Get Active!
Exercise and fitness are part of looking good, feeling good and being healthy.
Playing sport or keeping fit will help give you the confidence to feel good about your body, the way you look, and your abilities.
Taking part in sports or joining an exercise class is also a great opportunity to meet up with friends or make new ones.
How much activity should I do?
Ideally, aim for at least 60 minutes per day of moderate intensity activity. Moderate intensity should mean that you can feel your heart pumping a little faster, you’re breathing heavier and getting warmer
60 minutes can be broken down into chunks to make it more manageable e.g
20 mins walk to school + 20 mins dance class + 20 mins walk home from school
30 mins walk the dog + 30 mins P.E at school
What activity shall I do?
Chose activities that you enjoy! You are more likely to keep doing them if you like them. As well as organised sports and exercise, physical activity and day-to-day lifestyle activities are important
Day-to-day activities
What do you do when faced with the choice of taking a lift or walking upstairs? In the time it takes to queue for a lift you could have walked up the stairs! Simple choices like this can contribute to your fitness and calorie expenditure
Don’t spend too long being inactive. For example don’t spend too long in front of the TV or computer, and make sure you take breaks to move about
It’s been estimated that a remote control saves you 10 calories per day because you don’t need to move to change the channel. This adds up to a whopping 1lb of weight gain across a year!?
Physical activity
Activities such as cleaning, gardening, and hoovering are all quite physical. They will contribute to your fitness and burn calories. Can you walk or cycle somewhere instead of the car? It’s all too easy to jump in the car for a journey that would take 10 minutes to walk!
Sport and exercise
Exercise is important too, as it is more intense, so will give you a better work-out. There are hundreds of options……dancing, jogging, workout DVDs, swimming, martial arts, basket ball, aerobics. Get involved and enjoy it!
The Calorie Quiz
When sitting watching TV we use very few calories.
How many times more calories do you think you would use doing the following activities (for the same amount of time)?
Drag and Drop the calorie ranges onto the correct activity. To reset your answers,
click on the reset button below.
BMI Calculator
Ever wanted to know what your body mass index is? Why not click here and find out with the NHS BMI Calculator
Useful Resources
Responsible for delivering the Governments sporting objective, Sport England aims to make England more active and encourage people to get involved with sport and physical activity.
www.sportengland.org
NHS Teen LifeCheck
NHS Teen LifeCheck is a teen health quiz for 12–15 year-olds
Answer questions, get results and find out how you're doing on:
- Exercise and healthy eating
- Drugs, solvents, alcohol and smoking
- Safe sex
- Bullying, feeling stressed or under pressure
- Personal safety and crime
Search the directory to find details of your nearest sports clubs and exercise sessions.
www.askthurrock.org.uk
This section of the Council's website is your first point of call for information on PE, Sport and Physical Activity in school and in the community.
www.thurrock.gov.uk
Your guide to thousands of sporting opportunities in Essex.
www.sportessex.com