Get fit with Benny and Bar!

Poll: Benny Gantz and Bar Refaeli are considered by most Israelis as being the best role models for working out and ideal person to run a marathon with.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Gantz official looking serious 311 (photo credit: IDF spokesperson unit)
Gantz official looking serious 311
(photo credit: IDF spokesperson unit)
He’s the IDF chief of General Staff, and she – one of Israel’s most glamorous models – never served in the military.
But both Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz and Bar Refaeli are considered by most Israelis as being the best role models for working out and the ideal person one would want to run a marathon with.
The results of a public opinion poll taken by the organizers of Tel Aviv’s annual marathon and publicized on Wednesday showed that 66 percent of men and 58% of women said they regularly do some physical exercise.
According to the Geocartography poll taken among a representative sample of 500 adults, the average amount of time spent per week on exercise by those who do so is 4.4 hours. The higher one’s educational level, the more likely one is to exercise and to do more of it.
The Tel Aviv Marathon will be held on April 8.
Almost a third of those polled agreed that running is the most desirable form of exercise. Men are more likely to run than women, and the younger one is, men take more of a share in the sport. Compared to 41.4% of the men, only 19.8% of the women prefer running as physical activity.
The seashore is the best place to run, said a third of those with an opinion on this (or 25% of those polled). The next most favorite place is a public park. Gantz would be an ideal running partner for 27% of those with an opinion, while 26% wanted to run alongside Refaeli.
Whether you like to run depends on where you come from. Fully 53% of those from the Sharon region preferred running compared to 47% of of the South, 46% from the Tel Aviv area and 45% from Jerusalem.
The organizers did not say how much preference there is for running at home on a treadmill or other device and how many would want to go to a gym.