Food & Fitness

Types of Exercise

A comprehensive physical activity routine includes three kinds of activities:

• Aerobic Exercise
• Strength Training
• Flexibility Exercises

You should also look for additional ways to be active throughout the day. See our tips below for ideas to be more active throughout the day. 

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise increases your heart rate, works your muscles, and raises your breathing rate. For most people, it's best to aim for a total of about 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. If you haven't been very active recently, you can start out with 5 or 10 minutes a day. Increase your activity sessions by a few minutes each week.

If your schedule doesn't allow for 30 minutes straight of exercise throughout the day, you can break it up into no less than 10-minute spurts to get the same health benefits. For example, you might take a brisk 10-minute walk after each meal.

If you're trying to lose weight, you may want to exercise more than 30 minutes a day.

Here are some examples of aerobic exercise:

• Take a brisk walk (outside or inside on a treadmill)
• Go dancing
• Take a low-impact aerobics class
• Swim or do water aerobic exercises
• Try ice-skating or roller-skating
• Play tennis
• Ride your bicycle outside
• Stationary bicycle indoors

Strength Training

Strength training, done 2-3 times a week, helps build strong bones and muscles. It makes everyday chores like carrying groceries easier for you. With more muscle, you burn more calories, even at rest. Strength training can also help to prevent weight gain. Here are some ways to do it:

• Join a class to do strength training with weights, elastic bands, or plastic tubes
• Lift light weights at home
• Try calisthenics

Flexibility Exercises

Flexibility exercises, also called stretching, help keep your joints flexible and reduce your chance of injury during other activities. Gentle stretching for 5 to 10 minutes helps your body warm up and get ready for aerobic activities such as walking or swimming. Your health care team can provide information on how to stretch. Improve your flexibility by:

• Taking an aerobics or fitness classes that includes stretching
• Doing yoga or Pilates
• Stretching on your own before and after exercising

Being Active Throughout The Day

In addition to formal exercise, there are many opportunities to be active throughout the day. Any activity will burn calories. The more you move around, the more energy you'll have. Some ways that you can be more active throughout the day include:

• Walk instead of drive whenever possible
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Work in the garden, rake leaves, or do some housecleaning every day
• Park at the far end of the shopping center lot and walk to the store
• Walk down every aisle of the grocery store
• Walk in place or stretch while you watch TV
• Walk around the house or up and down stairs while you talk on the phone
• Get up from your desk and take a lap around the office once each hour while you are at work