Physical activity and exercise, they sound like the same thing. But, are they?
Physical activity is any bodily movement that burns energy. This includes household chores, gardening, a stroll at the shops, or playing recreational sport. These activities may indirectly improve your physical fitness.
Exercise is a type of physical activity that is repetitive, structured and planned with a final goal to maintain or improve physical fitness. Examples include:
- Aerobic training 3 to 5 times a week for 30 minutes to improve cardiovascular fitness.
- Strength training 2 times per week by lifting a challenging load of weights for 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
- Motor control development by participating in Pilates classes twice weekly.
While both physical activity and exercise impact physical fitness, it is important that you incorporate both modes into your fitness routine.
For example, if you do some gardening work on Saturday, try to sneak in a 30-minute jog around the blog later that evening. Or, if you had an evening of recreational netball, schedule a Pilates class later in the week to balance your physical activity with exercise. This allows you to maximise your physical fitness through both indirect (physical activity) and direct (exercise) methods and live a healthy lifestyle, all around!