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Make Exercise Work for You

No matter when you start, exercise improves health. Even people who start exercising later in life appear to gain many of the same health benefits as people who've exercised their whole lives, according to research at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Physical activity throughout life can help protect against some cancers. For breast and prostate cancer, it may help by regulating hormone levels. For colon cancer, physical activity speeds up the digestive process, shortening the exposure of the bowel lining to harmful substances Exercise also helps reduce cancer risk by helping people maintain a healthy weight.

Choose Your Game

It's important to enjoy what you're doing so you won't get bored or think of it as a chore. To choose an activity that's right for you, ask yourself these questions:

Do you like to be social, or would you prefer time to yourself?

• Social butterflies should try activities that connect them with other people. Try to walk with friends, join a team or recreation association, or go line dancing.
• If you need time to yourself, walking, running, swimming, or gardening can give you time to reflect.

Do you need to get energized or wind down?

For an energy boost, try aerobic activities that get the heart pumping.
• Reduce stress with activities like yoga or tai chi.

Are you goal-oriented, or do you like to stay flexible?

• If you like to feel a sense of accomplishment, choose activities where you can chart and monitor your progress like training for a run, or take up an activity with rising skill levels, like martial arts.
• For a more flexible routine, try walking or find an exercise video you can do at home.

Do you want to get away from it all or get involved?

• If you want to get away, choose outdoor activities like hiking, biking, or rollerblading.
• Make your workplace more health conscious with the ACS program Active for Life. Participants choose their own physical activities, form teams of coworkers, and enjoy a friendly competition for the highest number of minutes spent exercising.
• To get involved in the community, consider building homes for the disadvantaged, participating in charity walks and runs, helping an elderly neighbor with yard work, or tidying up a local school.

How Much Activity Should You Be Doing?

That depends on you.

• If you haven't been active, you should start with moderate activities and gradually increase the duration, frequency, and intensity as you become more fit. Work your way up to 30 minutes or more five or more days a week.
• If you are active but want to do more, increase the intensity, duration, or frequency of what you currently do. Moderate to vigorous activity for 45 minutes or more five of more days a week will increase your health benefits.
• If you are active and want to maintain your current level of fitness, try adding new activities to your routine to use different muscles and keep your interest.

Strike a Balance

Ads for expensive exercise equipment and special diets can make healthy living look complicated. But the truth is there's no secret to achieving the weight you want. It is as simple as balancing the calories you burn. When that doesn't happen, you gain weight.

Remember that everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do uses calories. For example, if you weight 150 pounds and are active, you need approximately 2,250 calories per day to maintain that weight, versus 1,950 calories if you are sedentary.

It helps to know that one pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. That means that to lose one pound per week, you need to reduce your total calories by 500 per day. You can do this by eating 250 fewer calories a day, and burning an extra 250 calories through physical activity (e.g. walking 2.5 miles).

A 160 pound person could burn off 400 calories in the time and activities shown below:

To plan the physical activity for weight loss, you'll want a ballpark idea of how many calories are burned in different activities. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and did the following activities for an hour, you'd burn 324 calories gardening, 297 in brisk walking, and 216 calories playing with kids.

Less vigorous activities use fewer calories but still help in weight control. For a 150 pound person, an hour of strolling uses 206 calories, vacuuming or mopping—150 calories. Watching TV burns only 72 calories per hour. Find calorie counts for many other activities with our online calculator.

Staying Motivated

Be specific and choose variety. Rather than having general goals like "getting in shape" or "exercising more," choose concrete goals such as walking 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and doing stretching exercises five minutes each morning. The more variety you have, the more likely you will continue. A well-rounded exercise program that includes aerobic exercise, strength training using weights, and flexibility exercises—even when performed regularly in small increments—is key, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

Incorporate fitness into your lifestyle. Begin to see exercise as an everyday opportunity. For example, use the stairs instead of the elevator, walk during lunch, or bike to work. Combine fitness with your family chores and activities, such as raking leaves or gardening.

Motivate yourself. Try visualization techniques to help your motivation. Imagine yourself being in shape and how it feels. Create a vision of yourself looking fit. Rather than focusing on feeling out of shape, picture yourself feeling energized after your workout. Also, reward yourself when you meet each of your goals.

Get a support system. Build a support system of family, friends, co-workers, and/or neighbors. They can help encourage you when your motivation is low. You can also exercise with someone else. Try to find a buddy who shares similar fitness interests. Many shopping malls have mall-walker programs where you can meet others.

Expect setbacks and prepare for obstacles. Things like time, illness, or bad weather may occasionally get in the way. Disruptions are inevitable. Accept them and move on. If you go off your program, you can always adapt and resume. Some exercise is always better than none at all.

If you are a male older than 45, or a female over 55, and have not been regularly active, or have any health concerns, consult your physician before you begin an exercise program. Regardless of your age, if you have two or more of the following risk factors, consult your physician:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• You currently smoke
• Family history of early onset heart disease (first degree relative with heart disease before age 65 for female relatives, or before age 55 for male relatives.)

Revised: 9/28/06