How much physical activity should I be aiming for?

Have you ever wondered how much physical activity you should be doing?

The World Health Organisation or the WHO (not to be confused with the band) defines physical activity as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. Physical activity refers to all movement including during leisure time, for transport to get to and from places, or as part of a person’s work or domestic activities and also includes exercise.

In that case, all of us are physically active every day, but how much should we be aiming to do? Here in the UK, the Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines for adults aged 18 years and over recommend the following:

• At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity or a combination of both per week. Moderate intensity activity is any activity that increases our breathing, but we are still able to talk, for example brisk walking. Vigorous intensity activity is any activity that results in us breathing faster and having difficulty talking, for example the stairs or running.
• At least 2 days a week of strengthening activities, for example lifting heavy items around the house or using weights in your Pilates class.
• At least 2 days a week of balance exercises for older adults.
• Minimising time when we are inactive or sedentary.

What if you already meet the physical activity guidelines?

The key phrase in these guidelines for me is “at least”; so if you find you are already meeting the guidelines, I would be aiming to see if I could go above those recommendations. Evidence shows us, the more we can do, the more benefits we will experience. Similarly, if you find you aren’t quite meeting these guidelines, don’t fret, you will still be experiencing the benefits from being physically active so keep going! Maybe this could be a goal you can now work towards to see if you can meet these guidelines and as a result increase the benefits that come with being physically active such as: improving overall health, managing stress, improving sleep, improving quality of life and reducing risks of certain diseases.

Physical activity is a hot topic, the WHO have been studying global trends of physical activity across 197 countries from 2000 to 2022 and have recently released some findings this year. They found that in 2022 31.3% of adults globally (that is approximately 1.8 billion people) weren’t meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines and that this had increased from 23.4% (that is approximately 900 million people) in 2000. To try and counteract this increasing trend of physical inactivity, the WHO set a target to reduce physical inactivity by 15% between 2010 to 2030. At the moment nearly a third of adults globally are not meeting the recommended levels of physical activity and most countries are not on track to meet the global target by 2030.

How can you increase your physical activity?

It is never too late to start being physically active or engaging in exercise. If the recommended guidelines feel out of reach at the moment lets break it up into smaller bite sized goals. Find an activity you enjoy, start by doing that activity three times a week for 10-15 minutes. When able try increasing that to four times a week for a longer amount of time. Before you know it, you’ll be meeting those recommended physical activity levels and experiencing all of the benefits of being active!

If you’re struggling to get started, then do come in and see one of our specialist Physiotherapists who will be able to help you with working towards your goals. If reading this has encouraged you (or dare I say inspired) to try and increase your activity levels yourself then please do update us on how you are getting on, we would love to hear!