Planner

Weekly activity planner

Public health bodies publish a simple weekly target for adults. This planner takes the minutes you enter for a typical week and shows how they compare with that target, and how much is left if you fall short. It does not judge your fitness, set a training program or say what is safe for you. It is arithmetic against a published number.

Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. The numbers stay in your browser while the page is open.

The rule it uses

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination of the two, plus muscle-strengthening activity on at least 2 days a week. It also says 75 minutes of vigorous activity equals 150 minutes of moderate activity, and that you do not have to do it all at once; for example 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

In words, the planner counts each vigorous minute as two moderate minutes: moderate minutes + 2 x vigorous minutes = moderate-equivalent minutes. It compares that total with 150, shows what remains in moderate minutes or in vigorous minutes, and checks your strength days against 2. Entries are rounded to whole minutes, negative or invalid entries count as zero, and very large entries are capped.

Limits

• The same effort feels different from person to person, so the labels in the form are rough guides. The talk test is a common way to tell moderate from vigorous.
• Meeting the target does not mean you are healthy, and missing it does not mean you are unhealthy. It is a published starting point, and the CDC notes that going beyond it gives more benefit.
• It says nothing about what kind of exercise is right for an injury, a heart condition or an older body. That is a question for a clinician or qualified physical therapist.
• If your week varies a lot, enter an ordinary week, not your best one.

Using the result

If you are short, add time in small pieces: a ten-minute walk after meals, one longer weekend session, strength work on two fixed days. Build up gradually rather than jumping straight to the target. Our guide to fitness basics for men over 30 covers the wider picture, and nutrition habits that help energy covers the food side. If you plan to bring the result to an appointment, add it to the questions checklist.

Where this comes from

The 150-minute, 75-minute, equivalence and two-day figures come from the CDC's adult physical activity guidelines page, which was read when this tool was built and which reflects the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines can be revised, so check the current wording at the CDC. The calculation is simple addition written for this page and is not a clinical instrument.