How can I be more physically active?

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Walk instead of driving. Or, park your car farther away and walk the rest of the way.
• At work, use lunch hours and coffee breaks to walk around the block.
• Take up an active hobby. Garden. Hike. Golf. Play with your kids or grandkids.

The first step to take when you want to start being more physically active is to set specific, realistic, and attainable goals.

When you do not have a specific goal, it is difficult to keep exercising and to track your progress. The following these suggestions are easy ways to incorporate more physical activity into your daily life. Just pick one or two of them and gradually add more once they become routine:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. (It may even be faster!)
• Go on a 15 – 30 minute walk around the building during your lunch break.
• Instead of sitting, stand while talking on the phone and walk around. You could even do squats or lunges.
• Dance while getting dressed for work in the morning.
• Schedule your workouts by writing them on your calendar.
• Be prepared by always having your workout bag with you.
• Make the most of your TV watching: do sit-ups, push-ups, or lunges during the commercial break of your favorite show.
• Walk over to a co-worker’s desk to talk to them instead of using the phone.
• Park farther away from the grocery store/mall to increase walking distance.
• Better yet, walk to the store
• Make fitness your social time! Take an aerobics class with your friends or encourage each other to sign up for a 5K.
• Start using a pedometer to track your walking. Pedometers are an easy tool to track how many steps you walk in a day.

Make sure to choose a physical activity that is appropriate to your current fitness level. And remember, the best time to exercise is when you have the most energy.

Strategies to help you become physically active

As people progress through the stages of change, the benefits of exercise will begin to outweigh the costs and they will become more self-confident in their belief that they can maintain a physically active lifestyle. Research has shown that different strategies are more important at the various stages of change. During the early stages of behavioral change, strategies need to be focused on increasing a person’s knowledge about the benefits of being physically active and changing their attitude toward the physically active. At the same time, a person’s confidence in being able to handle the demands of being active and to overcome barriers need to be high. Here are some tips for people in the early stages (i.e., contemplation, preparation) of change: