Whether you’re in the process of quitting tobacco or have already quit, making physical activity a daily habit can help you fight cravings, avoid relapse, and feel better all over.

Get Active, Feel Great

Why exercise works:

• Exercise affects the brain in positive ways — boosting mood, improving concentration, promoting learning, and relieving stress. Less stress means you are less likely to return to smoking.
• Even walking briskly for 5-10 minutes has been shown to decrease nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
• Being physically active may help prevent weight gain during and after your quit program.
• Regular bicycling, swimming, lifting weights and similar activities are healthy alternatives to tobacco use — and you can’t do these activities when you’re smoking.
• Joining a group fitness class or working with a personal trainer is a fun way to get active. Professional instruction and support from your classmates or workout buddies will help keep you on track.
• Getting involved with recreational sports offers companionship, social support, and fun — and helps keep your mind off tobacco. Quitting tobacco will enhance your sports performance.
• Studies show that physical activity as a part of a tobacco quit plan predicts long-term abstinence, possibly due to improvements in mood and self-efficacy.

Getting Started with Exercise

Note: Talk with your health care provider before starting an exercise program or increasing the intensity of your current program, especially if you have a long-term health condition like heart disease, emphysema, diabetes, or asthma.

Research is mixed on whether tobacco users should start exercising before, during, or after quitting. So think about exercises you enjoy that can also help you quit tobacco.

• Start an exercise program before your quit date: This way you can adjust to one new behavior at a time. You can become comfortable with your new exercise routine, and then adjust to your life as a non-smoker.
• You can start exercising while actively quitting smoking. This way you can use exercise as a way to conquer nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
• Become more active after you quit. People who become more active after quitting tobacco may be more confident about staying active in the long run.
• Use a pedometer to track your daily steps and gradually increase to 10,000 steps a day for good health.
• Gradually work up to 180 minutes a week of cardiovascular activity. That works out to about 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week.
• Perform strength-training exercises twice a week.
• Select an activity that you enjoy. Consider walking, bicycling, hiking, jogging, or water exercise. If sports hold more interest for you, try tennis, basketball, or racquetball.

Maintaining an Active, Healthy Lifestyle

Developing and sticking to an exercise routine is important but so is simply becoming more physically active in your daily life. Use these 10 tips and strategies to make moving more and sitting less a normal part of your daily routine: