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How much exercise is enough? - article
Tips for making sense of
conflicting fitness advice
By Jacqueline Stenson
MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR
May 14 — Walking, gardening and other forms of moderate exercise are keys to good health, many experts say. But wait, recent research suggests more heart-pounding activity may be required. Some health officials advocate 30 minutes of exercise a day, while others call for a full hour. The steady stream of conflicting fitness advice is enough to make anyone want to throw in the towel. So how much exercise is enough?
IN TRYING TO make sense of contradictory fitness headlines, experts say, it’s important to realize that exercise studies may reach opposing conclusions because they involve different age groups or sexes, people with different risk factors (some may already be at risk for heart disease, some may be overweight) or those with vastly different fitness levels to begin with.
So it’s not always possible to make direct comparisons from one study to the next. Findings that hold true for sedentary women in their golden years, for instance, may have little bearing on active college men.
And researchers do not all agree on how to interpret study findings and translate them into general recommendations for the public. Should the focus be on minimum exercise requirements, so people aren’t discouraged before they ever start, or on higher, more intense levels of activity that may offer greater benefit?
The bottom line is that no one knows the “ideal” amount of exercise. And one-size-fits-all exercise recommendations may not fit you. The perfect exercise prescription is likely to vary to some extent from one individual to the next, experts say, because of such factors as your age, health status and, importantly, your ultimate fitness goal.
WHAT’S YOUR GOAL?
The “right” amount of exercise for you can depend greatly on what you’re hoping exercise will accomplish. Someone who is overweight and trying to shed pounds, for example, will probably have to exercise more than a thin person whose aim is to maintain good health, but less than someone in marathon training. Consider the following goals:
Staying healthy. If avoiding heart problems, diabetes and other diseases down the line is your main concern, health professionals say there is substantial research backing the advice in the 1996 Surgeon General’s report to strive for at least half an hour a day of moderate physical activity on most days.
Examples of moderate activity include brisk walking, swimming, raking leaves and even housework — as long as it’s somewhat intense, like scrubbing floors. You can break up the activity into three, 10-minute sessions if you like.
“Thirty minutes a day of moderate activity has a very significant health benefit,” says Catherine Jackson, professor and chair of the department of kinesiology at the California State University in Fresno and a spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine.
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If the millions of sedentary Americans would engage in an active lifestyle, experts say, they could make substantial improvements in their health. But before you embark on a fitness program, heed the following advice.
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See a doctor
Consult your physician for a check-up to make sure you don't have any health conditions, such as high blood pressure or asthma, which could make exercising hazardous. Your doctor may recommend a beginning exercise plan based on your age and health status.
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Start slowly
Begin with a comfortable level of activity – even if it's just 5 minutes per session – and gradually build up your endurance. You should never be in pain or unable to speak comfortably during physical activity. Walking, biking, swimming and other low-impact exercises are often recommended for beginners, overweight individuals, older people and those with arthritis and certain other health conditions.
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Pick activities you like
Enjoying exercise boosts the odds that you'll stick with it.
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Use correct form
It's a good idea for beginners to consult an experienced, credentialed personal trainer who can demonstrate proper techniques for cardiovascular and weight-training machines and suggest a safe workout plan.
Sources: American College of Sports Medicine; American Council on Exercise
Printable version
But that’s not to say that longer or more intense activity isn’t beneficial. It is, according to the Surgeon General’s report and other guidelines.
“That message gets lost,” says fitness researcher I-Min Lee, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Most of the time we’re trying to get people just to the first level.”
Lee recommends that people aim for that first level — 30 minutes of moderate activity a day — and then ratchet things up if they can. “Once you’re comfortable at that level, see if you can build it up to an hour,” she says. Another way to get a more challenging workout is to increase the intensity by walking faster or jogging.
Dr. Richard Stein, chief of cardiology at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, agrees that people can get substantial heart benefit from half an hour of moderate activity — and that additional exercise may confer extra benefit.
“Most of the studies have shown that the more exercise you do, the better you are,” he says.
Recommendations issued last fall by the Institute of Medicine, an independent group that advises the government, urged at least an hour of moderate exercise a day for optimal health. But other experts have expressed concern that raising the bar so high may discourage sedentary people from ever exercising at all and give them the idea that lesser amounts of activity are a waste of time — which is not true.
Losing weight. If you’re like millions of Americans who are trying to shed excess pounds or prevent more from piling on, you may find that half an hour a day of moderate activity simply won’t work - at least not as effectively as you might like. This was another factor behind the IOM recommendation of an hour of exercise a day.
“If you’re trying to avoid weight gain, you’re probably going to need more exercise than if you’re trying to prevent heart disease,” Lee says.
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