Sneaking
exercise into
your day is easier
than you think.
That’s right, you may be exercising and not even know it. Carrying groceries, playing outside with your dog,
washing your car, even wrestling your toddler into his car seat…these are all forms of moderate exercise.1 The
number of calories you’ll burn depends on your weight and on how easy or hard the activity is for you, but you
can easily burn 100 to 200 calories in a half hour.2 You’ll also strengthen your heart, bones, lungs and muscles.3
Is exercise on your to-do list?
It’s too easy to put fitness on the back burner when life gets busy. And once you get out of the habit of working it
into your day, it’s hard to get started again. To help yourself stay motivated, find an activity you really enjoy. If you
like dancing, try zumba. If you like the outdoors, go for a hike. Jump on a trampoline, or go swimming. It’s easier
to keep up an exercise program when you’re doing things you like.
Cleaning your house and doing chores like laundry and grocery
shopping might not be fun, but they do burn calories. When you
feel too busy to go for a walk, put on some music and vacuum
or mop. In this case, what’s good for your house is good for your
health too.
Talk to your doctor before you
start a new exercise program,
especially if you haven’t been
active for a while.
Remember: There are
1,440 minutes in each day.
Use 30 of them for exercise
and fitness.4
Sources
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: General Physical Activities Defined by Level of Intensity (accessed November 2014): cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/pdf/PA_Intensity_table_2_1.pdf.
2 Healthy Weight Forum website: Calorie Calculator (accessed November 2014): healthyweightforum.org.
3 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website: Types of Physical Activity (accessed November 2014): nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/phys/types.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight (accessed November 2014): cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html?s_cid=govD_dnpao_006.
Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Anthem Blue Cross and Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross name
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28823CAMENABC Rev. 12/14
A balanced (exercise) diet
A well balanced fitness plan includes four types of exercises: aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bonestrengthening, and stretching.3 Over the course of your week, make sure to do some of each.
Some exercises fit into more than one category. For example, running is an aerobic exercise and a
bone-strengthening activity. And lifting weights strengthens your muscles as well as your bones.3
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Aerobic exercise uses the large muscles in your arms and legs. Aerobic exercise is also called
endurance activity. It makes your heart beat faster and makes you breathe harder. Over time, your
heart and lungs will grow stronger. Running, swimming and cycling are examples of aerobic exercise.
Muscle-strengthening activities build the strength and endurance of your muscles. Things like lifting
weights, doing push-ups or sit-ups and climbing stairs build muscle strength.
Bone-strengthening activities are exercises like walking, running and jumping rope that cause your
muscles to push against your bones.
Stretching activities help you to be more flexible. Yoga is a great example of a stretching activity.
How to work in a work out
When you’re busy, making time for fitness can take careful planning.
But there are lots of ways to sneak in a few minutes here and there, so
you can get your 30 minutes of exercise each day.4
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Take a brisk walk
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Do yard work or house work
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Park your car at the back of the lot and walk
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Take the stairs instead of the elevator
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Play tag with your kids
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Walk to a coworker’s desk instead of sending an email
Still can’t carve out 30 minutes each day? Then bump up the intensity.
If you choose vigorous physical activity – meaning you’re breathing
too hard to have a conversation – you only need 15 minutes each day.4
Visit anthem.com/ca for more ways to get healthy
— and stay healthy.
Helpful resources
To find out more, look up
Measuring Physical Activity
Intensity at cdc.gov. And to learn
how many calories you’ll burn
doing different activities, check
out the Get Moving! Calculator
at caloriecontrol.org.