Dr Hilary Jones qualified at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, in 1976. Since qualifying he has held a number of interesting posts including the only medical officer on Tristan da Cunah in the South Atlantic and medical troubleshooter for the oil industry in the Shetlands.He joined the breakfast TV station, TVam, in 1990 and has carried on his regular morning slots with GMTV. Amongst his many other media roles, he also has a regular guest slot on Steve Wright's Radio 2 afternoon show discussing medical matters.Dr Hilary has always enjoyed rowing as a sport and was stroke in his school's 1st VIII at Latymer Upper School, a school that has churned out many an Oxford blue, and the occasional Olympic gold oarsman to boot. He later rowed for the University of London and Quintin Boat Club.A regular indoor rower and a firm believer in the importance of regular exercise, Dr Hilary took time out from a hectic schedule to share some of his tips and advice. Concept 2 - You've got an extremely busy lifestyle. Do you find it difficult to find the time to exercise?Dr Hilary - I cut out the journey time. Instead of driving 20 minutes each way to a gym, I've invested over the years in a small gym of my own at the back of my garage. I use a pristine Concept 2 Indoor Rower and I've collected a few other items of equipment that have come secondhand from the squash club and other outlets. So the 40 minutes I would otherwise spend on the road I'm fully utilizing for training. I have no problem motivating myself to work hard, although it's always good to have competition occasionally. The other point is that I simply function more efficiently when I've been exercising. So keeping fit actually helps my busy schedule rather than adding to it. Concept 2 - What sort of workouts work for you?Dr Hilary - I vary my workouts to keep the interest level up but return to timed pieces or measured distances to assess progress. I'll do either an aerobic or an anaerobic workout on different days. I always find mixing them very tiring, which isn't surprising since you are first pumping all the oxygen to the heart and lungs and then diverting it again to the muscles. So I'll do, say, a 40 minute run one day and a free weight circuit the next. 2000 metres on the ergometer is a great way to monitor aerobic fitness but I regularly do 10 one minute on, one minute off sprints as interval training to boost power and recovery rates also. I find a free weight circuit can be amazingly energizing if I'm tired from a lot of aerobic work. I've just embarked on a personalized Concept 2 training programme for the Sport Relief Row Golden Mile. I'm really looking forward to it.Concept 2 - We've literally thousands of enthusiasts who are in their latter years and many more youngsters just starting out on their sporting careers. Do you think people can be too young or too old to exercise?Dr Hilary - Absolutely not. Exercise not only invigorates and energizes but confers fantastic health benefits both mentally and physically at all ages. You wouldn't encourage an 80 year old to take up hang-gliding or snow-boarding, and an 8 year old should avoid excessive use of his developing joints, but otherwise, with a little common sense, vigorous and regular exercise is the best prescription a doctor can recommend.Concept 2 - If you're contemplating exercise for the first time ever, or after a long lay-off, what would be your advice, other than seeing your doctor first, of course!Dr Hilary - Be realistic and start your exercise programme very gradually. If you do too much too soon you'll suffer painfully stiff muscles, fatigue and increase your risk of injury. It won't be any fun either. Set yourself achievable goals, perhaps with the help of the Indoor Rowing Training Guide or a personal trainer and enjoy the speed of progress you make.Concept 2 - How important is good diet when you're training?Dr Hilary - Very important. When you're working muscles hard, you have to feed them. Low fat but plenty of carbohydrate and protein is vital. Too many people exercise without a proper lunch or breakfast but working-out in fasting mode is counterproductive. Another common mistake is taking too little fluid because just a minor degree of dehydration has a major detrimental effect on performance.Concept 2 - If there were three things that you'd recommend to anyone training to either eat or drink on a daily basis, what would they be?Dr Hilary - At least 4 litres of water or isotonic drinks over the 24 hour period, a proper sustaining breakfast to fuel the body and boost the metabolic rate and a solid but tasty carbohydrate/protein dish each day of say, chicken breast with pasta or tuna mayo in a jacket potato.Concept 2 - Where do you stand on the topic of nutritional supplements such as Creatine, especially with regards to their efficacy in improving your indoor rowing?Dr Hilary - Whilst Creatine remains controversial it is not a banned substance and does not improve performances on the day. As a training supplement, however, it provides extra building substrates for developing muscles and possibly increases power and endurance up to 10% in the long-term. There are suspicions over its safety profile, however, and it is expensive so it may be best restricted for consumption by more serious and competitive athletes - and then only in the recommended dosage. As far as other supplements are concerned I believe a daily multivitamin preparation is a good insurance policy against sub-clinical vitamin or mineral deficiencies to which our modern environment and diet makes us all prone.Concept 2 - In the days leading up to competition, what food groups should lightweight athletes be ingesting in order to make the weight yet still perform to the best of their ability?Dr Hilary - Carbohydrate should provide up to 70% of total energy intake for athletes involved in heavy training but lightweights will need to choose compact forms of carbohydrate to minimize volume. Foods high in simple sugars but low in fibre and carbohydrate drinks are ideal. Eating little and often and snacking in a grazing pattern is desirable. In the immediate days before an event muscle glycogen can be significantly boosted by first depleting glycogen stores through prolonged exercise one week before competition and then changing to a high carbohydrate diet in the last 3 days before competition during which little or no exercise is performed.Concept 2 - And finally, how crucial is regular fitness activity in staying fit and healthy?Dr Hilary - Regular exercise protects the heart, lowers blood pressure, reduces blood cholesterol, wards off osteoporosis, sharpens reflexes, aids digestion and regulates weight. It also has a considerable beneficial psychological effect in reducing anxiety and depression. Oh, and it makes you feel good too!