The Center for Disease Control and the ACSM recently revised and published the newest updates to the national exercise guidelines, which were recently released to the public. Since the updates in the last several years haven’t seemed to eradicate the pressing health concern of physical inactivity, the newest guidelines issued were very specific in details. Public health officials are alarmed over the rise in obesity and obesity related illnesses in this country. The goal of experts is to educate the public on the crucial need for physical activity to promote and attain good health.
The new exercise guidelines specify the types and amounts of exercise necessary for weight loss and for promoting good health. Two kinds of exercise are recommended, aerobic exercise and strength training.
Aerobic exercise should be performed five days a week for thirty minutes at a moderate intensity level. The amount of aerobic exercise necessary depends on the individual’s fitness requirements and level. The aerobic requirements cited above is the minimum amount of exercise recommended to reduce your risk of chronic diseases and to maintain good health. Someone who is overweight and wants to lose weight must do significantly more than the minimum requirement. To lose weight, the recommendation is to do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise five days each week.
· What counts as aerobic exercise? Walking at a very brisk pace. Jogging, running, bicycling, swimming, and rowing are all aerobic exercises. The activity must be performed at a moderate to high intensity level. The exercise should be difficult to perform, but not impossible.
· What doesn’t count as aerobic exercise? Walking at a casual pace for any reason and housework are not aerobic exercise. These activities are physical activity and can help burn calories and keep you moving. So don’t start parking closer to the doors because you think it doesn’t make a difference. Every little bit of movement helps contribute to good health. But to impact your risk of chronic conditions and to attain good health, you must perform actual aerobic exercise.
Strength Training is activities that require the use of the major muscles in the body. The recommendation is that you perform strength training exercises at least two days each week, allowing a minimum of 48 hours of rest for the muscles used. The recommended strength training program should include 8 to 10 exercises at 8 to 12 repetitions each. The exercises should cause exhaustion after the total repetitions are completed.
You can use your body for resistance or weights. Examples of strength training using your body as the resistance would be push ups, pull ups, and dips. The weight amount you use should depend on your fitness level. Choose a weight that will allow you to perform the total amount of repetitions (8 to 12) but make it impossible for you to do even 1 additional repetition. You will need to experiment to find the correct weight amount. And as you adjust to the weight, you will need to increase the weight or the repetitions.
The new guidelines require a commitment of time and effort. It is understandable if you are not able to achieve the exercise requirements immediately. You may have to work up to the time demands by conditioning your body. If you are physically only able to endure 20 or 30 minutes of exercise, then start there. Do not let your limitations keep you from performing any exercise. You will eventually reach the recommended minimum limits if you work at it.
Increase your intensity at regular intervals based on your capabilities. And if you are unable to exercise for the recommended time amount because of scheduling issues or time constraints, then exercise at a higher intensity for a shorter period of time. Don’t skip workouts. You should aim to exercise every day. Skipping days will make it more difficult to return to exercising and will affect your fitness level. Once exercise becomes part of your regular daily routine, you will find it will be easier to maintain a regular exercise schedule. You may even grow to enjoy it!