Exercise Plan in Motion:

© AIHF Executive Health Team

The AIHF Executive Health Team recommends 45 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity 4 to 5 days a week to maintain weight and improve health. Include cardiovascular exercise, weight training, and stretching for maximum benefits.

• Schedule your workouts! Put them on your calendar and treat them as if they were an important meeting or a doctor’s appointment.
• Find a time of day that works for you. If you are not a morning person schedule your workouts in the afternoon or at lunch.
• Progress slowly. Soreness is okay, but overexertion could be risking injury.
• Anything is better than nothing. If right now you only have time to workout twice a week for 30 minutes that’s okay. You can add more workout time as your schedule changes.
• Avoid the "all or nothing" mentality. That last minute meeting that made you miss your Monday workout is not an excuse to take the week off and just start over next week.
• Set specific goals for both behaviors and the results you hope to achieve. For example, "I will lose 15 pounds" is a great goal, but how are you going to do it? "I will perform two cardiovascular workouts and two weight workouts each week for the next ten weeks."
• Get a workout partner or a personal trainer to hold you accountable. Having a workout partner or pet companion can be a real motivator.
• Track your progress. Pick two or three measurable variables and check them monthly. Waist measurement, blood pressure, resting heart rate, mile walk/run time, and various strength tests are all great things to measure progress. And nothing helps keep motivation up more than positive achievements.
• If you can do mild or moderate physical activities daily, start doing short bursts of more intense activity. If you walk for exercise, try to increase your pace for 30 to 60 second increments. Gradually you will build up your endurance and be able to do more intense activity for longer periods of time.