WEEK 1: How Much Exercise is Right for Me? (American Heart Association)

Physical activity has numerous health benefits and is one of the most important things you can do to reduce the risk of disease. The addition of any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can also help improve your brain health, manage your weight, and strengthen bones and muscles.

The American Heart Association has the following recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults:

1. Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week. 

2. Add moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity (such as resistance or weights) on at least 2 days per week.

3. Spend less time sitting. Even light-intensity activity can offset some of the risks of being sedentary.

4. Increase amount and intensity gradually over time.

Let’s begin by setting achievable goals and make a daily effort to move more!

WEEK 2: What Exercise is Right for Me? (American Heart Association)

There are many ways you can incorporate exercise into your routine every day. You can determine what exercise is right for you by using the following information. The chart below shows the approximate calories (cal) spent per hour by a 100-, 150- and 200-pound person doing a particular activity.

Choose one or more of these activities and start by setting small goals. For example, begin by walking 15 minutes four times per week and increase from there. Physical activity can increase your energy. Use this extra energy to get more minutes of exercise into your week!

WEEK 3: Endurance Exercise

Did you know there are 4 Types of Exercise? According to the National Institute on Aging, the 4 Types of Exercise are:   (We will discuss each of the types over the following weeks) 

1. Endurance

2. Flexibility

3. Balance

4. Strength

ENDURANCE EXERCISE

This type of exercise improves the health of your heart, lungs, and circulatory systems.  There are many different types of endurance exercise activities. Cardio endurance elevates your heart rate and improves your oxygen use. These include walking, running, cycling, swimming, dancing, and rowing, to name a few. There are also muscle endurance activities, like planks, burpees, swats, lunges, pull ups, and push ups. These exercises focus on muscles working repeatedly over time. 

There is evidence that it is beneficial to set goals for your step counts! One study found that individuals with higher step counts were living longer lives at nine-year follow-ups. But that’s not all. Observational studies suggest that exercise may also have the following beneficial effects:

• Lower blood pressure

• Improving cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol) and increasing HDL (good cholesterol)

• Improved body composition and proportions of fat and muscle)

• Decreases levels of inflammation in the body

Incorporating endurance into your routine can help improve your body, inside and out!

WEEK 4: Endurance Exercise

According to the National Institute on Aging, the 4 Types of Exercise are:   

1. Endurance

2. Flexibility

3. Balance

4. Strength

Last week we learned that including endurance exercise in our routines can result in lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol levels, and less inflammation. Studies show that aerobic, or endurance type, exercises can also prevent stroke, heart attack, osteoporosis, gallstones, and even cancer. A study out of the United Kingdom found the individuals with the highest rates of exercise had the lower risk of developing cancer. Specifically they found that,  light-intensity and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity and step counts > 5000 steps per day were each associated with a lower cancer risk overall! So set those step goals!