Lately, I've had a lot of people ask me how much they should be exercising. What is the recommended amount? How little can they get away with during their time-crunched days (or weeks)?
We've already covered the "how much is too much" topic, so this time I'll focus on the healthy levels of exercise. In 2002, the
National Academies' Institute of Medicine came out with a 1,000 page study on exercise and nutritional guidelines (bet that heap o' papers was nearly as interesting as Harry Potter ... uh, yeah, whatever). In this study, the amount of recommended physical activity was nearly doubled, from a minimum of 30 minutes per day up to 60 minutes per day.
Wait! Don't panic! First of all, "physical activity" and exercise are defined as two different things, particularly in this age of remote controls and desk jobs. A formal exercise routine consists of cardio, weight lifting, yoga, Pilates, or any combination thereof. Physical activity is just that--anything physical and at least semi-enthusiastic, including gardening, raking leaves, energetically cleaning the house (ug), and chasing around the kids (or those other kids, otherwise known as the dogs).
I know that for most of us "vidiots," 60 minutes a day is awesome. A pleasure. A perfect length for a DVD. However, most of us are also mothers, spouses, have a career outside the home in addition to the full-time career inside the home, or all of the above. So an hour a day isn't always ideal, to say the least.
Does that mean you're going to burn in the fiery pits of couch-potatohood simply because you have to run Johnny to the doctor before Janey goes to ballet, then Jimmy has football practice and gosh darn it all, you have that meeting today with the Boss (whoever that may be) ... an extra hour in the midst of all that? For exercise? You wish.
But don't worry. The 60 minutes of recommended exercise doesn't mean you have to hit the gym for a full hour, or work out at home to your
Advanced Workouts DVDs (shamelesspluggingshamelesspluggingshamelessplugging). If you can, awesome -- but the reality is, it's not always feasible. However, this hour of physical activity recommended by the peeps high up in the Governmental Society of Nutritional Realms (yes, this is an official cult, I believe) have reassured us that little bits count. The hour is cumulative, so start doing some math:
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Park way out yonder in the boonies when you go to the grocery store. You'll have to have push that heavy cart full of toilet paper, dog food, and Pampers all the way back to your car. Squeeze those shoulders and quads while you're at it, girlfriend!
- If you're only going to pick up a few things at the store, carry a grocery basket rather than push a cart, and walk briskly (but try not to knock over any elderly types who may be shuffling around the produce department)
- Got an extra ten or fifteen minutes during your lunch break? Go for a brisk walk.
- Clean the house! No, that's not a good one. I don't like that suggestion. It's dull. See my post on sleep deprivation (i.e., get your husband to do the cleaning, and good luck!)
Keep in mind that physical activity doesn't need to be strenuous to achieve health benefits. Sure, all that kicking and punching and high intensity bouncing around is a grand load of fun, and will definitely burn more fat, calories, etc. than a walk, but when you don't have time for a fantabulous cardio or weight session, that walk is just fine.
In closing a few more guidlines. This comes from the
USDA:
Moderate physical activities include:Walking briskly (about 3 ½ miles per hour)
Hiking
Gardening/yard work
Dancing
Golf (walking and carrying clubs)
Bicycling (less than 10 miles per hour)
Weight training (general light workout)
Vigorous physical activities include:Running/jogging (5 miles per hour)
Bicycling (more than 10 miles per hour)
Swimming (freestyle laps)
Aerobics
Walking very fast (4 ½ miles per hour)
Heavy yard work, such as chopping wood
Weight lifting (vigorous effort)
Basketball (competitive)
Some physical activities are not intense enough to help you meet the recommendations. Although you are moving, these activities do not increase your heart rate, so you should not count these towards the 30 or more minutes a day that you should strive for. These include walking at a casual pace, such as while grocery shopping (unless you're walking briskly with a hand basket -- at the detriment of elderly individuals -- as previously stated),
and doing light household chores.
