Physical activity

In the UK, far fewer women than men play sport regularly, even though 75% of women say they want to be more active.

Fear of not being good enough or being judged on how they look can hold many women back. The ‘This Girl Can’ campaign is aimed at changing this logic and empowering more women to get into sport. You can find out more about the campaign on the This Girl Can website.

It does not matter what your abilities are or how you look, there is a sport out there for everyone and the benefits it could bring to your physical and mental health could be significant!

Recommendations for activity for women

• You should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more. This could be 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.
• Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.
• You should also try to undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week and minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

Moderate intensity aerobic exercise is where you're working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break into a sweat but still able to hold a conversation.

Vigorous intensity aerobic exercise is where you're breathing hard and fast, your heart rate has increased significantly, and you are unable to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.

According to the Health Survey for England, only around half of women report doing the recommended amount of physical activity and around a quarter of women are classed as inactive.

Make a start today. Start small and build up gradually, doing something is better than doing nothing!

For more information see our pages on keeping active.

Information reviewed July 2018