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Don't let anyone tell you there's only one way to get in shape. You don't need a high-tech "exercise prescription" to reap the health benefits of getting fit. All activities are worthwhile. The trick is finding the ones that you'll really do -- and incorporating them into your everyday routine.
How to get started to squeeze more activity into your busy schedule? A good first step is to keep an action journal during a typical week, tracking every major move you make: where you go, what you do, how much of it and for how long. Check this journal for opportunities to pepper your life with physical activities. These needn't be as ambitious as running a marathon -- especially not at first. They can be as small as walking with a friend during your lunch hour. Or doing calisthenic exercises while you watch TV. Or parking at the far end of the lot instead of right in front of the office. Or taking the stairs for the first three flights. Or sweeping the driveway on a sunny Sunday. Or getting off the bus a stop before yours, and walking the rest of the way. Or ... take your pick. All these little efforts add up.
Studies have shown that easy exercise, such as working on a job that requires walking, cuts the risk of heart disease even when it's too mild to boost aerobic conditioning. This is a component of fitness that involves developing the heart and lungs so your body uses oxygen more efficiently.
To achieve aerobic conditioning and to augment all the other health advantages of exercise, you should choose one or two aerobic activities and do them for about half an hour, three times a week.
To minimize your risks of joining the ranks of the exercise dropouts, pick only those activities that are most enjoyable and convenient for you to pursue. Is there a track or a pool at a nearby park, high school gym or fitness center that you can use? Seek out the handiest spot in your neighborhood or along the route from work to home. The more you do with your body, you may find, the better you'll feel about it.
Just How Much
Calories burned per hour by a 150-pound person
The time needed to burn up calories varies depending on age, sex, weight and basic metabolism (which determines the rate of calories burned while you are at rest)