​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Whe​n you want to make a change, like getting active, you also need a plan to help you succeed.

Setting goals

When getting started, think about what you hope to achieve. Try not to expect too much, too soon. Instead, think about small things you can do to eventually reach your bigger goal. Here are some tips to help you set goals that you’ll be able to reach.

• Think about how much time you need and when you can be active each day.
• Ask your family and friends to support you.
• Find out if you have a neighbour, friend, or co-worker who would like to join you and make activities fun and social.
• Find out about easy, fun ways to be active close to your home and work.

SMART goals

Lots of people find it helpful to set SMART goals. SMART goals are:

For example, instead of your goal being “I want to be more active", a SMART goal would be “I will go for a brisk, 30-minute walk, 5 days a week, for 6 months." This goal is a SMART goal because it is specific, has a frequency that can be measured, and includes a timeframe. It's also realistic, in part because it lets you decide when you'll walk, like going in the morning, during your lunch break, or after you've put your children to bed. ​

Safety first

Make sure to think about safety when you are setting SMART goals and making a physical activity plan. Being active is safe for most people, but if you’re not sure, do the Get Active Questionnaire to see if you need to talk to your healthcare provider before you start.

Staying safe also means wearing the right gear, like:

• comfortable shoes, runners, or boots
• clothing that’s right for the weather (layers are a good idea in cool weather)
• sunscreen (SPF 30 of higher), sunglasses, and a hat even when it’s cloudy
• safety gear such as a helmet, knee pads, and wrist guards (when needed)

It’s important to drink fluids when you’re active. Drink about 2 cups (500 mL) of fluid, 2 hours before you exercise. Then drink enough fluid while yo​u’re exercising to replace the water you lose from sweating.

Water is OK to drink if you’re exercising for less than an hour. If you’re doing intense exercise for longer than an hour, drink sport drinks or juice mixed with water. These drinks give you sugar and salt, which you lose during exercise.

Healthy communities

When setting up your physical activity plan, remember that it’s easier to be active if the places where you live, work, or go to school support being active. For example, it will help ​you stick to your plan if you:

• live in an area where it’s safe to walk, bike, and play
• have places to be active close to where you work or go to school
• have walking and biking trails, parks, and playgrounds in your area, which are well lit and safe
• have chances to participate in activities you enjoy

Healthy com​munities provide all people in Alberta with opportunities to make healthy choices. Any person or group interested in making their community a better, healthier place can help. Learn more about building healthy communities in Alberta.​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Sometimes all it takes is one good idea to get you to be active. Here are lots of ideas for you to try with your family. 

Choose activities that you think will be fun. Do activities as a family or let your children bring friends with them. Taking part in activities like these can help you be a good role model for your child. 

Try something new that you've never tried before, but always think about your abilities and level of fitness before you do. If you have any questions or concerns, talk to your healthcare provider. Starting slowly is safe for most people.

Activities you can do outside

Winter

• play in the snow: build a snow person, or make snow angels
• go tobogganing
• go skating
• try cross-country skiing

Fall

• rake leaves and take turns jumping into the pile
• go to an open field and fly a kite

Spring and summer​

• plant a garden and let everyone have their own special section
• run through the sprinkler or play catch
• go on a weekly active outing to the park or for a walk with neighbours
• go for a bike ride—make sure to wear helmets
• play hacky-sack, hopscotch, basketball, volleyball, tennis, or baseball
• go hiking, camping, or swimming

Activities for any season

• go for a walk or to a park in your neighbourhood and play Frisbee
• plan a family road trip and bring a soccer ball or baseball to use on the way or when you get to your destination
• walk at night and look for stars
• go swimming indoors
• go bowling or skating
• go for a walk in a mall
  
• visit a museum or indoor playground​
  

Staying active when you're on the go

Sometimes people get busy and it’s hard to fit activity in. If that happens to you, try these ways to be more active:

• organize a “walking school bus” and have parents take turns walking children to school
• take the stairs whenever you can and park your car at the back of the parking lot to walk more
  
