Health and Physical Activity
Physical activity is vital to a healthy lifestyle. It helps us to keep our spirits high, our bodies in shape, and our health on the right track.
On this page, you’ll find resources for recreational activities, as well as ideas for everyday fitness at home and at work. If you’re looking to take up a new sport, see our list of seasonal suggestions like cycling, sailing, rowing, curling, and more. If you’re looking for something more casual or just getting started, see the links for walking clubs, swimming pools, fitness centres, and special events in the city.
If you have children or if you’re a senior, check out the activity suggestions below on the Health Canada site. And if you run your own business or want to find out how fitness can be incorporated in the workplace, see the links to “Stairway to Health” and “Active Living at Work.”
Getting started
Finding the motivation to stay physically active can be a challenge. Start by choosing an activity you like to do. Take it easy at the beginning and give yourself time to build stamina and confidence. Dedicate a regular time to exercise and gradually work toward a weekly routine. Even 30 minutes a day can bring great results. The following ideas from the Mayo Clinic can help you get started:
- “MayoClinic.com Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity”
- “MayoClinic.com Aerobic Exercise: What 30 minutes a day can do”
Easy everyday activities for getting fit
- Walk every day.
- Walk instead of taking a taxi, bus or the subway.
- Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator.
- Clean your house. Changing beds, dusting, washing floors, and cleaning bathrooms is great exercise.
- Work in your garden.
- Exercise with a partner or friend.
- Have a regular routine (exercise the same time each day).
- Practice the routes you’ve learned from your Orientation and Mobility instructor.
- Dance at home to music.
- Spend less time in front of the television or computer.
- Switch the TV to an exercise program and join in.
- Play actively with your children.
- Walk the halls in your apartment building.
- Learn simple routes in your neighbourhood and travel them a couple times each day.
- Declutter. A simple clean-up of stuff will get you moving and refreshed.
- Practice honing your travel skills. Travel in a known area—practice identifying landmarks and listening for walls and obstacles.
Seasonal sports and recreation activities
Year-round
- Walking — The Safari Walking Group organizes walks for people who are blind or vision impaired. For contact information, see Recreational Resources—Physical Activities on our site. In the winter months, mall-walking is also a good option.
- Swimming — for pool locations and hours see: Toronto Parks and Recreation or Variety Village
- Fitness clubs — for information and locations see: Toronto Parks and Recreation or Variety Village
- Bowling
Spring and summer
- Sailing — Blind Sailing Canada
- Tandem cycling — Trailblazers Tandem Cycling Club
- Rowing — Argonaut Rowing Club
Fall and winter
- Skiing (downhill and cross-country) — Toronto Ski Hawks
- Curling
- Hockey — Ice Owls
- Skating
- Snow-shoeing
For a calendar of seasonal events in the city and throughout the country, and for more ideas on having fun while getting fit, see GetActive.
Active living for older adults
The Public Health Agency of Canada provides easy-to-use Physical Activity Guides. The Guide for Older Adults shows how walking, stretching, and keeping your muscles in good condition can help you maintain your independence and slow the effects of aging. It gives specific activities for building endurance, flexibility, strength, and balance. It also includes examples of how older adults gained a new perspective on life by overcoming their fears about exercising.
Fitness at work
Companies are increasingly recognizing the benefits of active living at work in terms of reducing on-the-job stress and increasing employee productivity. "Business Case for Active Living at Work" provides a guide for helping companies to make fitness programs and physical activity a daily part of the workplace.
"Stairway to Health" is easy to introduce in any workplace, large or small. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator brings more fitness benefits than we might think. See how to organize a Stairway to Health program in your own workplace—complete with fact sheets, resources, posters, guides, challenges, registration, and more.