Exercise

Exercise not only helps you look and feel better, but it also lowers your chances of developing a range of diseases:

• Lower risk of heart disease
• Lower risk of high blood pressure
• If your blood pressure is already high, you can expect it to drop.
• Lower risk of diabetes
• Lower risk of colon cancer
• Lower risk of early death
• Lower risk of depression and anxiety
• Reduce some types of chronic pain

Regular exercise can also:

• Improve weight control
• Increase bone strength
• Increase energy level
• Increase overall sense of well-being
• Increase flexibility, balance and mobility

Even simple daily activities such as yard work, moderate to heavy housework, and dancing count as exercise. When done for as little 30 minutes a day exercise has been shown to be beneficial. Doing any kind of activity that gets you moving is better than doing none at all.

The Basics

• Why exercise?
• Why exercise: The health benefits
• Can inactivity hurt my health?
• Can everyone benefit from exercise?
• Stay Active and Feel Better (In English and Spanish, Alternating Pages)
• Exercise descriptions and recommendations
  • Exercise—Questions and Answers
  • Recommendations for intensity level
  • The three kinds of exercise: aerobic, resistance and flexibility
  • Exercise vs. physical activity
• For parents: Kids and exercise
  • Keep your kids exercising 
• Exercise and pregnancy
  • Exercising during pregnancy
  • After you've had the baby . . .
• Exercise and osteoporosis
  • How does exercise help my bones?
  • Exercise and bone health: Staying active safely
• Exercise and pain-related conditions
  • Exercise and arthritis
  • Exercise and chronic pain
  • Exercise and back pain
• Exercise and other disease/conditions
  • Exercise and weight loss
  • Exercise and heart disease
  • Exercise and asthma
• Exercise and mental health
  • Exercise and Mental Health--A brief overview
  • Exercise, stroke, and dementia
  • Exercise, depression, anxiety, and exercise abuse

Taking Action

• Starting an exercise program
  • Are you ready to start exercising?
  • Exercise: A Healthy Habit to Start and Keep
  • What time of day should you exercise?
  • Starting an exercise program - 6 steps
  • Exercise for a healthy heart--a complete interactive tutorial
• Exercise Program Fundamentals
• Plan for your activity level
• How to exercise safely
• Overview
• Exercise injury prevention
• Warm weather exercise safety
• Cold weather exercise safety
• An exercise program for people with diabetes
  • How can exercise help my diabetes?
  • Exercise and diabetes: Basic facts in Spanish and English
• Senior exercise guides
• Exercise for seniors from the NIH
• Senior exercise instructions and diagram
• Exercise and children/teens
• Fitness for teen girls
• For kids: a cool site about staying fit!
• An exercise program for people with diabetes
• Take the President's Challenge!
• For kids: Be a winner!
• For adults: The President's Sports Award

Tips

• Staying motivated
• Making physical activity part of your life
• How to stay active in cold weather
• Cold weather fitness overview
• Cold weather fitness for seniors
• Tips for buying exercise equipment
• Exercise tips for adults, kids, and families
  • Exercise tips for adults, kids, and parents
  • For adults and kids: 10 ways to get active!
  • Tips for raising active children
  • Tips for success
  • 99 fitness tips for family fitness

Tools

• How to evaluate your fitness level
• Choose the exercise that's right for you:
• Select the right activity level: the activity pyramid
• Match your intensity level with activity type
• Talk test for exercise intensity
• Find the right exercise for kids and teens
• Exercise and calories burned
• Tracking progress: your exercise diary 
• Heart rate:
• Taking your own heart rate
• Target heart rate chart

Communicate With Others Like You

• Talk to others about planning and maintaining an exercise program and many other exercise-related topics
• A fitness forum from the American Council on Exercise

More Resources on Exercise

• Exercise and Your Heart: A complete guide to exercise if you have concerns about heart disease
• The Nolan Ryan complete guide to exercise: contains examples of the three recommended types of exercise (strength, aerobic, resistance) and other important information
• Learn more about exercise and weight control

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