Behavior Change and Health News
Make Your New Year an Active One
Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution to start being physically active? Have you followed through with those resolutions? If you’ve had problems following through, you’re not alone.
Perhaps you were successful for a while and then got too busy. Maybe you were intimidated by vigorous activities such as running or kickboxing. Be encouraged! Being active can fit into your life and be enjoyable while still offering great health benefits. No more guilt about another unsuccessful resolution.
In 1996, the Surgeon General1 reported groundbreaking news: Moderate levels of physical activity for at least 30 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week, are associated with substantial health benefits. He also reported that the 30 minutes of activity could be accumulated throughout the day. Activity does not need to be vigorous or strenuous or occur all in one chunk of time to be beneficial.
Studies show that you can achieve moderate physical activity in many ways. Moderate-intensity activities are activities equivalent to the level of a brisk walk. So, you can walk on Monday during lunch, rake leaves on Tuesday night, vacuum on Thursday, bike on Friday, and go dancing on Saturday. The possibilities are endless!
What if you don’t have time for a long walk or bike ride? For many people, finding that chunk of time to set aside is one of their first barriers to being active. The good news is that you don’t have to do that. By learning to incorporate short breaks of activity into your day, by the end of the day you can accumulate significant health benefits. Make use of those coffee breaks and trips to the copy room by taking the stairs or going the long way. Park a little farther out in the parking lot. Be creative! There are many ways to take advantage of the tasks and events of the day to maximize activity.
The Active Living Every Day course is designed to help you succeed at making your life more active. The course is based on research that has shown that teaching people lifestyle skills such as realistic goal setting, identifying and addressing barriers to physical activity, and developing social support systems effectively helps people become and stay active.2 The course presents realistic ways to make your life more physically active every day. The lessons teach you problem-solving skills to help you overcome the barriers to activity you may have. You learn to brainstorm about new ways to make your life more active on a daily basis and about using the time you have to bring about positive change.
Evidence shows that increasing physical activity even after years of inactivity improves health. This means that it is never too late to start. Make a resolution this year to make your life more active and make those health benefits yours. So, get out there! You can be active and still have time and energy to enjoy other aspects of your life. In fact, you’ll make your life better as you enter into a more active one!
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1999). Physical activity and health: A report of the surgeon general.
2Blair, S.N., Dunn, A.L., Marcus, B.H., Carpenter, R.A., & Jaret, P. (2001). Active Living Every Day. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
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