Moderate Physical Activity
Vigorous physical activity is recommended for improved cardiorespiratory fitness, but moderate physical activity also can have significant health benefits, including a decreased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
For people who are inactive, even small increases in physical activity are associated with measurable health benefits.
Moderate physical activity is more readily adopted and maintained than vigorous physical activity.
As research continues to illustrate the links between physical activity and selected health outcomes, people will be able to choose physical activity patterns optimally suited to individual preferences, health risks, and physiologic benefits.
It is recommended to do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week, and you can break up the 30 minutes of activity by doing 10 minutes of activity three different times of the day.
Some Moderate Activities
You can talk while you do these, but you can’t sing:
- Ballroom and line dancing
- Biking on level ground or with few hills
- Canoeing
- General gardening (raking, trimming shrubs)
- Sports where you catch and throw (baseball, softball, volleyball)
- Tennis (doubles)
- Using your manual wheelchair
- Using hand cyclers – also called ergometers
- Walking briskly
- Water aerobics
- Hiking
- Golf – walking and carrying clubs
- Weight training – general light workout