Here’s some good news for those who are unable to exercise daily due to time constraints. According to experts, you need not invest too much time to stay fit – all you need is 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise. Yes, you read that right.
A total of 350,000 people were tracked by US researchers over a period of 10 years to observe how these weekend exercisers fared. The findings, in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, recommend the type and total amount of exercise count, rather than how many sessions. There’s clearly more focus on the quality of exercise you do rather than the quantity to reach your fitness goals.
To make up for the 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise over the weekend – you can either go for a brisk walk, play a doubles tennis match or even ride a stationary cycle. According to the experts in the NHS you can also try 75 minutes of vigorous activity like swimming, running, or a football game.
Though many participants in the study exercised for 150 minutes a week, some preferred exercising in bursts of exercise by combining sessions. It was found that those who exercised for 150 minutes either during the week or on Saturdays and Sundays, had a lower death risk in comparison to those who exercised less than the recommended 150 minutes weekly.
Leading a sedentary life with extended periods of sitting is not recommended, the NHS told BBC. People need to engage in some kind of physical activity on a daily basis and this activity should involve some kind of strength exercises as well.
Some common effective strength exercises include activities like heavy gardening, Pilates, and yoga amongst others. There are also some highly vigorous activities that can be very helpful to achieve your recommended activity goals. These include spinning classes, lifting heavy weights, high-intensity interval training, and hill sprinting – all of these can be done in short, sharp bursts of exercise.
Senior cardiac nurse Joanne Whitmore from the British Heart Foundation believes that the most important thing is undertaking some kind of physical activity. He is quoted as saying, “Whether you cram your exercise in on the weekend or spread it across the week, aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week.
“Exercise can improve your health, reducing your risk of heart and circulatory diseases like heart attack and stroke.”
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