Being active is about filling your life with friends, family, and fun. It's about enjoying stimulating social and physical activities in ways that fit your lifestyle.
It's about taking small steps that lead to big results. And the following ideas can help make each of those small steps both enjoyable and rewarding.
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Make every minute of physical activity something you enjoy: ride your bike, walk, run, skateboard, swim, rollerblade, skip or hip hop dance. Try something you enjoyed when you were younger or something you've always wanted to explore that looks interesting, like yoga, T'ai Chi or kite flying. The possibilities are endless and appealing, and that matters because if you enjoy it, you're more likely to continue. For more ways to get active, visit ParticiPaction's “Easy and Fun Tips” page, or check out 100 Ways to Get Active.
Exercise counts, in whatever form it takes. And every minute adds up to make you feel more energetic and alive. If you love to walk your dog, play Frisbee with your neighbors and work in your large garden, you're probably getting cardiovascular workouts and resistance training. You can even just stand up and pace while on the phone, or visit a colleague down the hall instead of sending an e-mail. Count everything in (even just a few minutes), and count yourself in for health. A little is good and more is better, but because our bodies are made to move, every minute makes them feel more energized. For more information on physical activity recommendations, visit the Healthy Living site.
Whether it is tossing a ball around in the backyard, going for a family bike ride, or packing up the pets and inviting your friends to go on picnic, being active every day improves quality of life and fosters proper growth and development — including healthy minds, bodies and relationships. For more information on how to get active with family and friends, visit ActNow BC.
Competition is about more than reveling in a victory; it can be about the incentive to begin and the encouragement to continue any activity: from basketball to board games. To challenge yourself, co-workers, friends, or others, visit ActNow BC's Activity Challenge.
Walking is free and boasts a serious health kick. Short on time? Get off the bus and park your car a few blocks from your office, find a parking spot that's a 10 minute walk to the store, or walk the dog — it's amazing how much activity this can add to your day and how much it can improve your life. To find more information developing and implementing walking programs, visit Walk BC. Additional walking programs, and new program resource guides in both Chinese and Punjabi, can be found at Active Communities BC
The Way to Go! school program is an active and safe route-to-school initiative for communities in BC. This school traffic reduction program provides parents, teachers and students with a variety of specific tools for traffic safety education, best routes planning, and promoting active transportation choices. Check out the Way to Go! site for more information.
Helping others can give you a great sense of purpose. And when you help others in need, it helps you feel good too. There are endless possibilities for programs and places to get involved, like local nursing homes, homeless shelters or hospitals. Or volunteering might just be about helping a friend or relative. Stay active and help yourself by helping others. Want some ideas? Check out Volunteer BC or VolWeb.
You don't have to join a gym or buy any kind of membership; to get socially or physically active, you can use whatever you already have available. Many household items can be effective exercise aids: you can use soup cans or jugs of water for resistance instead of dumbbells, the edge of a sturdy chair for tricep dips and your stairs for cardio step-ups. Go for a walk or jog, jump rope or try some lunges around your backyard. And for both physical and social activities, look for look for convenient resources available in your community such as park and recreation programs and worksite programs — if you keep your eyes open, you'll find lots of free ways to get big payoffs.
Non-strenuous exercise reduces stress, blood pressure, and anxiety just as much as strenuous exercise does. And the risks of developing certain diseases such as coronary heart disease and cancer are only slightly lower for heavy exercisers than for moderate exercisers. When it comes to most forms of physical activity, some is good but more is better, but light activities can be just as good as heavy ones. It's just about moving.
Activity is the secret to rejuvenation at any age. When you rebuild muscle, you regain youthfulness, stamina, energy, and vigor. Exercise also helps with osteoporosis, balance and coordination, energy levels, quality of life, length of life, mood and much more. And staying socially active keeps you energized and alert. Realize that you're never too old to be active, and getting started is easier than you think; for example, do whatever activities you're doing now, only more often. The more you do, the better you'll feel.
Thanks to Toby Green the Manager of Physical Activity with the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport for contributing information and suggestions.
