Problem: Article: Walking is a good beginner's activity if you're just starting to get back into shape. Try walking at a lighter pace for about 5 minutes to increase your heart rate. Quicken your pace, try to walk briskly for 20 minutes, then cool down by walking for another 5 minutes at a light pace.  Try to slowly increase your pace and distance with each session. Aim to walk for at least 20 or 30 minutes a day for 1 or 2 weeks, then start adding other activities to your routine. You could also add light to moderate weights to gradually increase intensity. While you walk, wear a backpack with weights, a weighted walk vest, or ankle and wrist weights, or hold a dumbbell in each hand. It's okay if you can't walk briskly for 20 or 30 minutes without stopping. If necessary, keep your pace light and walk for 10 minutes or so at a time. Once you've started to get your body used to being active, try doing more varied, challenging activities. Jogging, riding your bike, using a treadmill or stationary bike, and swimming laps are all good forms of aerobic exercise and can add variety to your exercise plan. For any activity, remember to go easy at first and gradually increase your intensity.  For instance, try cycling at about 10 mph (16 kph) for 5 minutes, increase your speed to 12 mph (19 kph) for 5 minutes, top off at 15 mph (24 kph) for 5 minutes, then cool down at 10 mph (16 kph) for 5 minutes. The next week, increase your speed at each interval by about 2 mph (3 kph) and cycle at faster speeds for 2 to 5 minutes longer. Then continue to increase your speed and time gradually each week. For a basic upper body strength training workout, try doing 12 to 15 push-ups and pull-ups, and 2 to 3 reps of 30-second planks. Lower body exercises include squats, lunges, and hamstring curls. You can also try lifting free weights or using resistance machines at a gym.  For each strength training exercise, just do 1 set of 12 to 15 reps at first, then try doing 2 sets of 8 to 10 reps. Each week, add 1 to 2 reps to each set. If you're lifting, increase your weights by no more than 5% every 1 to 2 weeks. If you're struggling to squeeze exercise into a busy schedule, there are plenty of solutions at your disposal. For instance, you could go for a walk on your lunch break, take the stairs at work or school, do squats while cooking dinner, and park far away from the entrance of the grocery store.  Instead of driving, try to ride a bike or walk whenever possible. If, for instance, work is too far away to ride your bike or walk the whole way, you could also combine walking or cycling with public transportation. If you have kids, trade babysitting duties with another parent. They could watch the kids while you hit the gym, then you could return the favor later in the week. Fitting in the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day is tough if you're always busy. However, keep in mind you can break that up into smaller increments. Exercising for 10 minutes 3 times a day still counts! It's best to do flexibility exercises when your muscles are warm, so stretch after a workout. Breathe while you stretch, use smooth motions instead of bouncing, and stop stretching if it's painful. Try basic stretches, such as:   Calf stretch: Stand with your palms against a wall and step forward with your right foot. Keep your left leg extended, and bend your right knee until you feel a stretch in your left calf. Exhale as you hold the stretch for 30 seconds, and do 3 to 5 reps per leg.   Thigh stretch: Using a chair for support, raise your left foot toward your rear end, and grasp it with your left hand. Gently pull until you feel a stretch in your left thigh, hold it for 30 seconds, then repeat 3 to 5 times per leg.   Upper body stretch: Stand slightly farther than arm's length from a wall. Place your palms against the wall, then walk them upward until your arms are above your head and you feel a stretch your chest. Hold it for 30 seconds, then repeat 3 to 5 times. Getting the recommended minimum 30 minutes of daily exercise is a good initial goal. However, as you get back into shape, aim to push yourself beyond that minimum. Bit by bit, make your workouts longer and more challenging and push yourself to achieve new fitness goals.  For instance, add 5 to 10 minutes to your walks, runs, and cycling sessions each week. Try to eventually get at least 300 minutes of exercise per week, or 45 to 60 minutes per day. Remember to talk to your doctor about increasing your activity level, especially if you have a history of medical issues.
Summary: Walk briskly for 20 to 30 minutes per day. Try activities such as jogging, cycling, swimming, and hiking. Add 1 to 2 days of strength training to your routine. Find ways to make routine tasks more active if your schedule is packed. Build your flexibility with light stretching. Exercise for gradually longer than 30 minutes per day.

Problem: Article: Lay out a flat piece of cardboard to use as the base floor. Choose a piece as long as the maze you want to make. A good size to start with is two feet by two feet. As you perfect your maze-making skills, you can get more adventurous with bigger sized mazes. You can also start building directly on the floor if you prefer. However, this means that you might have more to clean up at the end since your rabbit might go to the bathroom on the floor or make some other kind of mess. A cardboard base will help contain the mess to the toy maze and not let it escape into your home as much. You can create walls for your maze by cutting ten-inch high strips from flat cardboard, the same length and width as the maze floor. Glue the strips around the perimeter to create the structure's walls. Each lane should be wide enough for your rabbit to move around easily – probably at least six inches wide, depending on the size of your rabbit. You can also use some heavy duty tape (like duct tape or packaging tape) as an alternative to glue to keep the walls of the maze in place. Draw a blueprint on the maze floor. You can even include divergent paths and dead ends to challenge your rabbit. However, try not to make it too difficult. You might want to start out with a fairly simple design that only has one dead end, for example, and build up to a more complicated pattern over time. Cut additional ten-inch high cardboard strips and glue them into your maze according to the design you created. Make sure all of the pieces are attached sturdily so your rabbit can run through the maze without knocking them over. To attach the inner walls of the maze to the base, you can use glue or tape. Just make sure the walls stay firmly in place. Do this by cutting ten-inch high cardboard strips to use as barriers that fit tightly in the path at the beginning and the end of the maze. Secure them sturdily to the base to create separate start and finish pens.  Make sure your holding pens are secured tightly and that there are no spaces around the edges for your rabbit to escape. You can secure the walls of the holding pens by creating slits in the cardboard sides that allow the pen door to slide into place. Then you can simply remove the wall by pulling the cardboard door out to let your rabbit out of the pen. Place your rabbit in the start pen and put a few pieces of your rabbit’s favorite foods in the finish pen to entice your bunny to finish the maze. Lift up both pens and watch your rabbit find its way through the maze.
Summary:
Create the base of the maze. Make the walls of the maze. Design the maze. Create the inner walls of the maze. Create holding pens. Let your rabbit explore the maze.