GET STARTED

Following are tips for establishing a safe and sustainable exercise routine:

Start slowly: “Some exercise is better than none,” said Pedro F. Saint-maurice, lead researcher for the JAMA study and post-doctoral fellow with the National Cancer Institute. If you can’t get 30 minutes a day from the beginning, progress slowly and gradually increase your exercise. In the AHA study, for example, researchers progressively increased participants’ activity over six months, ultimately reaching a sustainable practice of 30 minutes of exercise per day, four or five times a week. Starting slowly is not only safer, but it helps keep you from getting discouraged if you try to do too much too fast.

Think beyond formal exercise: Don’t limit yourself to structured workouts. “It’s very important to try and incorporate activity into daily routines,” Brage said. “There are opportunities for being a little active in every domain in life,” such as parking a little farther away, taking the stairs more frequently or adding walk breaks to your workday.

Mix it up: Include a variety of cardio, strength training and stretching, and include moderateand high-intensity workouts.

Multiple study results demonstrate that there are whole-body impacts to starting exercise, so incorporate all styles of activity to achieve the best results.

Enlist a partner: Exercising with friend or family member can keep you motivated and consistent. Diana Bridger once limited her runs to nighttime when no one would see her. But a neighbour suggested they run together. Eighteen months later, they have shared miles of encouragement and support, and Bridger has completed 18 races.