So, do you want to get 2026 off to a great start? Then let’s get moving!
We’re not talking about a New Year’s resolution to work out more or join a gym, although that’s great if you want to go that route. What is most important is that we all get a healthy amount of physical activity each day. Intentional exercise is certainly part of that, but it doesn’t have to be the entire answer.
“Overall physical activity – movement – is what burns calories and helps us keep some weight off,” explains Dr. Christopher Weiss, a family medicine physician in Fort Worth. “Movement helps our circulation and works our muscles. It helps keep our bones strong and is good for our breathing.”
What’s the opposite of regular physical activity? It’s being inactive and sedentary – one of the major health threats facing large numbers of Americans.
So, if we want to put this in the form of a goal for 2026, make your goal that you will be less sedentary. Let’s look at ways to do that – yes, through regular exercise but also by just getting more activity into your daily routine.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before beginning any exercise routine, visit with your physician to ensure that exercise is safe for you. Exercising with an undetected, underlying health condition can result in serious injury, illness or death.
Exercise & Physical Activity are Important for Everyone!
It doesn’t matter how old you are or whether you are trying to lose weight or not, physical activity is important for everyone. Why? Here are a few reasons:
A Healthier, Longer Life
Exercise promotes good health and can help prevent or delay the onset of numerous health challenges, including:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Hypertension
- Arthritis
- Falls
- Anxiety
Your Mental Health
Exercise improves your mood and is a great way to relieve stress! People who are physically active are less likely to suffer from depression.
Energy Boost
Exercise gives you energy and keeps you feeling good throughout the day.
Better Sleep
Regular exercise helps you sleep better. Getting adequate sleep is also linked to fighting a range of serious diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.
Sharpen Up
Some studies suggest that physical activity can aid cognitive ability, improving memory and problem-solving skills.
Understanding Physical Activity & Exercise
Physical activity is defined as any movement of the body that increases the amount of energy used beyond a resting level.
If you are sitting on your couch reading or watching TV, your body is expending a minimal amount of energy.
When you get up off the couch and rake leaves in the front yard, you’re getting some beneficial physical activity.
If you get up off the couch and go for a jog or brisk walk, you are getting more vigorous physical activity – exercise.
In other words, exercise is one type of physical activity. Exercise is defined as a physical activity that is “planned, structured, repetitive, and performed with the goal of improving health or fitness.”
How Much Activity Do We Need?
For aerobic activity, the weekly guidelines for adults are:
- Between 150 and 300 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes to 5 hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity OR
- 75 to 150 minutes (1 hour, 15 minutes to 2 hours, 30 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity OR
- An equivalent combination of the two.
Moderate-intensity aerobic activity is anything that gets your heart rate up, like going for a brisk walk. Vigorous exercise, like running, will get your heart rate way up.
In addition, adults should make time for strength exercise by doing moderate to greater intensity exercises that involve all major muscle groups, twice a week.
Older adults are encouraged to also incorporate balance training into their physical activity routine.
Move Around Throughout the Day
If you’re thinking to yourself, “who has time to exercise for 150 minutes a week?” don’t despair! While it is ideal to schedule 30 minutes of intentional aerobic exercise at least five days a week, you can get in a lot of movement throughout the day with some adjustments to your routine.
Consider these ideas:
- If you drive to work, try to park further away from the entrance – the extra steps will add up
- Get extra-motivated to do household chores by reminding yourself you will get in valuable physical activity by vacuuming or sweeping your floors – that’s a nice bonus to go along with your clean home!
- Need to do some shopping? Sitting on the couch and ordering on your phone sure is convenient – even necessary sometimes. But if you have time, get up and go to the store – you’ll get in some valuable movement walking up and down the aisles.
- Hungry? Ordering delivery online is easy, yes. But if you go to your kitchen and throw together a quick meal, you’ll get some movement in and probably have a healthier dinner in the process.
- Going up? Taking the stairs – in lieu of an elevator or escalator – is one of the best ways to get in extra physical activity. In fact, if you take enough stairs, it will count as exercise!
- Do you find yourself sitting behind your desk most of the day? Make a point to get up and go for a walk when you can take a break. Even 5-10 minutes will help!
