What is the betting that as the Olympic flame fades, a new wave of keep-fitters will be born?

The same people who pull on lyrca every New Year to keep some resolution made after too much Christmas pud, will be heading for the gym to try to recreate the achievements of our top athletes.

Of course it was inspiring watching the likes of Kelly Holmes power to gold medal glory but how many of these wanna-bes will be jogging down the street in a month's time?

I am not a fan of the gym but I put myself through regular sessions to ensure I can eat chocolate and drink the odd bottle or two of red wine.

You will often find me in Darlington's Dolphin Centre on a treadmill or ploughing up and down the pool - a necessary evil if I want to stay fit and enjoy the rather decadent lifestyle of a single 20-something.

But once a year my routine is interrupted by brightly clad men and women in sparkling trainers who seem more interested in looking in the mirror than working up a sweat.

These keep fit virgins seem to think by just being in a gym they will magically lose weight, gain muscle and get healthy.

They don't seem to realise that spending 30 seconds on six different aerobic machines is not an effective work out and pouting in the full length mirror only works your face muscles.

Of course I am in favour of people of all fitness levels having the chance to work out but there is nothing more annoying than wiping the sweat from your eyes only to see men and women preening rather than pumping iron.

Every year after Wimbledon we see hundreds of people picking up a tennis racket only to put it down again quicker than it takes Tim Henman to get knocked out of the competition.

And the same thing is set to happen with athletics as thousands think all they have to do is run round the park once to be in with a chance of their own Olympic glory.

But sadly it takes more than a nifty Nike leotard to get Denise Lewis's six pack.

Not that this won't stop the fly-by-nights kitting themselves out in high impact, endurance clothing for a brisk walk around the block.

For these people it's not about what you do but who sees you doing it - however minor the effort.

These people do not have a love of sport - they just love fashion - both clothing and the latest trend.

If the papers were full of people wearing Stetsons and chaps they would be first at the cowboy store (remember the Madonna and Christina Aguilera look last year?)

It's sad that sport can't make a bigger impact on the public consciousness - as a nation we are desperately in need of less take-aways and more keep fit classes.

But I would bet 100 low-fat protein shakes that the gyms and pools will be empty again in just a few short weeks.