How much exercise do I really need…..?
“If you are physically active you will increase your life span, regardless of any adverse inherited factors.
Physical activity, at any age, protects against a multitude of chronic health problems including all forms of cardiovascular disease.”
(World Heart Foundation)
Anyone reading this must be a) already active b) thinking about becoming active.
So what great news the statement above must be! Now that you know there will be many extra years to enjoy lets look at the guidelines a little closer!
Each week we need to aim for at least 2hrs 30mins of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more. Think brisk walking or steady cycling that gets you out of breath but you can still talk.
One way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days, not too bad is it?!
Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes (1hr 15mins) of vigorous intensity activity OR a combination of the two. An example might be two 30 minute runs and one 30 minute brisk walk. Vigorous would make you breathe hard and fast, not much chatting!
One exercise class will go a long way towards reaching this weekly target, think Body Logic!
There is also the matter of muscle strength to consider but don’t panic, this need only happen on ‘at least 2 days a week’ and the benefits will be multiple.
These guidelines assume that we want exercise to benefit our health. I agreed with this, but in reality most of us want to benefit our self-esteem, confidence, vanity, wardrobe….etc. as well.
In order to satisfy both desires we need to stage a two pronged attack.
Prong 1. Exercise/Activity
Prong 2. Nutrition/Diet
I saw two quotes today and I have put them together, you will see why.
“Don’t become lazy about the only life you have, people who enjoy the comfort of doing nothing often pay a high price in the end.”
Dramatic? Not really, just common sense.
