How to get active again: the complete starting guide

There is a version of this guide that opens with a lecture about how sitting is the new smoking. This is not that version. You already know moving is good for you. What is harder to find is a plain answer to three questions: what should I actually do, how much, and where on earth do I start if I am starting from nothing?

This page answers all three. It is the “start here” for everything in our Move section, so it is deliberately broad. Where a topic deserves its own page, we link to it.

The four types of activity

Almost every official guideline in the world sorts physical activity into four buckets. It helps to know them, because most people over 50 do at most one.

Aerobic is anything that gets you slightly out of breath for a sustained spell: walking briskly, swimming, cycling, dancing, mowing the lawn with some intent. It is what most of us mean by “exercise”, and it is the one people tend to do if they do anything.

Strength is working your muscles against resistance so they get stronger: standing up from a chair, climbing stairs, carrying shopping, lifting bands or dumbbells. This is the one most people skip, and after 50 it is arguably the most important. We explain why in Why strength training matters more after 50.

Balance is the ability to stay upright when life wobbles you: a kerb (curb), a wet floor, a dog lead. It fades quietly unless you practise it, and it is the exercise most likely to keep you out of hospital. See Balance: the exercise most people over 50 skip.

Flexibility is your range of movement: reaching a top shelf, turning to look behind you in the car, putting on socks. Stretching, yoga and tai chi all count.

You do not need four separate hobbies. A brisk walk over hilly ground is aerobic and strengthens your legs. Tai chi is balance and flexibility at once. The point is to make sure none of the four is missing entirely.

What the guidelines actually say

The advice from the UK’s Chief Medical Officers, the World Health Organization and the US government is strikingly consistent. Here it is without the jargon.

Aerobic activity. All three recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mix. The WHO frames it as a range: 150–300 minutes moderate, or 75–150 vigorous. “Moderate” means you can talk but not sing; “vigorous” means you can only manage a few words at a time.

For adults aged 19–64, the UK guidelines say “at least 150 minutes (2 and a half hours) of moderate intensity activity” a week. For those 65 and over, the wording softens usefully: “aim to accumulate 150 minutes… building up gradually.” The NHS (the UK health service) page for over-65s puts it as “do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity”. The US guidance for people 65 and over is the same 150 minutes, which the CDC notes “could be 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week”.

Strength. Every guideline says at least two days a week of muscle-strengthening activity. For adults 65 and over, the UK adds balance and flexibility to that: “activities aimed at improving or maintaining muscle strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week”. The WHO goes further for over-65s, recommending “varied multicomponent physical activity that emphasizes functional balance and strength training… on 3 or more days a week, to enhance functional capacity and to prevent falls”.

Sitting. All of them say to sit less and break up long spells of being still. The NHS advice for over-65s is simply to “be physically active every day, even if it’s just light activity”.

The line that matters most. The UK guidelines put it in five words: “some is good, more is better still”. The CDC says “some physical activity is better than none at all”. The WHO fact sheet notes that “31% of adults… do not meet the recommended levels”, so if you are nowhere near 150 minutes, you have a great deal of company. The guidelines are a destination, not an entry requirement.

Starting from nothing

If you have not exercised in years, ignore the 150 minutes for now. It is not a target for week one. It is a target for month three or six.

Start with ten minutes. A ten-minute brisk walk counts towards the weekly total, and it is short enough that there is no good reason not to do it today. Do that most days for a fortnight. Then make it fifteen. The NHS walking advice is to “increase your walking distance gradually” rather than leap in, and that principle applies to everything else on this page.

Two things make the first month easier. One is a fixed time: the same slot each day removes the daily negotiation with yourself. The other is a plan someone else has written, so you are following rather than deciding. If you want the first month laid out day by day in ten-minute pieces, The 30-Day Restart was built for exactly this stage.

Safety, and when to see a GP

The general position from the NHS is clear: “Speak to a GP first if you have not exercised for some time, or if you have medical conditions.” A GP (family doctor) will almost never tell you not to move. They may tell you how to move safely given your history, which is a different and more useful conversation.

Beyond that, some common sense:

• Warm up with a few minutes of gentle movement before anything brisk.
• Being slightly out of breath is the aim. Chest pain, dizziness or feeling faint are reasons to stop and speak to someone.
• Muscle soreness a day or two after a new activity is normal. Sharp joint pain during it is not.
• Build up gradually. Most injuries in beginners come from doing too much in the first fortnight, not from the activity itself.

This is general information, not medical advice. Your GP knows your history; we do not.

Choosing your activity

The best activity is the one you will still be doing in March. With that in mind:

Walking is free, needs no kit beyond comfortable shoes, and a brisk pace of “about 3 miles an hour” (roughly 5 km/h) counts as moderate activity. Our 8-week walking plan builds from ten minutes to a proper walk.

Swimming is kind to joints and works the whole body. Good if you carry extra weight or have knee or hip trouble. Downsides: pool access and the faff of getting changed.

Cycling is low-impact and turns errands into exercise. An e-bike is not cheating; it is the reason many people over 60 cycle at all.

Running is efficient and very effective, but hard on joints if you go from nothing to daily runs. Walk-run programmes that alternate the two are the sensible way in.

Strength training is the one we would put in everyone’s week. Bodyweight, resistance bands or a pair of dumbbells at home; no gym required. Our strength guide covers the six basic movements, and Strong at 60 turns them into a 12-week plan.

Classes — tai chi, yoga, aqua aerobics, chair-based exercise, dance — solve the two hardest problems at once: knowing what to do, and turning up. If you struggle with motivation, book a class rather than buying equipment.

How to stay consistent

Most people who stop did not stop because it was too hard. They stopped because life interrupted for a fortnight and the habit never restarted. So plan for the interruption.

• Make it small enough to survive a bad week. Ten minutes is a floor you can hold when you are tired, busy or grieving. Hold the floor; raise the ceiling later.
• Attach it to something fixed. After the morning tea. Before the six o’clock news. Habits stick to anchors.
• Track it somewhere visible. A tick on a wall calendar is oddly powerful. The NHS’s free Active 10 app does the same for brisk walking.
• Do it with someone. A walking partner, a class, a neighbour with a dog. Turning up for another person is easier than turning up for yourself.
• Restart without ceremony. Missed a week? Do ten minutes today. No make-up sessions, no guilt, no starting again from a Monday.

Where to go next

If you are starting from nothing, read the walking plan and begin this week. If you already walk, add strength twice a week. Whatever else you do, spend two minutes a day on balance. It is the cheapest insurance policy you will ever take out.

This week

1. Walk briskly for ten minutes, today if you can. Talk-but-not-sing pace.
2. Do five slow sit-to-stands from a kitchen chair, twice this week.
3. Stand on one leg with your fingertips on a wall for ten seconds, each side, while the kettle boils.
4. If you have a medical condition or have not exercised in years, ring the surgery (doctor’s office) and ask what you should know before starting.