Get moving and keep active

Incorporating exercise into your everyday life is very important. To get a healthy balance in your day you need to eat well, sleep well and keep moving. Being active in all stages of your life provide so many great benefits:

• Helps you maintain a healthy weight
• Reduces risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and high blood pressure
• A great way to deal with stress
• Improves sleep and helps you to live longer and live a good quality of life
• Helps increase bone density and strength
• Can help balance and improve your mood and motivate you
• Different types of exercise

Cardiovascular

Benefits: improves circulation, strengthens heart and improves circulation (walking, running, cycling, swimming, rowing, hiking, tennis, boxing, netball, soccer, rugby, athletics, aerobic classes)

Strength/Resistance

Benefits: Increases metabolic rate, Enhances bone density, Increases muscular strength (free weights, weight machines, press ups, squats, lunges, triceps dips, chin ups, pump gym classes)

Flexibility

Benefits: Improves range of movement, can help improve posture, can prevent injury and pain (Pilates, Yoga, Stretching)

Tips on how to keep active

• Aim for 60 minutes a day - create a routine, plan exercise into your day, set a time to do it and stick to it!
• Variety - keep things interesting by adding variety, mix things up. Try to do at least 2 or 3 different types of exercise every week.
• Keep motivated - join a club or group or a gym to help keep you motivated.  Group classes and sessions are a good way of ensuring you have fun while exercising.
• Get your friends involved - agree to meet at the gym, bike, walk or run together, play tennis or squash. 
• All exercise counts - move more throughout the day not just when exercising. Park your car further away than you planned to get that extra bit of exercise in. Walk around during your lunch time with friends, take the stairs instead of the lift or escalator.
• Small steps - If exercise hasn’t been your thing start small and build it up. Start with a 10 minute walk and build up to half an hour. 

Not only does exercise help keep your lungs, heart, bones and muscles strong and functioning at their best.  Keeping active helps you feel good and look great.