Today is National Exercise Day, a day to encourage and celebrate physical activity.
Who knew that I would get excited over exercising? My routine has changed over the years but today I exercise every day and life is good! Do you get some form of exercise?
The sun is out, temperatures are rising and many of us are embracing the outdoors after being cooped up all winter. Exercising is a great way to get outside, so it's no wonder National Exercise Day comes in the spring and is celebrated annually on April 18.
But you don't have to go on big outdoor adventures to get in your recommended activity time.
We've all heard of the 10,000 steps a day exercise metric. But at the equivalent of five miles, it might be too big of a goal to achieve.
Official government guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week for adults. Thankfully, there are many ways to get moving in your everyday life.
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Officials recommend 150 minutes of activity a week with 2 strength training days
USA TODAY previously interviewed Dr. Katrina Piercy, a director in the Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. She works on the physical activity guidelines, using science about physical activity and health outcomes to recommend exercise.
The science says adults should be getting 150 minutes weekly of moderate intensity aerobic activity a week, with two days of muscle-strengthening activity.
Piercy says even that can seem like a lot, but the evidence suggests it doesn't have to be walking or running, or even in big, consistent chunks throughout the week.
"There's many people that may enjoy going to the gym and might, you know, go for an hour run. But many are not," she said. "They might have five minutes here, 10 minutes there. And all of that adds up."
Here are some activities you could include, especially if they make your heart beat faster:
Active video games
Dancing
Household chores
Yoga
Yard work
Taking the stairs
Walking or running with a stroller
Here are some other activities that count as muscle-strengthening, according to Move Your Way:
Mowing the lawn with a push mower
Shoveling snow
Rock climbing
Gardening and weeding
Home repairs
Recommendations could change based on your age
Move Your Way also provides recommendations for various populations.
For example, older adults should mix in balancing activities and kids and teens need 60 minutes of activity a day.
Piercy emphasized that some movement and activity is better than none. So if people just start tracking how many minutes of activity they get per week, then that can help them improve little-by-little.
