WHEN asked what he did when he felt the urge to take exercise Winston Churchill is reputed to have replied: "I lie down until the feeling passes."
Many Irish adults appear to follow his example. In a new national health survey, couch potatoes cited lack of time, poor facilities and expense as their reasons for not becoming involved in sport or exercise.
But one activity shone out like a good deed in a naughty world. More than one in four Irish adults said they walk regularly for health and enjoyment. Spearheaded by the Departments of Health and Education, the National Survey of Involvement in Sport and Physical Activity provides for the first time a range of information on how sporty or otherwise we are. Irish Marketing Surveys conducted 3,300 door to door interviews and were briefed by the research committee of Cospoir.
If extrapolated nationally the figures would suggest that 700,000 Irish adults choose walking as a way of keeping fit. Or think they do. One person's brisk walk may be another's easy meander, and the survey doesn't define walking by speed or distance.
"What hasn't been examined is how many of those who walk get real benefits out of it by fitness walking or bodywalking," says Frank Fahy, Sport for All officer in the Sport Section of the Department of Education.
"Unfortunately casual walking and strolling is not an efficient form of exercise. It involves no major exertion and gives limited benefits."
SO there's walking and walking. "Many people think they're taking exercise when all they are having is active leisure," says Fiona O'Connell, exercise and fitness instructor.
"You'll hear them saying `I walk a lot', but when you look into it, you'll see they stroll and saunter rather than walking briskly.
"Active leisure is much better than collapsing in front of the television all the time, but it won't necessarily burn calories," she says.
To really benefit from walking you must increase your stride, pace and muscle movement. These principles have been introduced in America as BodyWalking, and adapted by Go Walking, an Irish project involving Cospoir, Dublin Healthy Cities Project, Walking World Ireland magazine and Reebok footwear.
There are three basic techniques involved in bodywalking - posture, arm swing and footwork. Posture is erect with shoulders back and down, and eyes focused ahead. The arms are bent, elbows close to the side and upper arms drive back and forth as you move. In foot movement, the heel hits the ground first, rolls to toe which pushes off into the next step.
The fitness programme consists of warm up with gentle walking, stretching exercises to loosen muscles, a brisk bodywalk, cooling down into a stroll and ending with a stretch routine to ease out muscle stiffness or soreness.
"Most people slow down as they age and become less physically active," says Dr John Fleetwood, who is not talking about himself. In his 80th year, he walks two to three miles a day.
"Always look for ways to move your body," he says. Use stairs rather than the lift. Don't use the car for short trips, walk instead. There are many ways to build in activity if you put your mind to it.
He describes walking as one of the best exercises: "Walking briskly raises your pulse rate and improves the efficiency of heart, lungs and circulation. Walking regularly helps decrease blood pressure because the arteries in the muscles relax. Walking maintains the mineral in bone and decreases the risk of osteoporosis, later on. Getting about meeting people is good for you, and undoubtedly walking can help reduce stress. When they say `get out and walk it off', they're right."
But if it's so easy, free and beneficial, why do so few people walk? Novelist Deirdre Purcell probably speaks for many in saying she doesn't take to the open road if struggling with syntax: "If I want to untangle part of a plot I lie supine in my recliner, and if I get really stuck, I go and have a bath.
"I have ambitions to walk. Last year I trained for a work trip to Australia by walking for a few months and I did experience an increase in energy and stamina, but whether it was the walking or the result of all the vitamins I took I'm not sure. I didn't lose a pound.
I find walking exceptionally boring. I need a goal, and that of fitness just doesn't seem to be enough."
RTE presenter Sean Moncrieff sees walking as a way of getting from A to fairly proximate B: "I live in Sutton beside the DART, get off at Sydney Parade station and walk to RTE, about 10 minutes.
"I get a lot of running around after my four year old, Sencha, but wouldn't think of going out for a walk. Sometimes we get out maps and talk about it but nothing much happens. Now you've got me all defensive and guilty. Talking about exercise is like that, it makes us realise all the things we should be doing and don't."
MANY people take up walking as a way of losing weight without understanding how calories are best burnt off, says Fiona O'Connell. "First, everything you take in must equal what you put out, so food not used as energy will be stored in the body as fat."
She has devised and runs a six week health and fitness course for the public covering goal setting healthy eating guidelines and menu planning, exercise and fitness prescription, weight reducing exercises, walking and muscle toning. It offers a clear and helpful perspective on body shape, food and exercise.
