Submitted by Jon on Mon, 20/08/2007 – 12:41pm
“People should do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, like jogging, three days a week, they say”
So just walking every day may not actually be enough to ensure that you get, or remain, fit. We need to ensure that we really work ourselves hard, that we increase our heart rate, that we sweat and get out of breath to give the whole cardiovascular system a good solid workout.
There has been a lot of advice in recent years suggesting that light exercise several times a week, such as walking, gardening, cleaning – is enough to keep healthy. But no this seems not to be the case.
However the experts are now saying that adults need to top up their routine activities, such as casual walking and housework, with structured exercise.
“This should include vigorous (jogging) and moderate aerobic exercise (a brisk walk), as well as twice-weekly activities, such as weight training, which maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance.
People can do short bouts of exercise to count towards their weekly goals, but these must last for at least 10 minutes.
They say that even more exercise than this may have further benefits. However, research has also shown that too much exercise can be damaging to the body.
Indeed, the sports scientists say that some people – including pregnant women and those aged 65 or older – might be advised to do slightly less exercise and modify the type of activities they do.”
Dr David Haslam, of the National Obesity Forum, questioned whether it was realistic to expect people to do two weight training sessions each week. “I’d rather see healthy habits built into daily life – gyms aren’t a sustainable habit for all,” he said.
So from now on I want to see that people here have done several more intensive exercise sessions each week. Start blogging!
Source: BBC Health pages
Responses:
This is so true. Many people
This is so true. Many people think that gentle exercising is enough to get fit. If you eat a healthy diet, you may look fit, but you will not actually be fit.