Adding regular physical activity into your routine is one of the best things you can do for your overall health and wellness. It improves brain health, strengthens muscles, reduces the risk of depression and anxiety, to name a few. It also doesn’t have to be overly strenuous, just enough to get your heart rate up and your body moving.
You should also get creative with your workout, because changing up your weekly exercise can bring a refreshing energy to your everyday groove. So, whether you’re in the midst of summer or winter, there are plenty of exercise possibilities to help you meet your weekly Active Zone Minutes (AZM) goals.
AZMs measure your physical activity by automatically calculating “Active Zones” personalized to you, based on your resting heart rate and age. These Active Zones are targets for your heart rate during exercise, which help you reach the American Heart Association and World Health Organization’s recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week.
If this target feels daunting, no fear! There are plenty of ways to reach this goal. Plus, AZMs are different for everyone, so keep reading to learn activities you can try to get your AZM count up.
Outdoor
- Go on a park run (bonus points if it’s a new one you haven’t tried!).
- Sculpt your legs and glutes with a trampoline workout.
- Go on a brisk walk and try to increase your stride time while pumping your arms.
- Do an Internet search or look at community groups for some local dance aerobics in a park near you.
- Hit the water with a kayak or rowboat and try a rowing workout. If you don’t have one of your own, see if you can rent from a nearby marina or outdoor sports store.
- Join an outdoor recreation league. Whether it’s tennis, basketball, frisbee, or volleyball, you’re sure to get in AZMs each week.
- Take your HIIT workout outside for a dose of endorphins and vitamin D to help you reset your body and mind.
- Leave the car behind and ride your bike to dinner.
- Ditch the golf cart and walk 18 holes to rack up the AZMs.
- Mow the lawn by putting that power mower into push mode to turn this chore into an AZM workout.
- Hit the track: two warmup tempo laps and ten minutes of stadium stepping will help you step up your AZM game.
- Take the route home that has hills to climb.
- If possible, put your agenda on your phone and turn meetings into outdoor power walking meetings.
- Head out to your favorite park and do a total-body workout circuit—park bench dips, park bench push-ups, burpees, mountain climbers, bicycle crunches, and sumo squats.
With the whole family
- Run while playing catch with your dog—don’t just stand around while your best bud is going to fetch. Move around with them to make a game of catch more fun for both of you, and you’ll be racking up AZMs in no time.
- Walking with a stroller? Turn it into a circuit workout by starting with a warm up walk then moving into stroller squats, lunge walking every other block, standing donkey kicks, and power walking.
- Try a dance-based workout such as zumba, salsa, or hula hoop dancing. (Hint: you can also check out the “Dance Cardio” section in Fitbit Premium.)
- When watching TV with the whole family, do sit-ups and push-ups during commercial breaks. During the show, do lunges and squats and at the end finish up with some jumping jacks and jump squats for cardio.
- Grab your hand weights and head out on an evening neighborhood cardio walk. Remember to work in intervals with different paces throughout.
- Grab your friends and try a new local hike.
- Head to your backyard for some friendly competition! Anything from spike-ball to red rover and wiffle ball can help everyone get their AZM count up.
Indoor
- Try shadow boxing, which can generate as many AZMs as running, without the impact, while working your core and legs.
- A spin workout calls for a fantastic calorie burn.
- Do a jump rope workout, which is a higher intensity full body workout.
- If your hot yoga flow has a cardio element, you can reach those AZMs in no time.
- If you have stairs in your building, take a 10-minute work break to do runs up and down several flights.
- Get a full-body workout with martial arts.
- Standing desks have numerous health benefits, one of which is it allows you to do standing exercises during work hours. Check out this standing desk exercise to get your heart rate up.
- Find a rock-climbing gym nearby and push yourself to new heights with this fun full-body sport.
30. Find a quick 30-minute full body workout such as HIIT, Cardio Dance Party, Core Cardio, and more, on Fitbit Premium to try before you start your work day.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine.
Kelsey Maloney
A New Jersey native, Kelsey Maloney is an Associate Editor at Fitbit currently living out her California dream in San Francisco. After receiving her Bachelor of Art's degree in Journalism, she backpacked for a year to several countries around the world, including to her favorite city – Cape Town, South Africa. She then made the leap to the West Coast to pursue her writing and editing career, formerly at Sunset Magazine. Kelsey is a travel and hot yoga enthusiast with an adoration for live music, the great outdoors, Annie’s mac and cheese, and a Hazy IPA.
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