We burn up an average of 2,500 calories per day in ordinary living, she says, and the fitter, the more efficient body machine we have, the more calories we use up. "Fitness affects our metabolic rate, the rate at which we convert food into energy. It's in the muscles that this conversion takes place, and the more muscle the better the conversion. Exercise is the greatest influence in metabolic shift. Think of athletes who consume mountains of carbohydrates and yet remain as thin as whippets.
The best exercises for burning calories are those which affect the whole cardiovascular system, (our heart and lungs).
"Fat burns in an oxygen flame" she explains, "so you must excite your heartbeat up to a particular rate. This is normally achieved once you bring the body into what.is called the training zone. When you begin any exercise session the body will first use what's immediately available as fuel, it's only after that's used that the fat burning kicks in. Every minute after 15 minutes, when you get up to your training zone, you begin to burn calories. A fast 20 minute walk will burn up 100-150 calories, but for weight loss, it's better to walk for say an hour three times a week rather than walk for 20 minutes every day."
Kildare Fine Gael TD, Alan Dukes puts on his hiking boots most weekends: "I walk on a bog called the Commons or in the woods near Monasterevin. I walk on my own, quickly for an hour or two. I read it's good to be a bit breathless, to experience the effort. If I don't walk I feel stale. Sometimes I think out a problem. Sometimes I'm not thinking about anything at all, just noticing what's around me. Last weekend I saw some rabbits."
It's many years now since charity fund raisers realised that money was to be made from blood, sweat and tears. The sponsored walk was born. Its doyen is Donncha O'Dulaing who is currently on a 50 day 1,000 mile trek round Ireland to raise money for the Irish Wheelchair Association.
The Irish Times caught up with him last week in Kanturk, Co Cork: "It's been a good morning, I did 10 miles, some of it on my own. I had the Blackwater River on my left. I passed a signpost for Kilbrin, birthplace of Dr Croke, after whom Croke Park is named. I saw horses, and later had to rescue a heron from about 20 crows. It's all happening on the roads of Ireland!"
Donncha has been fundraising with his feet for 16 years, has raised more than £3 million for charity and reckons he has walked million of miles: "When you're on a long walk, it takes over. I shed lots of shells, it's very liberating and when it's nearing its end I become quite sad because I know. I have to return to life with all its unreality."
According to Bord Failte, 195,000 visitors came to Ireland on walking holidays last year and spent £68 million. Three years ago athlete Frank Greally saw the trend at home and abroad and began Ireland's first magazine for walking enthusiasts. The bimonthly Walking World Ireland illustrates both the beauty of the country and the commercial potential of walking. There are at least eight companies now offering walking holidays; there are walking festivals and every month new walking trails and paths are opened.
Tried and trusted An Oige, the youth hostelling organisation, has now been joined by hundreds of walking and rambling groups and clubs across the country.
Frank Greally understands the popularity: "I think many committed walkers today have tried everything else. Crazes come and go, there's been running and jogging, but walking endures and many people now think it's the safest and most effective way to develop fitness and have made it part of their life style."
Seamus and Mary Wall of Honora's Cottage, in the Nire Valley, dispense good food, (their son Eoin is Ballymaloe trained), hospitality, soft beds, maps and guides in the heart of Comeragh Mountains, Co Waterford.
"We normally cater for the home market, but at this time of year we have an international sprinkling," says Mary. "We're open 10 years and there has been a huge growth in Irish walking holidays in that time. Seamus knows the mountains intimately and we also have Michael Desmond who loves every stone and weed in the place. He takes out parties, be it two or 22. A walking holiday is a great way of making friends."
If you have doubts before beginning a walking programme, get clearance from your doctor. If you have a history of heart complaint, or take medication for high blood pressure or heart condition, certainly see your doctor first.
You should walk at a pace that has you breathing heavily, but able to hold a conversation. You shouldn't push yourself beyond what's right for you, but there must be effort. Don't overdo it. If you feel dizzy, stop.
A warm up before you start - such as walking on the spot, some stretching exercises - will help avoid muscle strain. On your return, go through the same short programme to cool down.
Unlike many sports you don't need special equipment for walking, apart from a suitable pair of shoes. Runners should be made from soft but strong leather or canvas, with enough toe space and a thick cushioned sole to aid shock absorption. Wear them with cotton socks which allow the feet to breathe. Walking shoes should have soft leather uppers and moulded nonstick soles.
Hiking boots should have thick soles with suitable grips and cushioning at the heel cup to avoid blistering. The extra bulk of thermal socks in winter may mean selecting a larger than usual size of boot.