"If you're sitting on your backside watching TV, what's difficult about sitting on an exercise bike?" asked a former British Olympic swimmer.

Sharron Davies, 46, told the Times that women should put on their ladies fitness wear and use exercise bikes more often, if only to speed up their metabolism.

"Speeding up our metabolism is really important, because as we grow older our metabolism naturally slows down, so it becomes harder to burn off fat," said Ms Davies.

She added that, with will power, women can easily keep fit using gym equipment such as exercise bikes.

The ex-swimmer told the paper that you do not need to have exercise bikes on difficult settings and, even if you only do it once a week, it will still be of benefit.

She stressed that women's fitness goals should be long-term, commenting: "It's about changing habits for ever and remaining healthy and fitter."

The ex-Olympian said that if kids grow up seeing healthy living as normal, they will grow up healthier and fitter too.

According to the NHS, it is easy to fit exercise into your day to day life, walking instead of getting the bus, for example, stimulates the cardiovascular system (heart, lungs and circulation) and boosts muscle endurance of the lower muscles, including legs and hips. ADNFCR-2569-ID-19406370-ADNFCR

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