Physical Activity Suggestions

Encourage regular physical activity through programs and promotion of activities and opportunities by completing one or more of the following:

Adopt a policy requiring zoning and land use requirements to mandate sidewalks, trails, safe pedestrian and bicycle access to schools, shopping, parks, and recreation areas.
Increase the availability of free, sliding scale, or publicly funded physical activity opportunities.
Increase the co-use of existing non-recreational and limited recreational facilities for community use.
Provide encouragement to be physically active through community, church, worksite or school-sponsored publicity (newsletters, bulletin boards, websites) about opportunities in the community for physical activity (i.e. walking/biking maps, signage for trails, flyers, information about Parks and Recreation programs, or implementing America on the Move or other community-wide physical activity programs).
Adopt a policy to increase bicycling by providing bike parking or storage in public spaces, and/or providing bike carriers and access on buses and public transportation.
Adopt a policy to build sidewalks that comply with pedestrian safety standards and universal design concepts.
Adopt a policy that requires the inclusion of trail systems, walking paths, and sidewalks in new and/or existing neighborhoods to increase connectivity to the surrounding community assets.
Adopt a policy stipulating that when roads are built or repaired, designated bike lanes are included.
Establish a community (school, faith group, worksite) advisory group or coalition working to increase and improve active living and healthy nutrition.
If you are a worksite, adopt and implement a written policy statement supporting employee physical activity such as discounts to a local fitness facility(s) or partially or fully subsidizing exercise facility memberships.
If you are a worksite, permit employees to adopt a flexible schedule to allow for physical activity.
Adopt a policy encouraging regular breaks for physical activity during meetings and conferences.
Implement a stairwell program to encourage taking the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator.
If you are a faith-based organization, offer physical activity classes such as aerobics and resistance training to congregational members and host various educational classes on the benefits of physical activity and fighting serious illnesses (arthritis, heart disease, cancer, diabetes) to include programs such as Healthy and Whole, My Body, My Temple, and Soulfully Fit (contact your local health department’s health promotion staff for help implementing your programs).
If you are a faith-based organization, sponsor physical activity clubs and leagues for all congregational and community members and offer physical activity at faith-based functions (walking club, bike club, yoga club) and/or acquire physical activity equipment (basketball goals, resistance training machines, steppers, etc.).
If you are a faith-based organization, utilize your facility as a safe place for your congregation and community residents to be physically active.
If you are a school, provide teachers and staff the training and educational resources to appropriately promote physical activity in the classroom setting and integrate it into the core subjects, in addition to physical education experiences (i.e. simple machines in 3rd grade science standards).
If you are a school, encourage your students to design and implement an individualized physical activity/fitness plan.
If you are a school, provide students the opportunity to develop the skills needed for competitive and non-competitive physical activities, including proper eating and hydration as enhancement for those skills.
If you are a school, start physical activity clubs for students and faculty (walking club, bike club, yoga club).
If you are a school, implement a policy for your school to provides 75 or more minutes of physical activity per week for kindergarten through grade eight and the equivalent of 3 units of high school credit in grades nine through twelve.
If you are an elementary or a pre-school, provide daily recess periods for students.
If you are a school, collaborate with other recreation agencies and community organizations to identify physical activity opportunities for students and families during after-school hours, weekends and holidays.
If you are a school, open physical activity and exercise facilities for family and community members to use during non-school hours.

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Physical Activity Suggestions