Learn how to stay active and discover the benefits of exercise

7th June 20212nd July 2024

It’s free, easy to take, has an immediate effect and you don’t need a GP to get some. It’s name? Exercise!

Non-urgent advice: Benefits of physical activity

Physical – Reduces your risk of many diseases, including many cancers. It also reduces blood pressure and cholesterol, strengthens your bones and improves symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Mental – Has been shown to be an effective treatment for helping with depression and anxiety. It also can improve your self-esteem and self-image.
Social – Often involves social interaction and can be a great way to meet new people.
Intellectual – Has been shown to have positive changes in brain function.
“If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,” says Dr Nick Cavill, a health promotion consultant.

How much do you need?

Every little counts – even 15 minutes a day has been shown to have a large impact. Each week you should aim to reach:

150 minutes of moderate activity

Moderate activity will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing.

Examples of moderate intensity activities:

Brisk walking
Water aerobics
Riding a bike
Dancing
Doubles tennis
Pushing a lawn mower
Hiking
Rollerblading

Try the aerobic workout videos in the NHS Fitness Studio.

Or you can split your exercise between:

75 minutes of vigorous activity

Vigorous intensity activity makes you breathe hard and fast. If you’re working at this level, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath.

In general, 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity.

Most moderate activities can become vigorous if you increase your effort.

Examples of vigorous activities:

Jogging or running
Swimming fast
Riding a bike fast or on hills
Walking up the stairs
Sports, like football, rugby, netball and hockey
Skipping rope
Aerobics
Gymnastics
Martial arts

Try the aerobic workout videos in the NHS Fitness Studio.

2 sessions of strength exercise

A strength exercise is any activity that makes your muscles work harder than usual.

This increases your muscles’ strength, size, power and endurance.

The activities involve using your body weight or working against a resistance.

Examples of muscle-strengthening activities include:

Lifting weights.
Working with resistance bands.
Heavy gardening, such as digging and shovelling.
Climbing stairs.
Hill walking.
Cycling.
Dance.
Push-ups, sit-ups and squats.
Yoga.

Make up your 150 minutes (or 75) with activities that suit you and your lifestyle. If you enjoy it, it will be much easier to make it a habit that sticks!

How do you get your 150 minutes a week?

People describe how they get their 150 minutes of exercise per week.

“I try and do a lot of things each week to stay active. I cycle into work and back which is about a half-hour cycle each way, and I also generally do little bike rides now and again, so I’d go to the shops, or I’d go and see my friends on my bike instead of getting public transport.”

NHS Patient

“Like many people, I found it really hard to have regular exercise during the week or after work, so what I make sure is I have a gym conveniently positioned between work and home so I can just drop off one or two stops before my home to use the gym, exercise and then go home and relax.”

NHS Patient

Additional information

We hope you have found this page useful and feel more confident about exercise. If you would like to discuss anything further, please book in with a member of our team at Limelight.