What are the Australian Physical Activity and Exercise Guidelines?

These are guidelines that have been created to assist Australian’s of all ages, in understanding the recommended amounts of exercise and physical activity to maintain good physical and mental health. It also details the importance of reducing our sedentary behaviours and screen times, and how much sleep we should be aiming to get, to lead a healthy lifestyle.

The guidelines are categorised by age because our exercise and physical activity requirements will change as we get older. There is also a separate category for pregnant women as their requirements will change during this stage.

Below is a summary of the Australian Physical Activity and Exercise Guidelines.

Infants, Toddlers and Pre-schoolers (birth-5 years old)

The guidelines also detail what physical activity looks like for each age bracket within this category, as well as the maximum amounts of time the child can be restrained (think pram, high chair, car seat).

Children and Young People (5-17 years old)

Adults, Pregnancy and Individuals with Disability or Chronic Conditions (18-64 years old)

Please note!

These are the recommended amounts of physical activity and exercise for all adults including, Pregnant Women and Individuals with Disability or Chronic Diseases. However, the safety precautions and types of strength training and physical activity that should be performed will differ for these populations. If you fall within one if these groups, it is important that you seek advice and/or supervision from an informed and appropriately qualified health professional such as an Exercise Physiologist or Physiotherapist, to commence exercise safely.

Older Adults (65 years and over)

For access to the full guidelines click here.

Why do they matter?

Education is the great equaliser

These guidelines matter because they allow any individual to have access to the recommendations that were created by the experts in the field, without you needing to scour all the research for the answers. It aims to educate all Australians on the ways to care for your body to maintain your health and prevent the development of chronic diseases. If we can help more people meet the guidelines, it is assumed we will see an increase in lifespan, and a decrease in the development of preventable diseases.

The Australian Nutrition Guidelines are similar in the fact that they also aim to educate Australians and promote healthy lifestyle choices to keep your body in tip top shape! (more on this in further blogs!)

What benefits would meeting the guidelines bring for me?

There are many proven benefits to be gained from meeting the guidelines! Here are just a few to get you started.

Reduce your risk of developing chronic conditions like heart, or joint problems
Increase the amount of energy you have
Improve your quality of life
Promote better physical and mental health
Maintain functionality, so you can continue to do the things you love
Reduce the risk of obesity
Help to reduce pain

and so much more!!

This is just the beginning, and we will be going into greater detail on these benefits in coming blogs so keep your eyes peeled!

How can I meet the guidelines?

Surprisingly, less than half of all Australian adults will regularly meet the physical activity guidelines, only 1 in 4 adults will meet the strength based activity guidelines, and only 1 in 5 people will meet both! This is something we would like to help change! Here at WHAM, we want to help to identify and remove the barriers you may have to exercise and give you the tools to meet the guidelines.

You can aim to meet the guidelines by:

Walking or riding a bike for short trips
Attending exercise classes
Participate in a sporting team
Not letting weather stop you from being active! Try out things like yoga, dancing, indoor swimming etc
Organising changes for your work including, having “walking meetings”, opting for a standing desk, taking your lunch break outside etc

Who can help me?

Luckily, there are heaps of trained professionals out there to help you meet the exercise guidelines and we have them at WHAM!

Our Exercise Physiologist can help you to nail the specifics of the guidelines including but not limited to, helping you determine what is considered moderate or vigorous activity for you, how to perform the strength training safely and effectively, and making physical activity and exercise engaging so you can make long lasting change for the betterment of your health and well-being!

What Are The Exercise Guidelines?