• park your car at the back of the parking lot to walk more
  
• get off the bus 2 stops early and walk home
• walk or bike to do errands, or park in a central location and walk from place to place
• volunteer to help your child’s sports team with warm-ups or social events
• make time for active play, just like you schedule time for homework
• carry groceries instead of using a shopping cart

Family games

• play hide and seek, tag, charades, or "Simon says"
• make a family scavenger hunt
• organize neighbourhood games and play parents against children
• pass the remote and whoever is holding it during commercials has to lead a family exercise break
• have fun with pretend play: play house, build a fort, or put on a show
• play outdoor games like bocce ball, badminton, or croquet

Around the house

• make an obstacle course and keep a chart with everyone's times
• ​​​​make commercial breaks active while you’re watching TV: run on the spot, do push-ups and sit-ups, stretch, play catch with a foam ball, or see who can do the most jumping jacks
  
• do household chores like vacuuming or laundry—give everyone a task and listen to music while you work
• plan a walk every day after supper and keep track of everyone’s steps on a chart
• exercise with fitness videos, apps, or TV shows like yoga or aerobics
• watch a show as a family and for every hour you watch, be active for an hour
• wash your vehicles or clean up the yard

Being active in your community

• try classes at a recreation centre or fitness facility
• encourage your children to be active during recess, at lunch, and after school
• encourage your children to try doing team sports—being part of a team is more important than winning
• plan a family game in your neighbourhood
• start a "family health club" that does an activity like biking, swimming, or floor hockey once a week in your community
• volunteer for clean-up events and community gardens
• be "snow angels" and shovel snow off of driveways and sidewalks in your neighbourhood
  
• train and fundraise for a charity walk or run

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Being physically active is good for all abilities and all bodies. If you have a disability or limited mobility, it is still important to move your body in a way that feels safe and achievable. Being physically active helps to reduce everyone's risk of chronic disease.

Benefits

When you have limited mobility, physical activity can:

• give you some control over what you do​
• improve your mental health and energy levels
• build strength, endurance, and flexibility to support your independence with life tasks
• build a social or support ne​twork of like-minded or similar ability individuals, especially if you join physical activity groups
• keep your heart healthy and lower the risk of chronic disease
• keep a healthy body weight
• maintain bone density

Take your time

Talk to your doctor to find out what activities are best for you. Some physical activities can be harder for some people to do.

Start slow. For example, start with 10 minutes of physical activity at a time, and work up to what you can do. At first, you may not be able to do 10 minutes at a time. If this happens, do what you can comfortably do, and then slowly work up to 10 minutes. When you can do 10 minutes of physical activity, slowly work up to one 15-minute session a day, or two 10-minute sessions at different times during the day.

Adjusting activities

Most physical activities can be adjusted or done with special equipment if needed. Some physical activities that people with various levels of mobility can do include:

Visit 211 Alberta to find groups or adaptive sport programs near you, or talk to someone at your local fitness or community centre to find out more.

Aerobic activities

Aerobic activity is exercise that makes you breathe harder and makes your heart beat faster. To keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, try these activities:

• ride a stationary bike
• use a rowing machine
• swim or take a water fitness class (many pools have sloped entrances into the water that can make it easier to get in and out without extra help)
• do an aerobic fitness video
• dance around your house to your favourite music

Learn more about aerobic exercise.

Strength activities

Strength activities challenge your muscles by pulling, pushing, or holding muscle contractions (tightness). Strength training helps keep your muscles and bones strong, and helps your balance and posture. Learn more about strength training.

One example of strength training is isometric exercises. This is when you contract or tighten a muscle but don’t move the joint. This type of exercise can be used to develop strength when it hurts too much to move a joint, like for people with osteoporosis. Talk to your physiotherapist or certified exercise professional to make sure this type of exercise is safe for you.

You can do strength training at home or in a gym. Here are some options for resistance:

• free weight exercises while standing or sitting
• resistance training on machines that you sit on
• Dynaband or resistance tubing exercises

If you don’t know how to use a machine or free weights, talk to a certified exercise professional to make sure you’re doing the exercises the right way.

