Odd couple leads 21‑day push to get Australia moving

By Robyn Wuth 

At first glance, they look like an odd couple.

John “Chippy” Le‑Carpentir is 84, a retired tradie with a lifetime of hard work in his joints. Keith is 11, a skinny schoolboy who still has homework and screen‑time limits.

Most mornings in the NSW town of Gerringong, you’ll find them side by side: grinding through spin classes, rowing in sync, wobbling through yoga poses or walking the headland, talking about fishing.

“I met Chippy at the Bowlo gym about six years ago. He’s my hero,” Keith says.

“He’s a great friend, and I’m in awe of how he’s still moving the way he does.

“We do everything together – spin, yoga, rowing machines, fishing and community walks with my brothers. He inspires us every day.”

Chippy, who recently climbed Japan’s Mount Misen with his wife Sue, says Keith inspires him just as much.

“It’s so great to see young people getting off their devices and into the Million Moves spirit,” he says.

“If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

Keith is the “token young’un” in a men’s exercise group that started with a handful of locals and has grown into a regular crew of about 15 to 20.

For health experts, that odd couple and their little band of regulars are exactly what Australia needs more of.

For 21 days in September, Australians are being urged to swap the couch for a “move” as a nationwide challenge throws open the doors to hundreds of gyms, community classes and digital workouts – all for free.

The AUSactive Million Moves challenge invites people to clock up as many “moves” as they can.

The rules are simple – one minute of activity equals one move. Walk, swim, stretch, garden, lift, dance – it all counts.

“Australia can’t afford to stand still,” AUSactive chief executive Ken Griffin says.

“Million Moves removes three of the biggest barriers to exercise: cost, access and not knowing where to begin.

“You don’t need to run a marathon or become a gym junkie. Walk. Swim. Lift. Dance. Garden. One minute is one move, and every move matters.”

Behind the upbeat challenge is a serious national health warning.

Three in five Australians are living with at least one chronic condition and two in five have two or more, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 2026 report on the nation’s health.

Two‑thirds of adults are overweight or obese, the report says, along with more than a quarter of those younger than 18. One in five Australians experiences mental ill‑health.

Hospitals now soak up $113.8 billion a year, according to the report. Yet more than a third of Australia’s disease burden is considered preventable and moving more is one of the simplest fixes.

Exercise doesn’t just cut the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It can ease anxiety and depression, and lower the risk of 13 cancers and dementia – now Australia’s biggest killer – by up to 45 per cent.

More than 12,000 people aged four to 105 took part in the 2025 Million Moves pilot, logging 19 million “moves”, with more than half saying months later they were still moving more, and felt mentally healthier and physically fitter.