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Activity and Exercise: Are You Getting Enough?

Most of us know that exercise is good for us. The harder question is: are we actually doing enough?

For many Australians, the answer appears to be no.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data has consistently shown that a large proportion of adults and children fall short of recommended physical activity levels. In the 2022 National Health Survey, fewer than one in four Australians aged 15 years and over met the physical activity guidelines used at the time.

For children, the picture is similar. More recent Australian data found only around 18% of children and young people aged 5–17 met the physical activity recommendation.

But exercise guidelines are not about turning everybody into an athlete. They are really about creating enough regular movement, strength and physical challenge to support our health across the lifespan.

Exercise and Physical Activity Are Not Quite the Same Thing

Exercise usually refers to structured physical activity performed with a particular goal, such as going for a run, lifting weights, swimming laps or completing an exercise program.

Physical activity is broader.

It can include:

  • Walking to the shops.
  • Playing with the kids.
  • Gardening.
  • Taking the stairs.
  • Cycling to work.
  • Cleaning the house.
  • Playing sport.
  • Going to the gym.

Both matter.

You can complete a 45-minute gym session and still spend most of the remaining day sitting. Equally, someone who rarely completes formal exercise may accumulate a surprising amount of movement through work, transport and everyday life.

The bigger picture is about how much you move across the whole day and week.

Why Does Regular Exercise Matter?

Regular physical activity provides benefits across almost every stage of life.

It can contribute to:

  • Improved cardiovascular fitness.
  • Better muscle strength and physical capacity.
  • Maintaining bone health.
  • Improved balance and coordination.
  • Better metabolic health.
  • Maintaining independence as we age.
  • Improved mental health and wellbeing.
  • Better ability to participate in work, recreation and sport.
  • Reduced risk of a range of chronic diseases.

Exercise can also form an important part of managing many existing health conditions.

Our Exercise Physiology service uses individualised exercise prescription to help people improve physical capacity while taking into account injury, medical conditions, current fitness and personal goals.

So, How Much Physical Activity Should You Be Doing?

Australia's movement guidelines were updated in 2026 and now look at the whole 24-hour day rather than exercise in isolation.

That means considering not only moderate and vigorous exercise, but also strength training, light activity, balance and coordination, sedentary time and sleep.

Children and Young People: 5–17 Years

Children and young people should aim for at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day.

This does not need to happen in one continuous hour. Activity can be accumulated throughout the day.

At least three days each week should include vigorous activity and activities that strengthen muscles and bones.

That might include:

  • Running.
  • Football or netball.
  • Swimming.
  • Bike riding.
  • Climbing.
  • Jumping and playground activity.
  • Dancing.
  • Age-appropriate resistance exercise.

Children should also accumulate several hours of lighter physical activity throughout the day and avoid spending unnecessarily long periods sitting.

Adults: 18–64 Years

The current Australian recommendations encourage adults to be active on most days, preferably every day.

A healthy week should include:

  • 30 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on most days.
  • Muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days each week.
  • Activities targeting mobility, balance and coordination on at least three days each week.
  • Several hours of light-intensity physical activity across each day.
  • Breaking up long periods of sitting where possible.

Moderate exercise is activity that noticeably increases your breathing and heart rate but still allows you to speak in sentences. Brisk walking, cycling and steady swimming are common examples.

Vigorous activity requires substantially more effort and might include running, harder cycling, faster swimming, high-intensity exercise or competitive sport.

Older Adults: 65 Years and Over

Remaining physically active becomes increasingly important as we age.

Current recommendations for older adults include:

  • 30 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on most days.
  • Muscle-strengthening exercise on at least two days per week.
  • Mobility, balance and coordination activities on at least three days per week.
  • Several hours of lighter physical activity each day.
  • Reducing and regularly breaking up prolonged sitting.

Strength and balance become particularly valuable for maintaining physical function, confidence and independence.

The exact exercise prescription should still be appropriate for the individual. Someone who has exercised throughout their life may tolerate very different training from someone beginning exercise in their seventies.

Strength Training Matters Too

One of the most commonly missed parts of physical activity recommendations is resistance training.

Walking is excellent physical activity, but walking alone may not provide enough stimulus to maximise or maintain strength.

Strength training can involve:

  • Free weights.
  • Weight machines.
  • Resistance bands.
  • Body-weight exercises.
  • Loaded household or occupational activities.

The aim is to challenge the muscles enough that they need to adapt.

This becomes particularly important as we get older because maintaining muscle strength supports everyday tasks such as getting out of a chair, climbing stairs, carrying groceries and recovering from a loss of balance.

What If You Sit at a Desk All Day?

Exercise does not completely erase the fact that many of us spend a large part of the day sitting.

Australian data from 2022 found that almost half of employed adults aged 18–64 described their typical workday as mostly sitting.

That does not mean sitting itself is inherently dangerous or that you need to stand at your desk all day.

A more practical approach is to create opportunities for movement across the day.

That could mean:

  • Walking during a phone call.
  • Getting up between meetings.
  • Taking the stairs occasionally.
  • Walking somewhere rather than automatically driving.
  • Going outside at lunchtime.
  • Changing position regularly.

Small amounts of movement accumulated repeatedly can make a meaningful difference to how active your day becomes.

Does Exercise Have to Be Hard to Count?

No.

Different intensities of activity provide different benefits.

Light physical activity still gets you moving and reduces the amount of the day spent sedentary.

Moderate-to-vigorous exercise provides a greater cardiovascular stimulus, while resistance exercise provides a stronger stimulus for muscle strength.

A well-rounded week will often contain a mixture of all three rather than relying on one type of activity.

If you are currently doing very little, starting with something achievable is usually more useful than designing an ambitious program that lasts for two weeks.

What If Pain Is Stopping You From Exercising?

This is a common problem.

Knee pain might make walking uncomfortable. Back pain may make the gym feel intimidating. Someone recovering from surgery may be unsure how much exercise is appropriate. Another person may have a medical condition that makes generic fitness advice less useful.

In these situations, the answer is not always to simply stop exercising.

Exercise can often be adapted by changing:

  • The type of activity.
  • The amount of load.
  • Exercise intensity.
  • Duration.
  • Frequency.
  • Range of movement.
  • Recovery between sessions.

The goal is to find an amount of activity your body can currently manage and gradually build from there.

Where Does Exercise Physiology Fit In?

Knowing that you should exercise and knowing what exercise is appropriate for you are two different things.

Exercise physiology can be particularly useful when exercise needs to take into account:

  • Chronic health conditions.
  • Persistent pain.
  • Osteoarthritis.
  • Reduced fitness or strength.
  • Recovery after injury.
  • Return to exercise after a long period of inactivity.
  • Multiple medical or physical considerations.
  • A need for supervised exercise progression.

At RHP Physiotherapy, our Exercise Physiology service in Brisbane focuses on building a program around your current ability, health and goals rather than simply handing everyone the same exercise plan.

What If You Are Doing Nothing at the Moment?

Don't let the guidelines put you off.

You do not need to go from no exercise to six days per week overnight.

If you currently do very little physical activity, doing some is better than doing none.

That might mean starting with a 10 or 15-minute walk, doing a short strength session twice per week or getting up and moving more frequently during the working day.

Once that becomes manageable, you can gradually build.

Consistency usually matters more than trying to create the perfect program from day one.

So, Are You Getting Enough?

For most of us, there is probably room to move a little more.

The goal is not necessarily to train harder. It may simply be to create a better balance between:

  • Everyday movement.
  • Cardiovascular exercise.
  • Strength training.
  • Balance and mobility.
  • Less prolonged sitting.
  • Enough recovery and sleep.

Your ideal exercise program will also depend on your age, health, previous injuries, current fitness and what you actually enjoy doing.

If you are unsure where to start, have a health condition that makes exercise more complicated, or want a structured program to improve your physical capacity, our Exercise Physiology team can help.

References and Further Reading
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