I don't have time (or the willpower) to get to the gym, but I usually end up walking for 30 mins over the course of a day. Is that enough to be healthy or do I really need to be doing more?
Answers (3)
You need to be doing more.
Walking is considered cardiovascular exercise, which has many health and heart benefits and is a great way to exercise. And if you're walking for 30 minutes a day for at least five days a week, that should be a sufficient amount of cardio. However, if you wish to lose weight, keep it off and have a toned body, you should make weight bearing (strength training) exercises part of your weekly regime.
Having the time (and willpower) to exercise comes when you make it a priority. If you make it a priority, you'll find the time. Find a powerful reason to start exercising more, and you'll come up with creative ways to tone up without putting a huge strain on your schedule.
Studies have shown that disease and death rates go down as the total daily amount of exercise goes up. At least four clinical trials have shown that several 10-minute bursts of exercise yield essentially the same benefits in blood pressure, weight, body fat, cholesterol levels, or cardiovascular fitness as the same total amount of exercise done in a single session. Therefore, the surprisingly good news is that exercise done “piecemeal” throughout the day seems as beneficial as the same total amount of exercise done in a single session.
Most studies agree that you do not have to knock yourself out to reap substantial benefits from exercise, including protection against a wide range of diseases. Moderate-intensity exercise (walking, strength training) seems to provide maximum benefits in the areas of blood pressure, stress, HDL, and depression. Certain health benefits, such as increased HDL’s and reduced blood pressure, seem directly proportional to the total amount of time spent exercising. Some evidence suggests that vigorous exercise better prevents blood clots and yields steadily increasing gains in overall aerobic fitness. Moving from moderate to heavy exercise usually does yield additional benefits, though they may not be as great as when you first move from minimal to moderate exercise. So the moral of the story is "just get moving"!Congratulations for doing the consistent exercise that you do. If you are currently walking 30 minutes a day 5 days a week you would be doing 150 minutes per week which is a minimal goal as the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General recommends that “Every U.S. adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.” However, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) increased exercise recommendations in 2002 to an hour of moderate-paced activities every day (the IOM recommendations are for weight-loss--to combat obesity in the U.S. These workouts are longer and more frequent than the minimum needed for disease-preventing benefits.)
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation (which refer to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans): “To achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, adults should do the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. If necessary, adults should increase their weekly minutes of aerobic physical activity gradually over time and decrease calorie intake to a point where they can achieve calorie balance and a healthy weight. Some adults will need a higher level of physical activity than others to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. Some may need more than the equivalent of 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity. For children and adolescents ages 6 years and older, 60 minutes or more of physical activity per day is recommended.”
It really depends what you want to accomplish. Studies have shown that disease and death rates go down as the total daily amount of exercise goes up. At least four clinical trials have shown that several 10-minute bursts of exercise yield essentially the same benefits in blood pressure, weight, body fat, cholesterol levels, or cardiovascular fitness as the same total amount of exercise done in a single session. Therefore, the surprisingly good news is that exercise done “piecemeal” throughout the day seems as beneficial as the same total amount of exercise done in a single session. That may help you to increase your daily amount of exercise.
Most studies agree that you do not have to knock yourself out to reap substantial benefits from exercise, including protection against a wide range of diseases. Moderate-intensity exercise (walking, strength training) seems to provide maximum benefits in the areas of blood pressure, stress, HDL, and depression. Certain health benefits, such as increased HDL’s and reduced blood pressure, seem directly proportional to the total amount of time spent exercising. Some evidence suggests that vigorous exercise better prevents blood clots and yields steadily increasing gains in overall aerobic fitness. Moving from moderate to heavy exercise usually does yield additional benefits, though they may not be as great as when you first move from minimal to moderate exercise.The answer to your question really does depend a lot on what your current state of health is and what your goal is. Do you want to simply prevent disease and maintain current body weight, or are you looking to improve your health and/or lose weight?