In a swimming pool, you can do strength training by using the water as resistance. If you need help with this or want a fitness program to follow, talk to a swim instructor or certified exercise professional. Some pools also have water fitness classes that you can join.

Flexibility activities

Flexibility is how much movement you have in yo​ur joints. Some joints may be more flexible than others. Regular activity and different types of stretching can improve your flexibility. You can work on less flexible joints to make them more flexible. 

​Having more flexibility helps you with daily activities like bending down to tie your shoes, brushing your hair, getting up and down from the floor, getting in and out of the bathtub, and reaching for things in a cupboard.

Do stretching exercises slowly and smoothly—don’t bounce or jerk. Stretching shouldn’t hurt. If it does, talk to a certified exercise professional.

T’ai chi and yoga can also help improve your flexibility. You can do both of these activities standing up or sitting down.

Stretching and other classes that include stretching are available at most fitness centres.

Learn more about flexibility.​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Being active is good for you at any age, but people over 65 years are at risk of not getting enough physical activity. It’s important to stay active whether you’re 65, 75, or older. Many people believe that they should slow down as they get older, but research shows that people actually need to be more physically active as they get older to stay healthy and strong.

Current guidelines recommend 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week. You can break down physical activity into chunks of 10 minutes or longer to reach this weekly goal. 

Regular physical activity will help you keep doing the things you enjoy and make it easier to try new things. There are so many ways to be physically active—you​ can play with your grandchildren, volunteer, dance, canoe, hike, or walk. Choose activities that you enjoy or have always wanted to try. Having fun will make it easier to stay active.

Benefits

If you’re an older adult, regular physical activity:

• is good for your health
• helps you stay independent
• can help prevent some types of health problems and diseases
• helps relieve symptoms of some health problems and can slow down some types of chronic problems
• helps make muscles stronger, increases flexibility, and improves balance, which can help prevent falls
• can help you recover faster from surgery or an injury

For many people, physical activity is one of the best ways to manage symptoms of a medical problem or disease. For example, people who have arthritis can lower their pain level with gentle muscle and joint movements. Keeping your muscles strong also helps make your joints stronger and healthier.

Getting started

Sometimes it’s hard to know what activities to do. No matter how old you are, it helps to choose activities that you enjoy and are interested in.

Start by making a short list of physical activities that might interest you. Remember, you can adjust most activities to what you’re able to do, like trying pickleball if you’re having trouble playing tennis, golfing for 9 holes instead of 18, or doing water aerobics if you need a lower impact option for aerobic exercise.

If you can’t do or adjust some of your favourite activities, try something new. For example, if you can’t golf as often as you used to, join a fitness program with gentle stretching or exercises you can do at your own pace.

Try different activities in different seasons or choose ones that you can do all year.

Staying motivated?

Sticking to a physical activity routine is hard for many people. One of the best ways to stay motivated is to do activities with friends, like walking together a few times a week.

Here are a few tips to think about before you start something new.

• Talk to your doctor about your choices and plans for activities.
• When you start, go slow. As the activity gets easier, slowly increase how long you do it and how hard you work. For example, on the first day, walk around the block 1 or 2 times and see how it feels. Each day, slowly build up the distance you walk until you find out what feels right for you.
• Always challenge your body a little. This is how you’ll get stronger and keep your endurance and balance. Work towards being active most days of the week.
• Set realistic goals for yourself. Write them down and put them in a place where you’ll see them every day. Congratulate yourself when you meet your goals.

Learn more about setting g​oals and making a plan to be more active.

Preventing falls

Regular activity can maintain or improve your muscle strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility, which helps to prevent falls.

To help prevent falls while you are being active:

• wear clothes that let you to move freely
• wear shoes or boots with good support and that are comfortable
  
• use a walking aid such as a walking stick or cane if you need to
• go at a pace that’s right for you
• drink water during the day to stay hydrated

If you’re walking, biking, or using a wheelchair or scooter, always go on a route that’s safe. Choose a route with a bench or somewhere you can stop and rest if you need to. In the winter, choose routes tha​t are clear and walk like a penguin, or look for indoor walking tracks when there is a lot of ice or snow. Many recreation centres offer winter programs for older adults.