Fitting in Fitness
Simple steps add up
Did you know you benefit from even small amounts of moderate activity throughout the day? Regular physical activity is easier to fit in than you may realize and can significantly lower your lifetime risk for cancer – and heart disease and diabetes, too.
You’ll find the American Cancer Society’s physical activity guidelines for adults and children below. These recommendations are based on the latest scientific information to help reduce the risk of developing cancer.
ACS Physical Activity Guidelines for Cancer Prevention
Adults: Get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week (or a combination of these), preferably spread throughout the week.
Children and teens: Get at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous intensity activity each day, with vigorous activity on at least 3 days each week.
- Moderate activity is anything that makes you breath as hard as you do during a brisk walk. During moderate activities, you'll notice a slight increase in heart rate and breathing, but you may not break a sweat.
- Vigorous activities are performed at a higher intensity and generally use large muscle groups. They cause a noticeable increase in heart rate, faster breathing, and sweating.
Being more physically active than usual, no matter what one’s level of activity, can have many health benefits.
Examples of moderate and vigorous physical activities
|
Moderate intensity activities |
Vigorous intensity activities |
Exercise and leisure |
Walking, dancing, leisurely bicycling, ice skating, roller skating, horseback riding, canoeing, yoga |
Jogging or running, fast bicycling, circuit weight training, aerobic dance, martial arts, jumping rope, swimming |
Sports |
Volleyball, golfing, softball, baseball, badminton, doubles tennis, downhill skiing |
Soccer, field or ice hockey, lacrosse, singles tennis, racquetball, basketball, cross-country skiing |
Home activities |
Mowing the lawn (push mower), general lawn and garden maintenance |
Digging, carrying and hauling, masonry, carpentry |
Occupational activity |
Walking and lifting as part of the job (custodial work, farming, auto or machine repair) |
Heavy manual labor (forestry, construction, fire fighting) |
Active substitutions
Don’t think you have time to add physical activity to your day? Consider simple substitutions. Think about how much time you spend sitting, versus being active. Are there ways to replace sitting with moving? For instance:
- Use stairs rather than an elevator.
- Walk or bike to your destination.
- Exercise at lunch with your workmates, family, or friends.
- Take a 20-minute exercise break at work to stretch or take a quick walk.
- Walk to visit co-workers instead of sending an email.
- Go dancing with your spouse or friends.
- Plan active vacations, rather than driving trips.
- Wear a pedometer every day to increase your daily number of steps.
- Join a sports or recreation team.
- Use a stationary bicycle or treadmill while watching TV.
No matter what kind of activity you choose, the important thing is to get moving. Try to look for opportunities to be active throughout your day.
Last Medical Review: June 30, 2014 Last Revised: June 30, 2014
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