Homepage \ Functioning \ Walking programme

Walking programme

Any activity you like doing is fine. It might be gentle gardening or housework, or going for a walk or to a group class. As long as it involves moving, it’s good.

Some people find it helpful to use an ‘aid’ when they’re walking. Breathing may be more efficient when we’re pushing something, like a four-wheeled frame (which often has a handy seat to rest). People often feel less breathless when pushing a supermarket trolley. Walking in the supermarket can therefore be a great way to build up your walking distance.

Tracking your steps

Counting your steps and gradually building them up may help increase your fitness. Start off by working out how many steps you do at the moment, your baseline. So, for the first week, try not to do anything differently. Just note down the number of steps you do each day and then total them up at the end of the week. Some people find they’re doing much fewer steps than they had thought. This really doesn’t matter.

Each week try to increase your weekly step count by a small amount (a 5-10% increase). It’s best not to increase by more than this each week. But if you do, don’t worry, just increase a bit more slowly after that.

If you continue increasing a small amount week on week, you will find that over a couple of months your activity levels may have doubled. To work out how far you’ve walked, remember that 2,000 steps means walking close to a kilometer for most people.

Other strategies

Click to find out about useful strategies for breaking the Functioning cycle.

Finding your activity

Managing energy

Setting goals

This website describes some practical ways to help you manage day-to-day long-term breathlessness. It has useful information for people with lung conditions, their carers, and the health professionals supporting them.

If your breathing is getting rapidly worse or you have new symptoms, it is important to seek prompt medical review or call 000. This website is not designed for people who have a new undiagnosed breathing problem or a sudden deterioration. It is not a substitute for medical assessment.