Canada's national movement guidance for adults aged 65 and older is published by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) as part of the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. They are refreshingly practical and worth knowing, because they set a clear, evidence-based bar.
What the guidelines recommend
- —At least 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity, accumulated in any combination of sessions — there is no minimum session length.
- —Muscle-strengthening activities using major muscle groups at least twice per week.
- —Physical activities that challenge balance, to help prevent falls.
- —Several hours of light activity, including standing, spread through the day — and limiting prolonged sitting.
One detail is worth knowing because it changed. Earlier Canadian guidelines required aerobic activity to be accumulated in bouts of 10 minutes or more, and a lot of published advice still repeats that rule. The 2020 24-Hour Movement Guidelines removed it, because accelerometer studies showed a dose-response relationship in which activity promotes health in any amount of time. Statistics Canada later found that dropping the bout requirement more than doubled the proportion of Canadian adults counted as meeting the aerobic recommendation. In practice, the ten minutes you spend walking to the shop counts, and so does two minutes of stairs.
The gap between guidance and reality
The muscle-strengthening recommendation is the one most older adults miss. Aerobic activity like walking is familiar and accessible; structured strength work is not. Many people are unsure what to do, worry about injury, lack equipment or gym access, or have simply never been shown how. The result is a large population that knows it "should exercise" but has no safe, guided path into the specific kind of training that counteracts muscle loss.
Closing that gap — turning national guidance into a practice real people can follow — is the reason Jasclair Wellness Institute exists. Our cohort programs are designed to meet the muscle-strengthening and balance recommendations with coaching, structure, and peer support, at no cost to participants.
References
- Ross R, Chaput J-P, Giangregorio LM, et al. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 18–64 years and Adults aged 65 years or older: an integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2020;45(10 Suppl. 2):S57–S102.
- Statistics Canada. The influence of removing the 10-minute bout requirement on the demographic, behaviour and health profiles of Canadian adults who meet the physical activity recommendations. Health Reports, 2022. Catalogue no. 82-003-X202200800001.
- Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP). 24-Hour Movement Guidelines: Adults 65 years or older. csepguidelines.ca
Last updated September 7, 2026.