The most interesting exercise initiative we've seen in a long time.

Alright, so there are some not-very-great things about Russia. Their anti-gay laws, for one. They really suck. And Putin, their president, has questionably withheld democracy from his country by increasing terms of office and/or playing swapsies with his buddy Medvedev. Dodgy much?

But, as you might know, Russia are hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. And – kudos to them – they’re doing some really fun things to get everyone into the spirit of things.

One idea? Doing a little bit of exercise in exchange for a train ticket. That’s right. You can save your cash and not have to pay for a train ticket if you’re happy to do 30 squats.

The promo, run by Olympic Change, has been happening at the Vystavochnaya station, just west of Moscow. Commuters who want to save about a dollar on their train ticket can elect to do 30 squats in front of a special counting camera/ticket machine. They’re got two minutes to complete the squats – after that, it’s all over red rover (and you have to fork over that dollar).

The president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, told news agency RIA-Novosti: “We wanted to show that the Olympic Games is not just an international competition that people watch on TV, but that it is also about getting everyone involved in a sporting lifestyle.”

Take a look (the video is in Russian, but you’ll still be able to grasp what’s going on):

And that’s not all. Olympic Change is also looking at swapping Russian bus handles to stretchy exercise bands (pilates on the bus, anyone?) and installing public exercise bikes that charge your phone while you pedal.

I personally love the campaign. Anything to get more people moving and incorporating exercise into their lives. Also, it very much embraces the notion of incidental exercise, of which I have been a believer for a very long time.

I would totally do 30 squats at the train station if it a) got me a free train ticket and b) meant that I would get some exercise for the day over and done with. Squats are hard. Especially when you keep in mind that technique is absolutely vital: butt back, chest up, knees in line with toes.

In general, I love what countries are doing to promote the Winter Olympics, especially in Australia, where it’s generally overlooked. Which is understandable – considering we’re not much of a skiing country. A lot of people have never even seen snow. But we’ve got some incredible athletes competing in the upcoming games, who discover just as much recognition as those who compete in the summer Olympics.

If you’d like to support the official home of the 2014 Australian Olympic Team, go here. You can also find them on Facebook here, Twitter here and Instagram here.

And in the meantime, you can also check out this seriously epic video of how our Aussie athletes are preparing for Sochi…

Would you do 30 squats for a free train ticket?