When the school holidays disrupt your usual workout routine, don’t assume you’re doing nothing for your fitness. Princess Catherine’s approach – and the science behind it – suggests everyday movement could count for more than you think.
Words: Amy Mica Marsden. Images: Getty.
You might have spent all year building up a specific gym or fitness routine – whether it’s a walk on your lunch break, a trip to the gym in the evenings, yoga or more. But as parents, once the summer holidays roll around, your energy (and routine) can quickly fly out the window.
It’s easy to feel de-motivated if you have fitness goals you need to stick to – but it turns out that chasing after your kids can be an effective fitness strategy. And the good news is, you’re likely doing it anyway!
That’s what Princess Catherine, 44, credits as her favourite way to ‘squeeze in exercise’ when she’s busy.
According to the Mirror, when hosting a reception for the England Wheelchair Rugby League Team, the Princess of Wales was asked by one of the athletes whether she, too, goes to the gym.
‘It’s running around after the children – I do it all, whenever I can squeeze in exercise I do, even jumping on the trampoline with my children before school,’ the princess replied.
Kate has been a patron of the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League since February 2022, taking over from her brother-in-law Prince Harry.
The princess and her husband, Prince William (also 44), share three children: Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8, and together, they enjoy an active lifestyle.
‘We’re always slightly competitive with each other. They all love sport and Louis is mad about rugby,’ she reportedly said at the event. ‘They are at an age where they just love running around.’
And according to a scientific review in the journal iScience, this kind of regular activity can make all the difference to your fitness routines – and your longevity, too.
We know that NEAT (Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis – energy burned through non-exercise activities such as standing, walking, chores, and parenting) can account for a significant chunk of the calories we burn in a day, and with the increase in parenting activities in the summer, it could be the fitness boost you need.
According to the journal (and conventional wisdom), increasing physical activity is associated with significant reductions in the mortality risk of cardiovascular disease as well as resulting in weight loss.
However, it notes that improving fitness is more effective than intentional weight loss when it comes to longevity, stating that increases in cardiorespiratory fitness or physical activity are ‘consistently associated with greater reductions in mortality risk than is intentional weight loss’.
Kate has always been an active person, said to love running, strength training, tennis and CrossFit, as well as countryside walks.
In a rare interview with the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, hosted by Giovanna Fletcher, Kate also said some of her favourite times with her family are when they are ‘outside in the countryside and we’re all filthy and dirty.’
There are multiple health and wellbeing benefits to getting outside in nature for a walk – including a reduction in incidence of stroke, hypertension, asthma, and coronary heart disease, according to a study by researchers at Norwich Medical School.
It’s also been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, boost the immune system, and even enhance creativity and focus.
The princess, who has battled cancer in the past, recently completed the National Three Peaks Challenge (summitting Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Snowdon) within 24 hours to raise funds and awareness for the Royal Marsden Cancer charity, supporting the hospital where she herself received treatment in 2024.
