How much exercise is enough?

You see it everyday on the newsstands and in publications supposed short cuts to improved fitness and health... "six pack abs in only 3 minutes".... "only 10 minutes per day to weight loss"... it goes on and on. But how much is enough? We know that exercise works and a little something is better than a whole lot of nothing. Debunking the myths and knowing the facts is how we can truly make a difference and see the improvement we seek.

Lets start by looking at the where we were and where we are at on what we should be doing. Years ago it was stressed that at least 30 minutes perday 3-5 days per week of aerobic exercise (walking, cycling, swimming, etc) was good to improve our health and maintain our weight. In 2002 a panel of experts with the Institutes of Medicine stated that 60 minutes perday of moderate intensity exercise was replacing the previous recommendation of the American College of Sports medicine and Centers for Disease Control of 30 minutes. It was actually supporting this fact but media coverage of this news was miscommunicated. We know that the majority of the US population is sedentary so this seemed to erode most individuals motivation to exercise especially with busy lifestyles. In 2005 along with a new food pyramid came new physical activity guidelines that stated that we should get 90 minutes a day most days of the week! With this news if you cant get 30 minutes, and you cant get 60 minutes WOW! 90 minutes threw most for a curve! Here is was not interpreted from this data. The ninety minutes perday of physical activity includes the 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise along with increasing our physical activity per day. Meaning, dont drive around Wal-mart parking lot for an hour to find the "sweet spot", park further away and walk, take the stairs instead of the escalator. Remember, physical activity is being active throughout the day and not laying on the couch, exercise is a planned structured program.

With the prevalence of people who get no daily exercise at all, and the rise of obesity , it is important to reinforce that just small increases in physical activity, as little as 30 minutes a day, can improve health.

So how much is enough? As the earlier recommendations support that additional benefits can be gained by larger amounts of activity it is important for those that are primarily sedentary to establish a regular program and increase as time goes by. If an hour or more a day doesnt fit your lifestyle or seems impractical for you then sticking to 30 minutes per day or incremental bouts of 10 minutes 3 times a day will still allow someone to reap the health benefits of exercise.