Fitness basics - Exercise

You need to exercise for about 60 minutes every day. Setting aside 60 minutes all at once each day is one way to get in enough exercise. If you wait until the end of the day to squeeze it in, you probably won’t exercise enough or at all. If you’re not active for 60 minutes straight, it’s okay to exercise for 10 or 20 minutes at a time throughout the day.

Different exercises

No matter what your shape – apple, pear, ruler, or hourglass – there's an exercise for you!

• Pick exercises you like to do and choose a few different options so you don’t get bored. Get some great exercise ideas.
• Aim to exercise most days of the week. If you’re not very active right now, start slowly and work your way up to being active every day.

There are three levels of physical activity.

• Light – not sweating; not breathing hard (slow walking, dancing)
• Moderate – breaking a sweat; can talk but can’t sing (walking fast, dancing)
• Vigorous – sweating, breathing hard, can’t talk or sing (running, swimming laps)

No matter what level you are exercising at, the activity can be one of two types.