I think they should close down all gyms where people work out. @LouisTheroux
Summary
A stranger with a bold take argues that gyms should be shut down entirely because "people spend energy doing nothing" when they could be doing useful work instead. He champions what he calls "ambient exercise," the idea that people should get their workouts from real-world tasks like cycling to work, carrying groceries, or building a wall. Kareem enthusiastically agrees as the conversation spirals into territory about Italian waiters with pepper grinders being the only people who'll stay fit in the future. The rider then suggests closing all shops for two weeks each year so people can live off secondhand goods and leftovers, which leads to a heated debate about whether reheated blood sausage and stale toast are appetizing. A passerby interrupts to say he's listening to the Michael Palin episode. Perfect timing.
Full Transcript
I think they should close down all gyms where people work out. I find it utterly pointless that people spend energy doing nothing. 100% agree.
But in old times, people would actually do useful work. Yeah. Like carry rocks.
Yeah. Or farm. Or even nowadays like you could be carrying your groceries from the supermarket. You could be carrying bricks.
Bricks to build a wall. Big time.
Or a moat. And it's symptomatic of this culture where you could get exercise ambiently would be the term. Like I lived in LA for a while and people would always be saying like, "Oh, I'm thinking of going biking." I'm like, "Well, why don't you just cycle to work and then cycle home again?" Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
So you're saying practical gym in life. Yes.
Ambient. Ambient exercise. That's a fire new phrase.
All of these labor saving devices. I feel like in the future the only people who are going to have any exercise are Italian waiters cuz they still use those pepper grinders. That's the last non you know there's Yeah, exactly.
What about the social element of the gym? What if you're just there to be social? The world is social, mate.
Yeah, that's the lamest thing ever. I mean, if I could go further, do you want me to go a little further? Go further.
We should each year take two weeks and close all the shops and people should just live off uh secondhand things and leftover food. I'm going to have to disagree because of the leftover food situation.
Why? I don't like leftovers. You want me to eat leftover English full English?
Uh sure. Actually, that would be pretty good. That would be disgusting.
There's almost nothing you can't reheat and it's more delicious. You think blood sausage is more delicious reheated?
I think so. There's very few things like maybe toast, even toast you can retoast. No, the toast will get stale.
You know they say about working in a chocolate factory that you go off chocolate, right? It's a bit the same with food. It's like when you're over involved in it, you need a little I like to mix stuff and then put it in the freezer and then forget about it. Sorry to interrupt. I'm listening to your podcast.
Oh, that's sick. Nice.
Wait, what episode? Michael Palin.
Michael Palin from Monty Python. That's cool. Appreciate that. You have a nice day.
Yeah, you wow. Well, that's a great way to end that episode. So, I don't