How much physical activity do adults aged 19-64 years old need to do to keep healthy?
To stay healthy or to improve health, adults need to do two types of
physical activity each week: aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity.
How much physical activity you need to do each week depends on your
age. Click on the links below for the recommendations for other age
groups:
Physical activity for adults aged 19-64
To stay healthy, adults aged 19-64 should try to be active daily and should do:
At least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week, and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).
75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity such as running or a game of singles tennis every week, and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).
An equivalent mix of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic
activity every week (for example 2 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes
of fast walking), and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work
all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and
arms).
What counts as moderate-intensity aerobic activity?
Examples of activities that require moderate effort for most people include:
- walking fast
- water aerobics
- riding a bike on level ground or with few hills
- doubles tennis
- pushing a lawn mower
- hiking
- skateboarding
- rollerblading
- volleyball
- basketball
5 x 30 minutes
One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes on 5 days a week.What counts as vigorous-intensity aerobic activity?
Examples of activities that require vigorous effort for most people include:
- jogging or running
- swimming fast
- riding a bike fast or on hills
- singles tennis
- football
- rugby
- skipping rope
- hockey
- aerobics
- gymnastics
- martial arts
In general, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.
What counts as muscle-strengthening activity?
Muscle-strengthening exercises are counted in repetitions and sets. A repetition is 1 complete movement of an activity, like lifting a weight or doing a sit-up. A set is a group of repetitions.
For each activity, try to do 8 to 12 repetitions in each set. Try to do at least 1 set of each muscle-strengthening activity. You'll get even more benefits if you do 2 or 3 sets.
Healthy weight
- Adults who are overweight can improve their health by meeting the activity guidelines, even if they don’t lose weight.
- To lose weight, you are likely to need to do more than 150 minutes a week and make changes to your diet.
- Start by gradually building up towards 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week.
To get health benefits from muscle-strengthening
activities, you should do them to the point where you struggle
to complete another repetition.
There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether it's at
home or in the gym. Examples of muscle-strengthening activities for most
people include:
- lifting weights
- working with resistance bands
- doing exercises that use your body weight for resistance, such as push-ups and sit-ups
- heavy gardening, such as digging and shovelling
- yoga
You can do activities that strengthen your muscles on the same day or
on different days as your aerobic activity, whatever's best for you.
However, muscle-strengthening activities don't count towards your
aerobic activity total, so you'll need to do them in addition to your
aerobic activity.
Some vigorous-intensity aerobic activities may provide 75 minutes of
aerobic activity and sufficient muscle-strengthening activity. Examples
include circuit training and sports such as football or rugby.
Feel free to post your opinion on this topic.
If you like this post please use the buttons below to share it with others.
Also don't forget to join the "Your Health Kick" newsletter.
Check out this Video explaining why it's so difficult to lose weight, especially for women!
Check out this Video explaining why it's so difficult to lose weight, especially for women!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Have an opinion about this? Why not share it with the world.