Top 10 Tips to Get You Moving for Health
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Get Into a Personal Physical Activity Routine
- Canada’s Physical Activity Guide recommends that adults accumulate 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity daily. Go to www.paguide.com to get your free copy and find out how you can take your first steps to establishing your own personal physical activity pattern and improve your health.
- You might be surprised to know that you don’t have to do the 30-60 minutes all at once – you can build up to this amount in periods of as little as 10 minutes each! Every little bit counts, and more is even better.
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Figure Out What Keeps You From Being More Active
- Everyone can think of reasons why they aren’t as physically active as they should be. But if you can identify your barriers to being active, you can plan strategies to overcome them and improve your health by getting active your way, everyday! For more information, check out the tip sheet ‘Overcoming Barriers to Being Active’.
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Set Your Own Physical Activity Goal
- Think of a goal that is meaningful to you, whether it’s fitting into your favourite jeans, building strength to play with the kids or increasing your endurance to do a 5km walk for a charity you’d like to support.
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Don’t Try to Do Too Much Too Soon
- Becoming more active is very safe for most people but if you haven’t been active in awhile, it’s a good idea to start by taking the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) available on the ‘Are You Ready to be Active? page.
- Remember to start slowly and progress gradually – physical activity doesn’t have to be hard to be good for you!
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Take Care While Being Active
- Ensure that wherever you are doing your physical activities is well lit and safe.
- Stretch, warm-up and wear clothes and shoes appropriate for the activity you’re doing.
- Always wear a helmet when biking, skateboarding or in-line skating.
- Be aware of signs of overexertion (difficulty breathing, dizziness, excessive fatigue) – don’t try to rush it and take the time to enjoy yourself.
- Drink plenty of water before, during and after your activity session.
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The More the Merrier – Get Active with a Friend
- Get your friends, colleagues and neighbours involved with you to turn your physical activity sessions into time to socialize and help motivate each other.
- Get children involved in family activities and games such as hiking or playing tag – they’ll love spending time with you and your body will love you for it too!
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Mix It Up to Stay Motivated
- You don’t have to do the same thing over and over again. Keep things interesting and challenging by trying new activities or exploring a new hobby involving physical activity such as gardening, T’ai Chi, dancing or yoga.
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Get More Active at Work or at School
- Capitalize on opportunities to get some extra physical activity in your day such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or having ‘walking meetings’ instead of sitting around a boardroom table.
- Try to schedule your work day so you can use breaks or lunchtime for physical activity.
- Do some relaxing stretches or deep breathing techniques at your desk or workstation to keep your body limber and reduce muscle tension.
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Get More Active at Home
- Be active while watching television or during commercial breaks (you would be surprised how many jumping jacks, lunges and abdominal crunches you can do without missing your favourite show!).
- No need to spend a lot of money buying fitness equipment, many household items can be used to build strength, such as soup cans for bicep curls, a sturdy box for step-ups or the edge of a sturdy chair for tricep dips.
- Keeping your home and yard neat and tidy also gives you opportunities to be physically active: mow your lawn with a push mower; sweep, dust, mop or vacuum a different room each day; take out the trash or pick up the kids’ toys – all these chores keep you moving.
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Have Fun!
- The more fun you have, the more you’ll want to do it, so do whatever you can to make physical activity more enjoyable, whether it’s turning on your favourite tunes, making up little games or challenges as you go, or getting your kids and the family pets to join in too!