The US Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that all adults, even those with chronic medical conditions, should engage in at least 150 minutes to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise, if they are able. New data are emerging that exercise may reduce the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, a major cause of death in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As health care providers, we need to consider what can we recommend to our patients to stay physically active during this time of social distancing and how to maintain fitness regimens that began during the stay-at-home period. Physical activity intensity is expressed as metabolic equivalent of task. While a person can accumulate metabolic equivalent of task through tasks of daily living and that can help meet the recommended amount of physical activity per week, the focus of this editorial is on leisure time physical activity. We are offering recommendations on how to broaden the ability to reach physical activity standards and that might offer an antidote to the tedium and help mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also hope, for those who are new to leisure time physical activity, new habits will be formed that can be implemented once shelter in place orders are lifted.
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