Why now’s the time to get fit and stay fit to improve your physical wellbeing

Let’s get physical! One of the dangers of lockdown is to be lulled into laziness, watching too many box sets, and eating and drinking too much, but there is no excuse to not start exercising to get fit and stay healthy.

Physical wellbeing is more important than ever at the moment. Bouts of 10 or more minutes of physical activity have proven health benefits. Getting 150 minutes or more of moderate activity every week is the amount we need to positively impact on a wide range of health conditions.

Indoors and outdoors, there are a range of activities to boost our health and to suit everyone. Exercising indoors, you can tune into family exercise classes from PE lessons to yoga classes, cycling to ballet.

Exercising outdoors, as an individual or family bubble, can take the form of walking, cycling and playing games. Local authority websites also offer a wealth of information about becoming active for all ages and abilities.

Running is among the most popular forms of exercise as you can start at any time and go at your own pace. The nhs.uk/better-health website has lots of tips to get started, videos illustrating how to stay fit at home as well as access to the free Active 10 walking app and, for the more adventurous, a Couch to 5K running app.

It’s that time of year when we can’t make vitamin D from sunshine. To keep bones and muscles healthy it’s best to take a vitamin D supplement every day between October and early March. You can get vitamin D from most pharmacies, and supermarkets and other retailers. Just 10 micrograms a day is all you need – it’s the same for the whole family.

The flu vaccine is safe and your very best protection from flu and that’s why it is free to those most at risk.

If you smoke, stopping is the single best thing that you can do for your health. Go to nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking to find the best way to quit for your circumstances.

Similarly, men and women are safest not regularly drinking more than 14 units per week – a bottle and a half of wine or five pints of lager.

5 ways to burn 100 calories

Walking: 22 minutes at a moderate pace or 13 minutes uphill. Improves cardio fitness.

Gardening: 19.5 minutes. Therapeutic and rewarding.

Cycling: 13 minutes at a light pace, 7.5 minutes for vigorous cycling. Low impact and builds strength.

Ironing: 34 minutes. Works your core.

Running: 10 minutes jogging; 5 minutes sprinting. Helps to increase your bone density.

Joe Wicks is back with new PE sessions

Fitness expert Joe Wicks became the go-to man during lockdown when he launched free PE tuition on YouTube. He is now back with a new set of sessions as COVID-19 restrictions continue.

These workouts are intended to help keep people active during coming weeks as well as offering a mental health boost. These exercises are possible for people of all abilities and resources.

“I started the Body Coach TV with a goal to offer free home workouts to everyone, no matter what their fitness levels. It’s taken me a long time to grow but it now has more than 250 free workouts and reaches millions of people all over the world,” said Joe, who is the first BBC Children in Need Schools Ambassador. Rather than every weekday, new workout videos will be uploaded weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to The Body Coach TV channel.