Many of us want to know "how much exercise is do I need?" and probably more to the point is, "how little exercise can I get away with doing, to maintain or improve my overall health and fitness?" (well, I'll at least speak for myself!)
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) , who sets the standards for national guidelines on exercise and fitness, they publish a "position stands" with concrete information regarding frequency, intensity and duration of each type of exercise (i.e., cardiorespiratory, strength/resistance, flexibility, endurance, etc). I have summarized their published national guidelines below (note: these have not been updated since 1998; I welcome fitness experts to chime in with newer --published-- information:
Definition of Fitness:
The ability to perform moderate-to-vigorous levels of physical activity without undue fatigue and the capability of maintaining this capacity throughout life.
Aerobic Training
Frequency: 3-5 days/week
Intensity: 55%-90% of max heart rate
Duration: 20-60 minutes of continuous or intermittent exercise (10-minute "bouts", accumulated throughout the day DO COUNT!!)
Bottom line:
Aerobic endurance training fewer than 2 days/week, for less than 10 minutes, is insufficient for maintaining or developing fitness.
Resistance Training
Frequency: 2-3 days/week
One "set" of 8-12 repetitions of each exercise, including 8-10 various forms of exercise for each major muscle group
Flexibility Training
Frequency: 2/3 days/week
Performing both static and dynamic techniques to develop range of motion is ideal
The above information is just quick summary from the two published articles (each includes 14-20 pages!) from the two articles (reference below) that you may view online.
So, now the real question: do you follow any of these recommendations in your weekly/daily lifestyle currently? If so, is it religiously or sporadically, or somewhere in between?
[Source: POSITION STAND, ACSM
The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Fitness, and Flexibility in Healthy Adults, June 1, 1998]
[Source: Circulation
The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association Physical Activity and Public Health: Updated Recommendation for Adults http://circ.ahajournals.org for online version of journal article]
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Add a Comment3 Comments
I agree that any physical activity is GOOD physical activity, and as alysiak mentioned in another post: many people forget that we expend calories by doing every-day activities, including chores, walking to the store, gardening, cooking dinner, sex, etc. We even expend calories by just breathing and other bodily functions!
The take home message for me, when I wrote the summary of guidelines was the minimum: physical activity 3 days a week in 10-minute "bouts" up to 20-60 minutes total each day can really make a difference. That's do-able, right?! Plus, knowing that you don't have to necessarily climb a mountain (or feel like you did), as other exercise is important, including flexibility and strength training.
The idea is: get moving, any way you can! No guilt allowed! :-)
July 31, 2008 - 12:48pmThis Comment
Guidelines are just that. Each person has different requirements. 8 miles is a lot to ask of yourself at 108F - good grief! I can't stand doing 8 miles at 80F, lol! Then again, we have ridiculous humidity to take into consideration.
I read somewhere that 20-30 minutes brisk walking every day is sufficient to get the heart rate going and burn calories. All the other "stuff" would depend upon what you need to achieve.
So, getting off your butt to get outside is a good thing, with or without all the other exercises. Remember the good ol' "constitutional?"
JMHO
July 29, 2008 - 4:31pmThis Comment
Thanks for the wake-up call!
Usually I try to walk (eight miles) or use a VERY well advertised fitness program -- but this summer, I've grown embarrassingly uh, ur .... inactive. It's too hot here (108, seriously, that's hot right) but based on your info, I can see I'm below the levels I need to be at. I might be working out only two or three times a week right now. Ugh.
I think I'll use this as a guideline to get back into shape and even blog -- or in our case -- share my experiences. Also, am thinking about training for a marathon in January, so any conditioning I can get in before running, can only be helpful ... I think.
July 29, 2008 - 3:06pmThis Comment