It’s all very well knowing the benefits of exercise, but some barriers are harder than others to smash through when it comes to forging a new workout routine. Time and money are two obvious issues, but arguably the most difficult to navigate has to be low self-esteem.

We know, for example, that many women feel too self-conscious to run wearing shorts – even on the hottest day of the year. Imposter syndrome stops loads of us from stepping foot into a weights room. And now, a new Asics study has found that a whopping 68% of Brits who don’t exercise feel too embarrassed to go to the gym because they don’t think that they fit the mould of a ‘typical’ exerciser.

That’s a truly depressing statistic, but when you discover that 33% of people say sports adverts put them off exercising, it starts to make sense. There may be more body diversity on fitness social media and magazines, but most gym wear and running brands still rely on athletes and ‘aspirational’ bodies to sell us products.

Nearly 70% of Brits don’t exercise because they don’t look sporty enough – what can brands do about that?