Physical activity is good for your health.
Ireland's Physical Activity Guidelines include:
- aerobic activity
- muscle-strengthening exercises
- limiting sedentary behaviour
Aerobic activity can include walking, running, cycling or swimming. The Physical Activity Guidelines say that you should do at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week.
Moderate-intensity activity is when your breathing and heart rate increase, but you can still talk.
You can also reach the guidelines by doing at least 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week.
Vigorous-intensity activity is when:
- your breathing becomes heavy
- your heart rate becomes faster
- it’s hard to talk
You should also do muscle-strengthening exercises on at least 2 days a week.
This can include:
- Pilates
- yoga
- an exercise class
- gardening
Some activities are both aerobic and muscle strengthening, like swimming and exercise classes.
It’s also important to limit your sedentary behaviour. Replacing sitting time with any form of physical activity benefits your health. Every move counts!
Think about how much activity you did the week before starting the programme, and compare it to last week and the week before.