PEOPLE named Laura and James are the fittest in the country according to data from Fitness First.

The findings emerged as the gym chain analysed five years of membership data to find out if there was a correlation between first names and fitness.

Members named Laura and James workout more often and are more efficient with their time compared to any other name.

The average Laura visits the gym 26% more than her closest rival each week, where she does at least two high intensity sessions, and spends an average of 2.5 hours per visit.

The average James will be in the gym on a Friday night with his total visits averaging 24% more per week than his closest rival.

By comparison, Carly is the most likely name to join a gym and then get out of the habit, averaging just three visits in four months before disappearing.

Larry will only attend during the typical seasonal peaks – January and September – then stay away for the other 10 months of the year.

Michaels are the least efficient with their time – while each session lasts an average of 90 minutes, only 45% is actually spent training, the rest is spent in the changing room and socialising.

The top 10 list of fittest names for men and women, according to five years of membership data, is:

Top 10 male names 
James
Edward
Simon
Benjamin
Mohammed
Thomas
Christopher
John 
Matthew
Andrew


Top 10 female names 
Laura
Victoria
Hannah
Rebecca
Jessica
Megan
Sarah
Heather
Ellie
Kate

Kate Toland, head of marketing at Fitness First said, “There was clear water between those names displaying the healthiest habits and their closest competitors.

"This is really quite interesting especially when you consider the number of leading sportspeople called Laura and James.

"Tennis pro Laura Robson, cyclist Laura Trott and golf pro Laura Davies are just a few examples which lead us to think, perhaps there IS something in name!”