How much exercise should we be doing?

There’s no doubt that exercise is good for your health but what exactly are the benefits and how much exercise is enough to get them? 

How much exercise is enough? 

The UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity for most adults aged 19-64.

Moderate-intensity exercise will raise your heart rate and encourage you to breathe faster but you should still be able to talk. 

With vigorous-intensity exercise, you’ll find it difficult to talk more than a few words without feeling breathless. 

This amount doesn’t need to be done in one go. Shorter bursts of activity can add up to the overall amount. Try to be active every day, even if this is walking or another form of gentle exercise on some days. 

If you’re new to regular exercise, you can gradually build up the amount of exercise you do. The body can adapt quickly to new exercise routines but it’s always best to increase the amount of exercise slowly. 

Types of exercise 

There’s no one exercise that is the “right” one and different types can work together to achieve health and fitness goals. 

Cardio: Cardio work isn’t just a way to burn calories and lose weight. It can help to protect against serious health problems and manage existing health issues more effectively. 

Weights: Where possible, activities that strengthen and maintain muscles in key muscle groups can be done twice per week. Building muscle mass is important for metabolism and reducing bone loss. It can also help to manage some chronic conditions. Lifting weights is particularly important for women in the years leading up to and after menopause. This is a time when bone loss can otherwise speed up and osteoporosis can become more likely.

How Exercise Can Improve Your Health

 You may have heard that regular exercise can make you healthier and happier but how does this actually work?

Regular exercise can lower your risk of developing health problems and help to manage different health concerns. 

This includes:

Asthma: Activity that makes you feel breathless might seem counterintuitive for managing asthma but it can reduce symptoms. Exercise can improve lung capacity, decrease inflammation in the airways and encourage stronger blood flow to the lungs. 

Type 2 diabetes: Exercise can help to manage blood sugar levels and reduce the potential for developing type 2 diabetes. In one study, doing the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week helped to decrease the progression of impaired glucose tolerance by almost 60% (along with 5-7% weight loss). 

Osteoporosis: Exercise can improve bone strength and reduce the rate of bone loss, especially as we get older. Weight-bearing and strength training exercises are ideal for this. 

Arthritis: By improving flexibility, strength and joint mobility, exercise can help to manage arthritis symptoms, especially stiffness and pain. 

Heart disease: Exercise can help the heart to pump blood more efficiently, which can decrease blood pressure. It can also raise levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. Research has found that there isn’t any upper limit for improving heart health through exercise and that vigorous activity The more you can do, the more potential there is for improving cardiovascular health. 

Dementia: Exercise can improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of developing dementia. In fact, exercise is one of the best things you can do to protect against dementia, according to the combined findings of 11 studies. 

The Physical and Mental Benefits of Exercise 

 As well as protecting against and managing health conditions, exercise can have lots of day-to-day benefits too. 

Improve your mood

When you exercise, the body produces feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters that have a positive impact on your mood. This includes endorphins, the body’s feel-good chemicals.

Reduce stress

Exercise reduces stress hormones and can act as a distraction from day-to-day worries. When it’s done regularly, exercise can be a very effective way to manage stress levels and stop stress hormones from wreaking havoc on your wellbeing. 

Boost energy levels

Exercise boosts oxygen circulation in the body. This increase in oxygen helps the mitochondria to produce energy, which in turn helps the body to use its energy in a more efficient way. 

Support better sleep

If you’re doing exercise that is reasonably vigorous, you may find that it helps you to fall asleep quicker. It can help to reduce drowsiness in the daytime and avoid afternoon energy slumps.

Maintain a healthy weight

The most obvious benefit of exercise for weight loss is burning calories but the effect on muscle mass can help too. Muscle tends to be lost naturally as we get older, which can reduce metabolism and make it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight. Exercise is a great way to maintain muscle mass and boost metabolism, especially strength training. 

For more information on how we can smash your fitness goals and improve your health and wellbeing, you can contact me on 0786 2255131 or e-mail me at adele@fitnessloungeleeds.com 

Or if you’re ready to work together, you can see my packages by visiting https://fitnessloungeleeds.com/live-online-1-2-1-personal-training/