With the election campaign about to begin, party offices are working flat out. Candidate lists must be finalized and election platforms completed. But before the campaign reaches fever pitch, the Estonian Greens have started building up their energy through exercise and taken on FitQ’s “Tenacious Souls” workout challenge.
“Somehow, you have to get yourself into shape,” joked party co-leader Johanna Maria Tõugu. “The Centre Party members are dancing, so I suppose we have to take on a workout challenge to be even better,” said Johanna Maria, recalling the dance show finale.
Alongside Johanna Maria, the Greens’ team includes secretary general Kärt Kalvet, Karen K. Burns and Oliver Rohesalu. The goal of the challenge is for the team to complete a total of 50 trainer-led workouts on FitQ over 24 days.
What do the participating team members hope will change over the course of these days and workouts?
Karen hopes the workout challenge will help her through the darkest season of the year. The CEO of startup Fyma normally runs, plays golf and goes horse riding with her daughter, but autumn in particular calls for the extra strength and motivation that come from being part of a team and doing things together.
Kärt’s dream is for the rhythm of the challenge to stay with her after it ends. Once she has settled into a new weekly routine, she will be able to continue exercising regularly into the new year. “When I was at school, I was a very good athlete, but I cannot be satisfied with my activity level now. I think what has been missing is a system that would make working out a convenient part of my daily schedule. I need to find ways to make starting a workout as easy as possible,” Kärt said.
Oliver feels his current exercise habits are already quite good and says he goes to the gym regularly. He hopes the challenge workouts will offer new tips and training ideas that he can later add to his daily routine. We believe that hope may well be fulfilled, as the lineup includes both yoga and dance-based workouts, which are certainly not standard fare for everyday gym devotees. And where better to try them than at home?
We also asked the Greens about Estonians’ exercise habits more generally. While the Nordic countries rank among the leaders in Europe and worldwide for physical activity, the small country of Estonia right next door sits closer to the middle of the European pack. What can be done to get people here moving significantly more than they do now, as people do in the Nordic countries?
Karen believes that helping children develop an exercise habit plays an important role. Her own children have active recess breaks, so she finds it extremely sad to hear that a friend’s child, who attends an elite school in Tallinn, is not allowed to go outside during recess.
Johanna also felt that the average Estonian’s level of physical activity was nowhere near sufficient and that the design of our living environment did not help. “Cities are designed for cars, and there are few environments that encourage people to move, although the situation is improving in baby steps. I see that creating a greener, healthier environment also has a major role to play in increasing physical activity and improving public health,” Johanna said, taking a somewhat critical view.
Karen agreed: “I would really like to see cycling infrastructure improve, so that bicycles are not used only for exercise but become a normal means of transport. This would help promote an active lifestyle almost incidentally and would probably reduce many people’s health problems and excess weight, along with the resulting cost to the Estonian Health Insurance Fund,” added the business leader, whose company analyzes traffic volumes every day and knows exactly how many cars and bicycles are on our roads.
Access to opportunities for physical activity is extremely important. Kärt recalls how she and her friends stayed active during childhood because sports facilities were close by and easy to access. “I was fortunate to spend my childhood in an area with exercise trails, a ski slope and a swimming pool, all of which were always accessible. The better the access, the easier it is for people to find their way into sport,” the Greens’ secretary general said of the opportunities ahead.
Oliver emphasized the importance of role models: “Being overweight and obesity are major problems, and I think we should do a better job of instilling a healthy lifestyle both in physical education classes and at home. The example set by adults is the most important. It is never too early or too late to start.” Wise words indeed.
We wish the Greens’ team every success in our challenge. And if they do not take first place in the Riigikogu elections this time, registering for the challenge has at least given them everything they need to succeed in the workout challenge.
