What stage are you at?

1.  I'm not thinking about becoming more active.
         Go to Section 1.

2.  I'm thinking about being more active.
         Go to Section 2.

3.  I'm active once in awhile, but not regularly.
         Go to Section 3.

4.  I've been active regularly for less than 6 months.
         Go to Section 4.

5.  I've been active regularly for 6 months or more.
         Go to Section 5.

WHAT IS A GOOD TYPE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?

Any kind of physical activity can be good for your health, as long as you do it safely. To get the most out of being physically active, choose a variety of activities each week that will increase your endurance, flexibility, and strength.

Endurance activities help your heart, lungs, and circulatory system stay healthy and give you more energy. Walking, biking, dancing, and tennis are some examples of endurance activities. Flexibility activities help you to move easily. These activities include gentle reaching, bending and stretching of all your muscle groups. Gardening, mopping the floor, and stretching exercises are different types of flexibility activities. Strength activities help your muscles and bones stay strong and improve your posture. Strength activities make you work your muscles against some kind of resistance, like when you push or pull hard to open a heavy door. A few ways to increase your strength activities are climbing stairs, raking and carrying leaves, and doing exercises like push-ups.

WHAT IS A GOOD LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?

Most adults should have a total of at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Moderate activity means any activity that makes you breathe faster than normal but still lets you talk easily. If you choose less strenuous activities, you should aim for 60 minutes every day. Then, as you progress to more intense activities, you can cut down to 30 minutes. You don't have to do 30 or 60 minutes of activity all at once. You can add up your activities during the day. For greatest benefit, though, each period of activity should be at least 10 minutes long.