Current Recommendations for Physical Activity for Health and Wellness

So, where to start? I thought it would be appropriate to begin by laying out some of the current guidelines for physical activity which physicians (at least this future physician!) are encouraged to use to educate patients. The American College of Sports Medicine updated the following guidelines in 2007, and these are also a part of the US government's "Healthy People 2020" recommendations:

 1) A minimum of 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise 5 days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 days a week. Combinations of moderate and vigorous exercise may be used to meet this recommendation.

 What is moderate vs. vigorous? Without performing exercise testing, it's hard to determine an exact number for this, but in general we can say that "Moderate" means you are exercising at 50% of your maximum aerobic capacity (50% VO2max). "Vigorous" would be at higher intensity levels, such as 75% of your aerobic capacity.

 Examples of moderate exercise are: biking slowly, canoeing, dancing, gardening (raking or trimming shrubs), single's tennis, walking briskly, water aerobics

 2) Alternatively to #1, it's ok to accumulate 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of aerobic exercise per week. This means you can break down the 30 minutes of exercise into 3 10 minute intervals, or 2 15 minute intervals, with the smallest interval at 10 minutes.

 3) Include moderately-intense resistance training of major muscle groups at least 2 days per week. What's important is that you target each major muscle group: legs, hips, back, chest, stomach, shoulders, and arms and that you do 8-12 reps per session. What counts as resistance training? Heavy gardening (digging, shoveling), weight training, resistance bands, push ups/sit ups/squats

 So, again, these are minimum guidelines for all adults! Quite a schedule! I know what you are thinking after reading this--I dont have time! I haven't been active in a long time! It sounds expensive! 

You can do this! Here are some techniques to get you going:
1) Build up over time. Start slowly, do what you are capable of, especially if you have not been active for a while. After a few weeks/months do these activities more often or for longer times.
 2) The easiest way to add physical activity is to walk briskly. Start by trying to do 10 minutes/day a few days a week at first. Build slowly--add another day, do 15 minutes instead of 10, then pick up the pace!

 What are the health implications of regular exercise? Here's an abbreviated list
1) Enhanced sense of well-being.
2) Retardation of loss of work capacity, strength, and balance that occur with age **Take note parents!**
3) Better accommodation of stress
4) Prevention or reversal of risk factors for many chronic diseases

 I'd like to elaborate more on the beneficial effects of exercise on chronic diseases in future posts...stay tuned!