Exercise, why and how much?

 


Exercise, how much? And why?


  • Moderate intensity cardiorespiratory exercise should be completed on 5 or more days a week. This equates to 150 minutes per week. 


  • Vigorous intensity cardiorespiratory exercise should last 20 minutes or more for 3 or more days a week which works out at 75 minutes a week.


  • Resistance training should be undertaken with free weights, machines, bands or bodyweight training.  


  • 8-10 sets of multi joint (compound movements i.e squats or chest press) over 2-3 sessions per week is recommended for increased strength and muscle mass.. 


(Garber, Blissmer, Deschenes, Franklin, Lamonte, Lee & Swain, 2011, Wescott, 2012).


Why exercise?

The scientific research supporting exercise and its benefits are indisputable. Regular exercise and physical activity is associated with a number of benefits to an individual's mental and physical health (Garber, Blissmer, Deschenes, Franklin, Lamonte, Lee & Swain, 2011).  


Mortality rates are delayed in individuals who partake in regular physical activity and exercise. (Garber, Blissmer, Deschenes, Franklin, Lamonte, Lee & Swain, 2011).  


Physical activity and exercise are shown to decrease the risk of a spectrum of diseases like coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer (colon and breast cancer).(Garber, Blissmer, Deschenes, Franklin, Lamonte, Lee & Swain, 2011). 


Exercise and physical activity helps to lower blood pressure, improves lipoproteins (bloodfats), C reactive protein (an inflammation marker). 

It also aids in insulin sensitivity and bodyweight management (Garber, Blissmer, Deschenes, Franklin, Lamonte, Lee & Swain, 2011).   



Benefits of Aerobic exercise


Aerobic training can aid in the loss of body-fat whilst not affecting lean body mass (muscle, tissue etc) when correct nutrition practice is in place. 


It also aids in increased oxygen uptake and if running or jogging is the chosen method of cardio running economy will increase, (the technique and co contraction of the correct muscles i.e the tib ant and gastrocnemius i.e the front and back muscles of the shins).


Aerobic training leads to increased respiratory capacity (Lung capacity) as well as increased mitochondrial and capillary density to working muscles i.e oxygen to working muscles.

(Haff & Triplett, 2015). 

 

Benefits of Resistance training

 

Inactive adults will experience a 3-8% loss in muscle mass per decade, once an adult gets to 50 years plus muscle loss increases to 5-10%. This shows how vital resistance training is to the population as a way to combat this loss is by taking on resistance training.


Resistance training increases lean body mass (muscle, bone and connective tissue), increases your metabolic rate and reduces body fat.

 

Resistance training will improve physical performance, movement control, walking speed, functional independence, cognitive performance and self esteem.

 

Resistance training is excellent as an injury preventer, correctly prescribed exercise can aid in lower back pain prevention and management, it also aids in maintaining bone mass which is vital in the elderly community (Wescott, 2012). 


References 


Garber, C. E., Blissmer, B., Deschenes, M. R., Franklin, B. A., Lamonte, M. J., Lee, I. M., ... & Swain, D. P. (2011). Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: guidance for prescribing exercise.


Haff, G. G., & Triplett, N. T. (Eds.). (2015). Essentials of strength training and conditioning 4th edition. Human kinetics.


Westcott, W. L. (2012). Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current sports medicine reports, 11(4), 209-216.


https://www.acsm.org/blog-detail/acsm-certified-blog/2019/07/31/acsm-guidelines-for-strength-training-featured-download

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Weightlifting did for me

Image
What Weightlifting did for me Building the foundation My journey in Weightlifting started as a part of my Strength and Conditioning routine after researching methods to improve my performance levels in Mixed Martial arts. When undertaking my initial fitness instructor training I was introduced to machine resistance training and traditional free weight exercises like the Deadlift, Squat and Bench press. These movements helped me build a solid strength foundation. I was lucky enough to know an ex high level Powerlifter Royston McGregor who took me through a few sessions improving technique and I applied this to my training practices. Chiu (2007) establishes that Powerlifting and Weightlifting training methods can be seen as complimentary in increasing sport performance as building strength is vital to the transition of becoming powerful. When this foundation phase is complete the shift of strength work should be focused on maximal power production ( Bompa & Haff, 1999)...
Read more
Image
  Introduction Kettlebells have been proven to increase muscular strength  Kettlebells increase muscular power Kettlebells aid in the increase of aerobic capacity The kettlebell originates from Russia, It was initially a counter weight for weighing scales in the 1700s it's only later on that the kettlebell was used as a resistance training tool.  Kettlebells are still reasonably new in the western fitness world and have coincided with the recent ‘functional training’ boom in the last 15 years ( Eckert & Snarr, 2016).    You could describe kettlebells as a cannonball with a looped handle and mostly constructed out of cast iron, although some can be made of rubber and plastics. Kettlebells are similar to olympic barbells and dumbbells in that they are extremely flexible and many different movements can be performed with them. With lockdowns and future potential lockdowns they could have an advantage over barbells as they are not 7 foot long and tend to be a lo...
Read more