How much exercise is enough?
Posted by kathryn in Fitness
“How much exercise should I be doing?’ is without a doubt, the question I am most commonly asked.
Despite all the information available, it’s interesting that the question of how much exercise is enough, seems for most people to still be unanswered. Or are we all in denial?
Part of the confusion may be, there is no one- size- fits- all exercise prescription. Instead it depends on your specific goals.
People decide to add regular exercise to their life for many reasons: rehabilitation following an injury or illness; after a health scare; to improve back pain; to prevent heart disease, diabetes, stroke; to alleviate the effects of fatigue, stress or depression; and of course, weight loss.
Unfortunately very few people exercise regularly because they enjoy the feeling of movement.
Each of these different health needs will have a different exercise prescription.
FITT Principle
To achieve the best results from your exercise regime, you need to consider the the FITT principle – frequency, intensity, time and type.
- Frequency: how often you exercise
- Intensity: how hard you work during exercise
- Time: how long you exercise
- Type: what type of activity you’re doing
1. Frequency
For example, if your goal is weight loss, you need to exercise at least 6 times per week. This seems like a big commitment, but let’s face it, weight loss requires commitment, discipline and a change of habits. Therefore not exercising often enough, is one of those habits that needs to be addressed. Factoring in this amount of exercise IS possible, however finding excuses to miss a session of exercise is even more possible! It takes determination to motivated yourself to do the exercise required for weight loss.
In contrast, if you are exercising for health benefits or stress relief, the 4 -5 sessions of exercise per week is required.
2. Intensity:
A hotly debated subject is the intensity at which you need to exercise in order to gain training effects.
When you exercise, there are two energy sources — the first energy source is carbohydrates (also known as sugars) and the second energy source is fats. As the exercise becomes more intense, we need a more efficient fuel that will burn more quickly, produce more energy and require less oxygen and so we shift over to glucose as an efficient source of fuel.
In the end, glucose or fat doesn’t really matter, as the net result is you’re burning calories and the more calories you burn, the more weight you’ll lose.
Hard physical workouts like lap swimming, gym classes, resistance training, weights, boxing, martial arts, cycling or climbing will always beat easy workouts like walking. This doesn’t mean going crazy and exercising till you drop. Instead do relatively high intensity level exercise so that when you’re finished you’re not exhausted, but definitely tired and muscle fatigued. It will take your body longer to recover from that exercise so that throughout the recovery period you’ll continue to burn calories.
3. Time:
The time you should spend exercising is dependent on the type of exercise you have chosen. If you have decided on a walk and your goal is weight loss, it needs to be at least 1 hour at a very brisk pace. However if you’re walking for general health improvement, 30 – 45 minutes will improve the cardio-vascular system and reduce stress levels. A session of resisitance exercise would need only 30 minutes, a gym class 45 minutes.
4. Type:
First and foremost the type of exercise needs to be enjoyable and varied.
Many people are content doing the same type of exercise year after year, but see little results. For example, many people took up walking for 30 minutes 3 times a week and have continued to do do for years – usually walking the same route.
While any exercise is beneficial to your health, more specific goals like weight loss won’t be achieved this way because the pace and intensity are not enough. Instead if walking is your chosen exercise, you need to pick up the pace and increase the intensity, by walking briskly and perhaps adding some hills!
More effective exercise choices for weight loss are gym classes and resistance exercise that require intensity, for a minimum of 30 minutes. If you’re serious about getting fit and losing weight, the time to start is now.
Do you reward yourself after exercise?
Another trap people often fall into is ‘rewarding’ themselves with a coffee and a treat at the end of the walk. This immediately negates any calories burnt during the walk.
Did you know you’d have to lift weights for three hours to burn off a cheeseburger; ride a bike for 90 minutes to burn off a muffin; and play tennis for two hours to burn a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza?
Therefore following a 30 minute walk with coffee and banana bread is actually undoing all your good work.
Muscle fatigue:
Muscle fatigue or DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) can be a normal consequence of intensifiying your exercise programme – in the short term. When muscles are overloaded discomfort can occur, due to muscle tightness and lack of range around the joints.
Which means it’s just as important to pay attention to your flexibility (stretching) as other components of your fitness.
Keeping the balance:
When intensifying or increasing the amount of exercise you do, it’s also important to look after those muscles that are being trained and toned.
Pilates acts as a repair kit for those who enjoy regular exercise. By balancing out strength, conditioning and cardio training, it is the perfect compliment to other forms of exercise.
Pilates consists of exercises that strengthen the body’s deep core postural muscles, to improve the way we walk, work and play. You will increase flexibility, develop strong abdominal muscles, tone and lengthen the other muscles in your body. Meaning you move with a new sense of grace and fluidity, and develop a uniformly balanced body.
Having the support!
The majority of people are far more inclined to stick to an exercise programme if:
- they are accountable
- they have support
Firstly, you are accountable to your self and your goals. You can also be accountable to your trainer, instructor or a friend you exercise with.
Support of a significant other is often the key to the longevity of an exercise habit. Having someone plant a seed of doubt just before you head out to exercise, provides you with a great excuse not to go. Having family or friends notice (and comment!) that you are looking fitter and healthier encourages you to continue to exercise and achieve results.
Conclusion:
So before you embark on a serious exercise regime, ask yourself these 4 simple questions:
1. Why do I want to do more exercise?
2. What type of exercise do I really enjoy, yet find challenging.
3. Who will support my exercise goals?
4. What days and times will I schedule my exercise?
As to the original question ‘How much do I need to exercise?’ – the answer is always the same! For the many health benefits associated with regular exercise, we need to MOVE on most days of the week. Every now and then exercise will only achieve every now and then benefits . . .
To discuss your fitness needs contact Alexia on 0425 830 191 or alexiaam@optusnet.com.au.
Running photograph by Lusi, cycling photograph by Redfloor and swimming photograph by Janusek.