Top Exercise Tips

1. Get started – 30 minutes of moderate activity every day will help you stay stronger and more mobile. (Remember to read the safety message on the DVD before starting). Start off slowly and gradually build up rather than trying to do too much too soon.

2. Always do the warm up to prepare your joints, muscles and mind for exercise. And also remember the cool down as the tensing and relaxing allows your muscles to return to normal and aids recovery.

3. Listen to your body; when you start using muscles that you haven't used for ages you may well feel a little fatigued or stiff at first, so take it steadily and remember not to do anything that causes you sharp pain.

4. Don't just think about your arms and legs, incorporate exercises that move your whole body including fingers, hands and feet. The tailored exercises of Move it or Lose it! can help with your functional health; the 'brushing hair' movements and dexterity exercises have been designed to help you with your everyday activities such as writing, housework or washing and dressing – staying mobile means staying independent.

5. Exercising can help improve our emotional wellbeing too – why not try to get a friend or two to follow the DVD with you? Research shows that people who work out with a buddy are more likely to keep exercising and the whole point of Move it or Lose it is to make exercise fun!

6. Keeping an active mind is vital as we age and learning a new skill is really stimulating for the brain. The Move it or Lose it routine combines following the rhythm of the music with exercises that challenge your coordination – it's like dancing sitting down!

7. Being inactive for long periods causes the muscles to lose their strength but resistance training has been proved to be very effective in redressing this balance – even when done sitting down. Any weight bearing activities help with strength such as walking up stairs or carrying shopping so try to incorporate these activities into everyday life.

8. One of the most important exercises we can do is the 'sit to stand'. Gradually, as you build up leg strength this will become easier. Try to increase the number of repetitions or try to sit back down as slowly as you can if you want to progress.

9. Remember it's just as important to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles as any other muscles! Once you've mastered the technique you can do them sitting or standing, about ten repetitions at least once a day to improve confidence and continence.

10. When you have improved and feel strong and confident enough, you may feel ready to progress to exercise standing up. Move it or Lose it! Routine 2 offers the opportunity to sit or stand to exercise. Weight-bearing exercises can help prevent or slow the progress of osteoporosis but as always, check with your GP if you have any medical conditions before starting a new exercise programme.