Regular physical activity helps improve your overall health and fitness, and reduces your risk for many chronic diseases.

Fitting regular exercise into your daily schedule may seem difficult at first, but the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans are more flexible than ever, giving you the freedom to reach your physical activity goals through different types and amounts of activities each week. It's easier than you think!

For Important Health Benefits

Adults need at Least:

2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) every

muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest,  shoulders, and arms).

Or:

1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., jogging or running) every week and

muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest,  shoulders, and arms).

Moderate-intensity aerobic activitymeans you're working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. One way to tell is that you'll be able to talk, but not sing the words to your favorite song. Here are some examples of activities that require moderate effort:

• Walking fast
• Doing water aerobics
• Riding a bike on level ground or with few hills
• Playing doubles tennis
• Pushing a lawn mower

Vigorous-intensity aerobic activitymeans you're breathing hard and fast, and your heart rate has gone up quite a bit. If you're working at this level, you won't be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath. Here are some examples of activities that require vigorous effort:

• Jogging or running
• Swimming laps
• Riding a bike fast or on hills
• Playing singles tennis
• Playing basketball

There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether it's at home or the gym. You may want to try the following:

• Lifting weights
• Working with resistance bands
• Doing exercises that use your body weight for resistance (i.e., push ups, sit ups)
• Heavy gardening (i.e., digging, shoveling)
• Yoga

Every 10 Minutes at a time is fine

We know 150 minutes each week sounds like a lot of time, but you don't have to do it all at once. Not only is it best to spread your activity out during the week, but you can break it up into smaller chunks of time during the day. As long as you're doing your activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Give it a try

Try going for a 10-minute brisk walk, 3 times a day, 5 days a week. This will give you a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.

Given the health benefits of regular physical activity, we might have to ask why two out of three (60%) Americans are not active at recommended levels.