Exercise 101
Being physically active is more than burning kilojoules and building muscle; it’s also fun, social and essential for your health and well-being. Check out how exercise benefits your body and how much exercise you need to burn off high-energy foods.
Exercise 101
How exercise affects the body
It might be pretty obvious that being active is really good for you – it gives you more energy, increases your self-confidence and may even help prevent scary stuff like heart disease. Click the running man to learn about the direct benefits of physical activity on different parts of your body.
Energy in vs. energy out
Balancing the energy you eat and drink with the energy your body uses when exercising can seem fairly simple. But do you really know how long you need to work off that slice of cake? We've crunched the numbers to determine just how much exercise you'll need to do to burn off some high-kilojoule foods.
Guidelines
Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
Accumulate 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity each week (or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous).
Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.
Healthy Choices
Becoming more aware of your exercise choices and the effects these choices have on your body is like putting yourself in the ‘driver’s seat’ on the road to good health.
Check out the tips, tricks and professional advice below to get you on the right track.
Incidental exercise hacks
A busy life can make it hard to stick to an exercise regime even though we know it’s important. Enter incidental exercise hacks, easy ways to build a bit of extra movement into your daily routine.
Guidelines
Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
Accumulate 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity each week. (Or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous.)
Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.