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Tennis and fitness
Fitness and exercise
Cycling for beginners
Whether you're cycling to work, for exercise, or just for fun, the humble bicycle is an easy way to get more active. Here’s how to get started.
Healthy and active children
Physical activity, healthy eating and a proper rest are key aspects of children’s health. This page provides information and links to resources.
Health benefits of swimming
Swimming is a great low-impact activity you can do at any age. These tips will help you get started.
Tips for getting active
You don’t have to exercise to the point of collapse to get health benefits. This article shows you how simple it can be to get active.
Physical activity for seniors
If you are over 65, you should try to be active every day. Here are tips on how to stay fit and information about how much physical activity you need.
Running tips
Running can be a fun way to exercise. It can help keep you in shape and lose weight too. This article shows you how.
A guide to yoga
Learn how to get started with yoga, from finding a class to how it will benefit your health.
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Top results
Make Healthy Normal - Tips for overcoming barriers to physical activity
Research has shown that the more physical activity you do, the better! If you aren't sure where to start or regularly come up against barriers, here are some helpful strategies to consider
Read more on Make Healthy Normal website
Physical activity and exercise for children
Here is trusted advice about how much daily exercise your child needs for good health and fitness and how you can encourage your child to be more active.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Pain and Physical Activity
What’s the link between physical activity and chronic pain?
Read more on ACI Pain Management Network website
Kids' Health - Topics - Fitness - for kids
How do you know if you are fit?If you've ever asked yourself these questions, then read on and you will find some answers
Read more on Women's and Children's Health Network website
Fitness and Exercise | myVMC
Fitness: Being active and exercising is very important for health. Physical exercise can be as easy as finding a total of 30 minutes of activity a day.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Keeping fit during pregnancy
During pregnancy your body goes through many changes to accommodate for the baby growing inside you. It is important to maintain your fitness and also to be aware of what you can and can't do.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
How far is too far - for fitness professionals
Sports and fitness professionals are in an ideal position to notice when exercise develops into an obsession
Read more on Eating Disorders Victoria website
For fitness professionals Pelvic Floor First
As a fitness professional you are ideally placed to identify people with, or at risk of, pelvic floor problems, and support them with a pelvic floor safe program.
Read more on Continence Foundation of Australia website
Pain & Physical Activity | myVMC
Pain is a feeling that arises from injured or damaged body tissues. Special nerve endings convert the injury into pain sensations. These sensations are then transmitted up nerves along the spinal cord.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Exercise stress test (fitness test) information | myVMC
A stress test is a physical fitness test that measures the lung, blood vessel and heart response to exercise, which places stress on the heart.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Top results
School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 | Cochrane
School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Physical activity and enhanced fitness to improve cognitive function in older people without known cognitive impairment | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Interventions for promoting physical activity | Cochrane
Not taking enough physical activity leads to an increased risk of a number of chronic diseases including coronary heart disease. Regular physical activity can reduce this risk and also provide other physical and possibly mental health benefits. The majority of adults are not active at recommended levels. The findings of this review indicate that professional advice and guidance with continued support can encourage people to be more physically active in the short to mid-term. More research is needed to establish which methods of exercise promotion work best in the long-term to encourage specific groups of people to be more physically active.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Aerobic exercise for women during pregnancy | Cochrane
Regular aerobic exercise during pregnancy appears to improve physical fitness, but the evidence is insufficient to infer important risks or benefits for the mother or baby.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Aquatic exercise training for fibromyalgia | Cochrane
We reviewed studies on the effects of aquatic exercise training for people with fibromyalgia on wellness, symptoms, fitness, and adverse effects.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Resistance training (such as weight-lifting) for fibromyalgia | Cochrane
What are the effects of resistance exercise training for people with fibromyalgia on wellness, symptoms, fitness, and adverse effects?
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Aerobic exercise to improve cognitive function in older people without known cognitive impairment | Cochrane
Aerobic exercise is beneficial for healthy ageing. It has been suggested that the increased fitness brought about by aerobic exercise may help to maintain good cognitive function in older age. We looked for randomised controlled trials of aerobic exercise programmes for people over the age of 55 years, without pre-existing cognitive problems, which measured effects on both fitness and cognition. The aerobic exercise programmes could be compared with no intervention (e.g. being on a waiting list for the exercise group) or with other kinds of activity (including non-aerobic exercises such as strength or balance exercises, or social activities).
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Exercise training for adults with chronic kidney disease | Cochrane
Exercise regimens are based on the frequency, intensity and duration of exercise training as well as the type of activity and the individual's initial level of physical fitness. All these factors have to be taken into account when aiming to achieve the goal with the regular exercise training and or rehabilitation.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Aerobic exercise training programmes for adults with Down syndrome | Cochrane
Many people with Down syndrome have poor strength, poor muscle mass, and high body fat percentage and so are disposed to cardiovascular health problems. Although physical fitness has been suggested to improve physical and psychosocial health for a variety of healthy patient populations, information about the safety and effectiveness of aerobic exercise for adults with Down syndrome is lacking. This review identified only three small randomized trials. The results showed that only aspects of work performance (for example, maximal test time, maximal distance at the end of the exercise test) were improved after aerobic exercise training programs. Further well-designed research on larger population samples is required to evaluate potential benefits for psychosocial aspects in adults with Down syndrome.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Strength training or comprehensive aerobic exercise training for muscle disease | Cochrane
Strength training, which is performed to improve muscle strength and muscle endurance, or aerobic exercise programmes, which are designed to improve cardiorespiratory endurance, might optimise physical fitness and prevent additional muscle wasting in people with muscle disease. However, people with muscle disease and some clinicians are still afraid of overuse and have a cautious approach to training. This updated review (most recent date of search 2 July 2012) included two eligible trials of strength training in people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) and myotonic dystrophy (101 participants), two trials of strength training combined with aerobic exercise in people with mitochondrial myopathy (18 participants) and myotonic dystrophy type I (35 participants) and one trial of aerobic exercise in people with polymyositis and dermatomyositis (14 participants). These trials showed that moderate-intensity strength training in people with myotonic dystrophy or with FSHD, and aerobic exercise training in people with dermatomyositis or polymyositis appear not to harm muscles. Strength training combined with aerobic exercise appears to be safe in myotonic dystrophy type I and may be effective in increasing endurance in people with mitochondrial myopathy. Evidence suggests that strength training is not harmful in people in FSHD, myotonic dystrophy, mitochondrial disorders and dermatomyositis and polymyositis, but further research is needed to determine potential benefit.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
