Get Active & Stay Active!

In several of my previous blogs, I've talked about the importance of being physically active.  The new 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans also stresses the importance of physical activity and goes so far as to indicate that additional exercise beyond the minimum recommendations can provide additional health benefits. 

However, it is unclear how many people actually meet these guidelines.  A new study in the journal Preventive Medicine used data from a 2007 behavioral questionnaire to determine how many people actually exercise more than  300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise or more than 150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity exercise, the amounts suggested by the Guidelines for additional health benefits.  According to this study, in the year 2007:

• Only 43.5% of adults met the new 2008 Guidelines recommendations for being highly active
• 48% of men and 39% of women were considered highly active
• More non-Hispanic whites were considered highly active (46%) than Hispanics (38%) and African Americans (38%).

Overall, this data analysis shows that less than half the population surveyed met the "highly active" recommendations of the new 2008 Guidelines, meaning less than half of the surveyed population exercised for more than 300 minutes/week (~45 minutes/day) of moderate-intensity exercise or 150 minutes/week (~20 minutes/day) of vigorous-intensity exercise.  These results suggest that we need to continue getting the word out about the importance of adequate levels of physical activity for health benefits.  However, it would be interesting to conduct a similar survey now, a couple of years after the establishment of the new 2008 Guidelines to determine if the establishment of these recommendations have had a positive impact on physical activity levels.

It is pretty common for most of us to go through periods of time where it is difficult to get or stay motivated in regards to exercise.  It happens without us ever really knowing it… things get hectic at work, the kids have homework that needs to be completed, activities outside of school and work require our time, etc.  All of these things can make it difficult to get in the daily exercise our bodies crave.  Below are just a few ideas for getting moving and staying motivated… 

• Work out with a friend – this can make your exercise more enjoyable and makes everyone more accountable.
• Schedule a workout session and set it as a priority – for many of us, if it’s on the calendar we’ll make sure it gets done!
• Keep an exercise log - this will help you see how much you have improved over time and motivate you to do more.
• Set specific goals – once you’ve accomplished your initial goals, continue to set new goals.
• Make sure you enjoy the activity – doing something you enjoy will make it easier to continue long term.
• Try different workouts or activities – Variety keeps you from being bored and helps reduce the chance of a weight loss plateau.
• Set up a reward system – for example, if you meet an exercise goal plan a relaxing day at the pool, beach or spa.
• Join an intramural team – camaraderie and competition can help make exercise fun!

Each of these ideas can help you get started and stay motivated.  With the right support system (family and friends) in place you’ll be moving and losing weight, while having fun at the same time!

What keeps you motivated to exercise?