Making movement part of your week

Put movement into the calendar you already use

A weekly plan works better when it accounts for travel, caring, work and recovery. Look for a few realistic opportunities rather than filling every blank space. If your schedule varies, identify a choice of times rather than relying on one slot that regularly disappears. The aim is to make an appropriate activity easier to repeat, with enough flexibility for an ordinary disrupted week.

Include different kinds of activity

Adult NHS guidance includes aerobic activity and muscle strengthening, and encourages breaking up long periods of sitting. For people aged 65 and over, the guidance also highlights balance and flexibility alongside strength. What those activities look like depends on your capacity and circumstances. General weekly targets do not replace an adapted plan when a health condition changes what is suitable.

Sources: NHS: Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64; NHS: Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 65 and over

Match each opportunity to a realistic version

Fill this planning format with activities that are appropriate for you.

• A dependable slot: choose a familiar activity and include travel or setup time.
• A supported slot: reserve time for a class, instruction or an activity with someone else if that helps.
• An everyday opportunity: identify a comfortable way to interrupt a long period of sitting.
• A disrupted-day option: decide what you can reasonably reschedule, shorten or leave until another day.

Remove a practical obstacle in advance

If getting started involves finding clothes, checking a timetable and arranging transport, solve one of those tasks beforehand. Keep the relevant information in one place. If an activity requires a paid membership, first check whether the times you would actually use are available. Choose a format you can maintain financially as well as physically. An attractive timetable has little value if it conflicts with the rest of your life.

Review the whole cost of a session

The time on the activity is only part of the commitment. Notice preparation, travel, changing and how you feel afterwards. A session that consumes the rest of the day may need adapting even if the activity itself is enjoyable. If you have a prescribed rehabilitation or activity plan, keep changes within that advice and use the review to raise specific questions with the person supporting you.

Leave room for a week that changes

If a session is missed, choose the next reasonable opportunity rather than automatically doubling the next one. Avoid using the plan to override new pain, illness or a substantial change in your capacity. NHS advice is to make activity and intensity appropriate to your fitness and seek guidance when there are health concerns. Your calendar should help you organise suitable movement, not overrule that judgement.

Source: NHS: Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64

Keep the record short enough to use

At the end of the week, note what happened, what helped and what made a planned activity difficult. Distinguish "I did not enjoy this" from "the timing was wrong" because the next change will be different. Keep a workable activity, change one obstacle and choose the next opportunity. A useful routine remains adjustable as your circumstances change.