Physical Activity

Being more active helps you stay a healthy weight, feel happier and reduce stress. It makes your muscles and bones stronger and lowers the risk of heart disease. It also helps reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.

Being active also helps children and young people to improve their learning and do well in school.

You don't need to wait to get started. Our bodies are made to move and even a little activity helps. The biggest health benefits come from moving, from doing nothing to doing something. It's never too late to start!

Being active can also help you if you have a long term health condition. It can help you feel better day to day.

Click here to find some simple ways to build activity into your routine.

There are some great apps for your phone to help you stay on track with building physical fitness levels - see Orcha Fitness Apps.

If you have a health condition, have had a fall or feel unsure, please speak to a healthcare professional about how to be active safely.

Wherever you are, there are opportunities to be more active. Click on your area to find out more:

Parkrun is a free weekly 5k event held in parks across the country, every Saturday at 9am. It is for everyone, not just runners. You can walk or jog too. There are junior events for 4-14 years.

Need some help working out how much is a good amount of exercise to do? Here are some useful links to support your activity goals:

Being physically active can be daunting for all of us, especially when living with a mental or physical disability. There are many opportunities for you to become more active.

The Health Disability Activity Pathway has been set up to support disabled people to be more active. It can be accessed here where you can find your local contact to discuss inclusive and disability specific activities near you.

Exercising Safely

Here are some tips to ensure you're safe when exercising:

Wear high-vis or reflective clothing when exercising at night so vehicles can spot you easily
Stay hydrated during exercise
Wear appropriate clothing to ensure you can stay cool during exercise
Prepare appropriately for the weather conditions, for example, wearing sun cream, a hat and sunglasses in hot, sunny conditions
Do some exercises before and after exercising to warm up and cool down well:
- How to warm up before exercising
- How to stretch after exercising

Take this short quiz to find out which activity type suits you.

Here are some tips to support you to get started:

Set yourself a small goal to achieve to keep you engaged, for example, 2,000, 3,000 or 4,000 steps a day
Try a range of different activities and ways of movement
Try to find a regular time during each week to exercise
Build activity into your daily routine - walking or cycling instead of driving, take the stairs instead of lifts, and park further away from shops
Stand up during advert breaks when watching TV, or between meetings at work

Break up long periods of sitting with light stretching or movement. Here is a video with a chair based 10-minute movement guide.

Physical Activity