UK Parliamentarians prove they are ‘Fit for Office’

May 2023 saw Myzone team up with ukactive to challenge Westminster politicians and their staff to prove they were ‘Fit for Office’.

Participants committed to earning Myzone Effort Points to highlight the crucial role of physical activity in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The initiative was designed to encourage MPs, Peers and their offices to be physically active for their own health and to recognise the value of exercise for their constituents.

Overall, 146 people, representing 53 offices, took part in the month-long challenge.

How did MPs compete in the challenge?

To climb the leaderboard, participants used Myzone’s wearable device or their own Android or Apple watch via MZ-Open, to track physical activity and obtain MEPs.

MEPs measure effort rather than distance or time spent exercising. This levels the playing field and makes the challenge fair for everyone regardless of their fitness level or experience.

As part of the challenges and to help people squeeze out some extra MEPS towards their challenge total, super star Myzone Master Trainer, Billy Burchett, hosted a group cycle class at the Westminster Gym, managed by Jubilee Halls.

Positivity with politicians and performance

Speaking of the challenge, Ben Hitchcock, Chief Marketing Officer at Myzone says: “It’s absolutely fantastic to see our politicians taking such positive, personal action to showcase the importance of being physically active.

“This is the second year of the UK challenge, with similar challenges also being held in the US and Australia. Each year the challenges go from strength to strength, attracting more participants and spreading the message even further.

“Our Myzone technology helps people understand the benefits of tracking their effort so they know the amount of physical activity needed each month to meet recommended levels for positively influencing health.

“This challenge was not about politicians making individual gains – it was about encouraging the entire political system, across all parties, to pull together to encourage more people to be more active.”

Challenge results and MP feedback

MEP scores for all participants in each office were tallied and divided by the number of participants in each team to provide the average score for each office. At the end of May the following were crowned the winners...

Fit for Office 2024: Top five offices (MEP average per team)

1. Office of Andrew Lewer MP – 18,076 MEPs
2. Office of Alex Davies-Jones MP with 10,674 MEPs
3. Office of Dehenna Davison MP – 8138 MEPs
4. Office of Neale Hanvey MP – 6265 MEPs
5. Office of Lia Nici MP – 6182 MEPs

Fit for Office 2024: Top three MPs

1. Alex Davies-Jones MP (Labour) – 10,674 MEPs
2. Bob Blackman MP (Conservative) – 10,300 MEPs
3. Kim Leadbeater MP (Labour) – 6788 MEPs

Fit For Office 2024: Highest scoring Peer

1. MP and Baroness Hayman

Andrew Lewer, MP, whose office won the Fit for Office challenge, said: “It’s been great seeing my office being so engaged with the Fit for Office challenge and they’re thrilled to take the winning prize. Whether working from home or in the office, many of us lead a sedentary working life, and that’s why it is important to be active.”

Alex Davies-Jones, the top scoring MP in this year’s Fit for Office challenge, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge – it pushed me out of my comfort zone, encouraged healthy habits, and improved both my mental and physical health. It’s given me the confidence to keep this new routine up and encourage others to do the same!”

Baroness Hayman, the top scoring Peer in this year’s Fit for Office challenge, said: “I exercise pretty regularly anyway, but do tend to get a bit stuck in a rut. So, taking part in the’ Fit for Office’ challenge was a really good incentive to push myself further. And taking part as a team made it much more fun for us all!”