Staying Active

Turning physical activity into a habit

Most people don't think about being active or inactive as a habit. But it is. And habits are affected by many things, including our work schedule, our home life, and our social life. When something becomes a habit, we don't think about it much—we just do it, like brushing our teeth.

And when something becomes a habit, it can be hard to change. That's what makes changing unhealthy habits into healthy ones so hard. Starting new, healthy habits takes practice and patience. But you can do it if you take one small step at a time.

Experts say that it takes about 3 months of repetition to form a habit. For some people, even 3 months isn't enough. So start small, and keep doing it until you no longer think about it as something "extra" that you have to do. When you slip up, don't get mad at yourself or feel guilty. Figure out what happened and how to keep it from happening again. Get right back into your physical activity routine, and don't look back.

Fitness: Staying Active

Maintaining the lifestyle

Many of the good things about being active, such as having more energy and being in a better mood, happen soon after you become more active. But some of the most important health benefits have to do with being active over many years. If you stop being active, you lose the fitness you achieved. Being consistent makes the most sense for your health.

To help make physical activity a long-term commitment:

• Set goals. Develop and follow a specific program.
• Make it a habit. Turn physical activity into a normal, pleasant, and routine part of your life.
• Get the support of friends and family.
• Expand your fitness activities through coaching, competition, and cross-training.
• Add variety to your fitness program. Change the place, activity, and time.
• Don't let reasons such as lack of time or bad weather slow you down.

Fitness: Staying Active

Fitness: Staying Active When You Have Young Children

Stress Management: Managing Your Time

Quick Tips: Having Enough Energy to Stay Active

Quick Tips: Staying Active in Cold Weather

Quick Tips: Staying Active in Hot Weather

Establishing a routine

When you have decided that you want to get fit, you will want to plan a physical activity routine. Although most people think of classes and specific activities (such as jogging or tennis) as the way to fitness, there are many ways you can work physical activity into your life.

Fitness: Adding More Activity To Your Life

Structured fitness

Fitness classes or groups provide a consistent approach to an activity. Local gyms, schools, and churches may sponsor a regular fitness group. Teams also provide a consistent approach to fitness but are more competitive. Many communities have physical activity programs to help adults and children get fit. They often are found within social agencies and schools.

Structured fitness has the advantage of:

• Being held at the same time and place, which may be easier for some people to schedule.
• Having a social atmosphere.
• Providing support and "healthy" peer pressure to show up and participate.
• Sometimes being led by a certified fitness professional.

Self-directed fitness

Many people find an activity they enjoy, and then they create their own fitness program. Self-directed fitness gives you:

• Flexibility as to the time and place.
• The ability to try different types of exercises.

For this to be effective, you must set up a regular schedule and stay with it.

Fitness within your day

You can use "everyday" activities for fitness, as long as you do them regularly. This includes:

• Daily aerobic activity, such as raking leaves, mowing the lawn, or doing housework.

  Fitness: Using a Pedometer or Step Counter

  Fitness: Walking for Wellness

  Quick Tips: Fitting Physical Activity Into Your Day

• Muscle-conditioning exercises, such as scrubbing the bathtub, washing walls, tilling the garden, or pulling weeds.

  Quick Tips: Getting Active at Home

• An outdoor interest or hobby that promotes walking or another type of exercise. For example, bird watching may require a lot of walking, and trail building may require both walking and strength to clear paths.

  Quick Tips: Staying Active in Cold Weather

  Quick Tips: Staying Active in Hot Weather

Prepare for slip-ups

It's perfectly normal to try to change a habit, go along fine for a while, and then have a setback. Lots of people try and try again before they reach their goals.

What are the things that might cause a setback for you? If you have tried to make changes in your activity level before, think about what helped you and what got in your way.

By thinking about these barriers now, you can plan ahead for how to deal with them if they happen.

Here's one person's list of barriers to taking a brisk 30-minute walk every day, along with some possible solutions:

Use a personal action plan(What is a PDF document?) to write down your barriers and backup plans.