Aim for 2½ hours of exercise a week. If time is tight, try bursts of activity throughout the day.

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RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—There are 168 hours in a week, and if adults spend just 2½ of them exercising at a moderate aerobic level, they’ll have a better chance of living longer and eluding disease, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced Tuesday. The new guidelines recommend kids and teens spent at least an hour a day exercising at moderate or vigorous levels, in addition to doing muscle- and bone-strengthening exercises three times a week. The physical activity guidelines provide a roadmap for anyone who wants to get fit, with a slew of suggested aerobic and strengthening activities, from gardening to tug-of-war.

THE DETAILS: The government agency calls the guidelines the most comprehensive of their kind. Starting in April 2007, a 13-member advisory committee reviewed published scientific research regarding exercise and health dating back more than 10 years.

They came up with these recommendations:

Adults:
• Moderate-intensity activities for a combined total of 2½ hours a week, 75 minutes of vigorous activities a week, or a combination of both. (Ideas listed below.)
• Double those cumulative times for even greater health benefits.
• Don’t do it all at once. Exercise sessions should be at 10 minutes long.
• People 65 and older should also try to meet adult recommendations. If that’s not an option, try to get some sort of exercise in—inactivity is no good.

Children and Adolescents:
• At least an hour of physical activity every day, most of which should be moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Vigorous activity should be part of the exercise at least three times a week.

• Some sort of muscle- and bone-strengthening activity three times a week.

Pregnant women:
• If you were highly active before becoming pregnant, you should be able to keep up higher-intensity workouts while carrying a child, but check with your doctor.
• New to exercise? Shoot for 2½ hours of moderate-intensity activity each week.

People with disabilities should try to hit workout numbers in the guidelines for their age group. If that’s not possible, be as active as possible.