Regular exercise? How often should you work out? – Its a question that a lot of people are talking about!

 

Firstly, let’s consider some of the health benefits of regular exercise…

 

– 30 minutes of interval training per week (broken into 3 workouts) – Reduces risk of type of diabetes

– 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week – Reduces risk of cancer

– 175 minutes of walking per week (broken into 5 workouts) – May help alleviate symptoms of depression

– 450 minutes of exercise a week – Significantly reduces risk of premature death

– 120 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week – Offers improvements in memory

– 90 minutes of exercise a week – May reduce blood pressure levels

 

 

 

So above are 6 points of how regular exercise can improve your health; But are you doing the right amount of exercise?

 

For most healthy adults, the department of Health and Human Services recommends:

Aerobic activity

Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during a week.

Strength training

Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

 

 

As you can understand, there’s no simple formula that’s right for everyone. If you’re looking to amp up your fitness level, your magic number of days depends on how active you already are. For an example, you’ll probably see results from one day a week if you don’t already work out. But if you’re used to multiple workout days a week, one day probably won’t challenge your body enough to stay at peak form or make progress.

 

You must remember a training week differs person to person, depending on individual goals, lifestyle and available time to train.

 

 

What should your training week look like?

 

If you’re going for the full five days per week, three days should focus on strength training, two days should focus on cardio, and two should be active rest. However, if you only want to work out four days a week, think about your goals: If you want to add muscle tone, cut a cardio day. If you want to improve endurance, skip a strength day. Or, switch it each week.

Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, swimming and mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running and aerobic dancing.

Strength training can include use of weight machines, your own body weight, resistance tubing, resistance paddles in the water, or activities such as rock climbing.

You can achieve more health benefits, including increased weight loss, if you ramp up your exercise to 300 minutes a week.

Reducing sitting time is important, too. The more hours you sit each day, the higher your risk of metabolic problems, even if you achieve the recommended amount of daily physical activity.

Check out my blog from a few weeks ago to give you some ideas of how you can best utilise your rest days!

 

Short or long chunks of time?

 

Even brief bouts of activity offer benefits. For instance, if you can’t fit in one 30-minute walk, try three 10-minute walks instead.

 

What’s most important is making regular physical activity part of your lifestyle.

 

If you have any questions after reading this blog regarding you’re training, or the amount you exercise, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us at Comfort Health.