sleeping, eating, or intentional exercise (e.g. dedicated gym workouts).
The study goes on to specifically reference manual agricultural tasks, adding that a transition from a sedentary desk job to farm work like Lisa’s could naturally boost a person’s metabolic output by up to 1,200 calories per day, heavily contributing to long-term cardiovascular health, weight management and muscular endurance. This continuous, low-impact movement prevents the metabolic slowdown associated with prolonged sitting, effectively keeping Lisa fit without her even meaning to.
Of course, not everyone has access to a farm, and there are plenty of other forms of NEAT that could help increase your energy output and improve several health markers – even alongside a desk job. Some examples include:
- Washing the car
- Fidgeting
- Walking upstairs
- Walking the dog
- Carry grocery shopping
- Gardening
- Playing with children or pets
- Using a standing desk
- Walking to the gym, shops, office instead of taking public or private transport
The biggest takeaway from Lisa’s routine? That fitness might not be found in a gym, but right outside your back door.
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.