Making Active Living Part of Your Day
Getting Started
- Active living is an approach to life that values and includes physical activity in everyday living.
- You can find ways to be active at school, home, work, and during leisure time. Being active means understanding the value of physical activity, and making it a priority in your life.
- You may find that being fit actually makes it easier to accomplish the other things that are competing for your time.
- Accept and recognize that healthy bodies come in a range of weights, shapes, and sizes. (Despite the effect of weight on health, some research shows it may be better to be fat and fit than thin and inactive.)
- Appreciate your strengths and abilities and your unique characteristics.
- Choose to participate in shorter, more frequent bursts of activity, instead of a few longer ones.
Fitting Activity into Your Day
- Build exercise breaks into meetings at work.
- Look for ways to take active breaks everyday. For example,
- take a brisk walk during lunch;
- use the stairs instead of the elevator;
- walk or cycle to work or the grocery store.
- Fit more physical activity into your leisure time. For example, you could exercise while you watch television, dance while you listen to music, or do something active with your friends.
- Invest in your health and well-being by walking, gardening, swimming, bicycling, or dancing. These are the most popular activities. These activities are easy to start because they
- don’t need much supervision or training;
- can be done alone or with friends;
- don’t cost much and are convenient; and
- can be done by people of almost any age.
- Physical activity is just as important for bone health as it is for muscle strength. Women who participate in weight-bearing exercise such as walking, running, or tennis have greater bone density than women who participate in non-weight-bearing exercise such as swimming or gardening.
- Think of family time as a chance for both you and your loved ones to do active fun things together. Include children on camping, hiking, canoeing, skiing, and other trips and outings. Promote lifelong sports such as swimming, cycling, tennis, jogging, skiing, or hiking.
- Consider what types of community activities are available. Choose a time that works for you and commit to participating in some type of physical activity each day.