Types of Exercise
Now that’s you’re looking for ways to move more throughout the day, you don’t have to depend exclusively on exercise to get all your physical activity in. But we still need to get some exercise on a regular basis.
There are four broad categories of exercise. Each offers unique health benefits:
Aerobic
Aerobic exercises, also known as cardio, increase your breathing and heart rate. This has the effect of giving your heart and lungs a workout. By causing your heart to beat faster to pump blood, cardio exercise helps your heart become stronger and healthier.
Cardio also burns a lot of calories, helping us keep excess weight off. It can also help lower blood pressure and increase good (HDL) cholesterol. HDL carries the bad (LDL) cholesterol out of our bodies, helping prevent heart disease.
Common cardio activities include:
- Brisk walking
- Jogging or running
- Swimming
- Biking
- Using an elliptical or rowing machine
Strength training
Also known as resistance training, this makes your muscles stronger. Studies have shown that strength training two times per week helps to build muscle mass and bone density. This is especially important for older adults to prevent falls, loss of balance and broken bones. Strength training also helps prevent osteoporosis and provides relief from arthritis and back pain.
Balance exercises
Balance exercises help prevent falls. Tai chi is an example of balance exercise.
Flexibility exercises
These stretch your muscles, which in turn helps prevent injury. Yoga is a good example of flexibility exercise.
Getting Started with Exercise
If you’ve not been exercising on a regular basis, that’s OK – it’s never too late to get started. Before you do, just make sure you clear it with your physician first!
After your physician says it’s OK for you to get your heart rate up with some exercise, it’s easy to get started. You need some comfortable shoes and loose-fitting clothes, but beyond that, there is no need to spend money on special equipment or buy a membership at a gym.
To start, go for a brisk walk around your neighborhood for 30 minutes. Do this five days a week and you will begin reaping the rewards of a consistent cardio workout.
After you have done this for a week or two, try adding some time to your walks or pick up the pace.
Two days a week, do some strength exercises. Again, you don’t necessarily need to go to the gym or buy any weights. Instead, you can do bodyweight exercises. Common examples include:
- Push-ups (strengthens your arms and chest)
- Pull-ups (strengthens your arms)
- Sit-ups (strengthens your abdominal muscles)
- Bodyweight squat (strengths your legs)
- Lunge (strengths your legs)
- Plank (strengths your core)
There are many free online resources that feature guides and videos for these and countless other exercises that you can refer to.
NOTE: If at any point while exercising you experience pain or undue strain in a muscle or joint, stop that exercise immediately. Avoid similar movements until after you have had a chance to discuss with your doctor.
Maintaining an Exercise Routine
A lot of people have no issues in starting an exercise program, especially at the beginning of a new year. The bigger challenge for many folks is maintaining that exercise routine over time.
“We tend to get busy, things come up and sometimes we just get bored with our routine,” says Dr. Weiss. “All of these are common reasons people abandon their exercise program after a couple of months.”
To ward off the temptation to ditch your exercise program, try to keep it fresh and interesting. Here’s a few tips:
- If you go for outdoor walks or jogs, vary your route for a change of pace.
- If you have extra time on the weekend, drive out to one of the many hike & bike trails we have in North Texas or to a state park for your outdoor exercise.
- Challenge yourself, safely. One way to get more out of exercise is to gradually do more than you did before:
- Run, walk or bike a little further
- Run, walk or bike a bit faster
- In strength exercises, slightly increase the number of repetitions
- If you use weights, increase the weight you are lifting by a few pounds
- Exercise with a companion for company and accountability.
- Change up what you are listening to while you exercise: try different types of music, podcasts and audio books.
Above all, just remember that exercise is vitally important to your health and longevity. That’s the most important motivation to keep moving.
Keep Moving & Live Well
Physical activity is essential to our health and wellbeing – physically and mentally. Getting enough exercise and physical activity helps our health in many ways and helps keep off unwanted weight.
Don’t feel like you must accomplish your fitness goals all at once – in fact, that’s a recipe for failure or even injury. Start slow and build up your endurance and strength. That’s the key to sustaining your exercise program for the long run and reaping its benefits.
This article has been reviewed and approved by a panel of Privia Medical Group North Texas physicians.
This article contains information sourced from:
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (health.gov)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
10 Things to Know About the Physical Activity Guidelines Midcourse Report | health.go
