Do you know what the Australian guidelines are for exercise and physical activity? Did you know that they even existed? Well if not then you will after reading this.
The guidelines were created to help you understand just how much activity you need, along with how much sleep you should be having and ways to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting or lying down. It’s a really great resource and highlights the importance of doing exercise regularly.
The problem is how many people actually fall short of these guidelines. The good news though is that it sets a great target or baseline for you to aim for and achieve. Hitting these targets consistently is an awesome step in the right direction to improving your health and wellbeing.
Listed below are the exercise guidelines for Adults (ages 18-64):
Adults should be active most days, preferably every day. Each week, adults should do either:
- 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity – such as a brisk walk, golf, mowing the lawn or swimming.
- 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity – such as jogging, aerobics, fast cycling, soccer or netball.
- an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous activities.
- Include muscle-strengthening activities as part of your daily physical activity on at least 2 days each week.
That’s at least 30min of physical activity per day along with 2 muscle-strengthening activities per week. Can you say that you do that consistently each week, or have you got some work to do?
Like I said before, if you’ve realised you aren’t doing enough physical activity then look at increasing what you are doing now so you are moving closer to these recommendations. Even the smallest increase can make a difference!
Exercising and being physically active comes with so many benefits and by doing more you’ll start to notice just how much of a difference it can make.
If you would like help to improve your exercise activity please check out the link below and read more on the guidelines or reach out to us. We’d love to answer any questions or share our ideas with you.
Australian Physical Activity & Exercise Guidelines
Nathan Spring
