Need help staying active and exercising? Curious about how all this activity keeps your heart healthy? Or do you wonder if you're wasting your time.

Find out all you need to know in the new Your Guide to Physical Activity and Your Heart, which presents easy-to-understand information on how getting off the couch and exercising affects your heart and overall health.

The 44-page book from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute covers:

•  tips on getting active;

•  programs for walking and jogging;

•  instructions for finding your target heart rate zone;

•  ideas for making fitness a family affair;

•  the best physical activities for a healthy heart;

•  ways to burn extra calories, build stamina and improve balance;

•  methods to strengthen your lungs so you breath better;

•  myths and motivational barriers associated with physical activity.

A 'jump start'

The federal institute developed the guide as a way to help people jump-start and maintain their physical activity programs. And to some folks, the guide may prove just what they need: about 60 percent of American adults don't get the recommended levels of physical activity, although research suggests that regular exercise is essential for maintaining a healthy heart.

"When it comes to getting in shape, what's good for you is good for your whole family," said Karen A. Donato, a registered dietitian and coordinator of the National Institutes of Health's obesity prevention and education programs.

According to Donato, adults should get:

•  at least 30 minutes of moderate activity per day on most days of the week to maintain their health;

•  at least 60 minutes of activity per day on most days of the week to manage body weight and prevent unhealthy weight gain.

Children and adolescents also need to be active for at least 60 minutes per day.

"So pry the kids off the couch and help yourself stay fit as well by doing enjoyable activities together," Donato says.

Tips for getting active in everyday life

If you're struggling with squeezing physical activity into your life, try these tips:

•  Use the stairs - both up and down - instead of the elevator. Start with one flight of stairs and gradually build up to more.

•  Park a few blocks from the office or store and walk the rest of the way. If you take public transportation, get off a stop or two early and walk a few blocks.

•  Take frequent activity breaks at work. Get up and stretch, walk around, and give your muscles and mind a change of pace.

•  Take a brisk stroll around the neighborhood or your office building instead of eating a snack.

•  Do housework, gardening, or yard work at a more vigorous pace.

•  Walk around the train station, bus depot or airport rather than sitting and waiting.

Guides to better health 

The new guide is the latest in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's "Your Guide to Better Health" series of easy-to-read books, which include information about:

•  lowering your blood pressure with the DASH, the federal government's recommended healthy eating plan;

•  improving your heart health;

•  lowering your cholesterol;

•  living well with heart disease;

•  sleeping well.

buy viagra online cheap online viagra buy viagra without prescription