With fitness being a bit of a craze these days, it’s too easy to take an all-or-nothing approach to exercise. This can result in going too hard too fast, choosing unsuitable exercise or just not doing anything at all! But it’s important to have an exercise routine that is sustainable and tailored to you.

So how do you know what type of exercise and how much is right for you? Part of this depends on your motivation for exercising. Being at least moderately fit not only helps you maintain a healthy weight, it also makes you feel good. Being unfit has been associated with low mood, abdominal weight and low grade systemic inflammation, even if your BMI is within range*.

What does that mean for me?

If you suffer from chronic aches and pains, autoimmune disease, arthritis, stress or mood changes then you might need to look at how much you are exercising. Getting the right amount of exercise for your body can help your broader health by improving energy levels, mood, reducing stress and inflammation in the body.

Regular exercise also reduces your risk for health conditions like osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, metabolic syndrome and depression.

How much exercise should I be getting?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the following:

• Children and adolescents between 6-17 should be engaging in 1 hour a day of vigorous activity.
• All adults, regardless of age: 150 minutes a week of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, ideally spread across the week. At least 2 of these activities should be strengthening major muscles (arms, legs, torso).
• Adults 65 and older should also engage in balance exercises at least 3 times per week.
• Engaging in more exercise can provide additional health benefits, up to 300 minutes per week for adults.

How can I achieve this?

Well, let’s think about this as physical activity rather than exercise. That might make it feel a bit more achievable to incorporate exercise into your day. Also remember that you don’t have to join a gym or have any special clothes (except perhaps a good pair of sneakers!) to get started. The focus is on improving your aerobic fitness, strength and flexibility.

As the WHO recommendations also state that the physical activity should be at least 10 minutes in duration, try:

• Parking 10 minutes from where you need to be, that way you get 20 minutes of walking (10 minutes there and back again);
• Getting on/off the bus/tram a stop or two later/earlier;
• Going for a family walk around the block or to the park to throw a ball or frisbee;
• Walking to the local cafe/shops instead of driving; and
• Using the stairs instead of the lift.

Many local councils also run free activity sessions in parks in fine weather and shopping centres in the cooler months.

Any activity that increases your heart rate and gets your body moving for at least 10 minutes counts, so be creative! Engaging in activity regularly (ideally daily) is the key. You don’t have to be a pro-runner/cyclist/swimmer to improve your health.

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*Your BMI or body mass index is often used to measure whether your weight is within a healthy range. It is calculated using your weight in kg divided by your height in meters squared. So if you’re 75kg and 180cm tall it would be 75/(1.8 x 1.8) = 23. The ‘ideal’ BMI is between 19 and 25, under 19 is underweight and 25 or over is overweight. You should bear in mind its only one measure and there are others that can be combined with this measurement to get a more detailed picture of your health.

Further information:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190645 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs385/en/

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