Exercise For Your Heart
Be Heart Healthy With Aerobic Activities
The health benefits of physical activities are well known. However, uncertainties exist over the intensity, duration and types of physical activities required for health promotion and maintenance. Answers are now available from experts gathered by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. In a recent joint publication, experts from the two colleges announced updated recommendations for physical activities.
The updated recommendations apply to healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years of age. It specifies how adults can engage in regular physical activities to promote and maintain health, as well as to reduce the risk of chronic diseases (eg. hypertension, diabetes) for longer survival.
The promotion and maintenance of heart health evolves around the aerobic activities. Activities which increase heart rate and breathing results in conditioning of the cardio-respiratory systems. When performed on a regular basis, such aerobic activities promote cardiovascular fitness, reducing the risks of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
For such aerobic activities to be beneficial, the intensity must be at least moderate to vigorous. Thirty minutes of moderate-intensity activities for at least three days each week are recommended as the minimum amount of activities. Combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity activities can be performed to meet this recommendation.
In addition, moderate-intensity activities (eg. brisk walking) can be accumulated toward the 30 minutes minimum from bouts lasting at least 10 minutes each. Hence alighting the bus at an earlier stop and brisk walking the rest of the way (15 minutes) to and from work will achieve the recommended minimum level of activity. This recommended amount of aerobic activity is in addition to daily routine activities of light intensity.
Further promote and maintain your health by including additional muscle-strengthening activity on two or more non-consecutive days each week to allow strength development. As the above are the recommended minimum amount, physical activity above the minimum will provide greater health benefits. Adults who wish to improve their personal fitness should exceed the minimum recommended amounts of physical activity. Individualisation of exercise regime will also be required to prevent weight gain or promote weight loss.
