So, what is the best exercise? The one that you will do on a regular, consistent basis, of course! The basic law of exercise is that it takes many workouts, one added to the next to get stronger and fitter. Kind of like chiropractic adjustments…
The body likes the gradient approach which starts easier and works up to a more difficult or strenuous exercise or routine as you get in better shape and your body can tolerate more taxing, longer sessions of exercise.
So, finding an exercise that you enjoy doing or at least can tolerate doing is the best.
Physical activity that moves the legs and arms are especially good for the heart. Such activities include walking, running, swimming, bicycling and dancing. They involve steady, rhythmic movement of the legs and arms, and are called “aerobic” exercises. Regular aerobic exercise conditions the heart to pump blood to the whole body.
It is most helpful to do moderately intense aerobic physical activity for at least 30 minutes on most or all days of the week. A good guideline: work hard enough to breathe harder but still be able to carry on a conversation.
Stretching and strengthening activities keep muscles in good working order. Muscles lose strength and flexibility, as you get older. Strengthening exercise can also help boost your metabolism so you get more benefit out of your aerobic activities and lose weight faster.
Longer less frequent sessions of aerobic exercise have no clear advantage over shorter, more frequent sessions of activity. Any type of aerobic activity contributes to cardiovascular fitness. In fact, even divided “doses” of activity – such as three 10-minute walks spread throughout the day – offer aerobic benefits. What’s most important is making regular physical activity part of your lifestyle. For most healthy adults, The Dept of Health and Human Services recommends:
- At least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity; brisk walking or swimming, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running, preferably spread throughout the week. Activity sessions should be at least 10 minutes long.
- Strength training exercises at least twice a week.
In a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology, 119 obese or overweight people completed an 8-month exercise program, in one of three workout plans:
- Aerobic exercise
- Resistance Training
- Combined: both the resistance and aerobic training programs.
Aerobic exercise (along with the combined program) beat out resistance training for weight and fat loss, and also won when it came to decreasing waist circumference. But, resistance training helped people gain lean muscle mass. And when combined with aerobic exercise, resistance also boosted the fat burning and waist-shrinking power of time spent on the treadmill.
But at only 133 minutes a week as compared to 180 for resistance training, aerobic exercise wins hands down for weight loss.
If you don’t exercise, walking is a good place to start. It is simple, yet powerful. A number of studies have shown that walking and other physical activities can improve memory and resist age-related memory loss. Start slow and work up to 30 minutes each session, gradually increasing your time. If weight loss is your goal, you should work up to at least 45 minutes at a stretch, at least 4-5 times per week.
If you strain yourself or get achy, come in for a checkup. If you are out of alignment an adjustment will most likely help. The nervous system controls everything in the body. Muscles contract because the nervous system tells them to. So, to get the most of your workout and weight loss, make sure that you are aligned and therefore your body is functioning at its best.
Source: Article: Which is better – 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day, or one hour of aerobic exercise three times a week? By Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.; Harvard Health Publications, 5 of the best exercises you can ever do; Article: Epic Exercise Battle: What’s the Best Way to Lose Weight? By Shawn Radcliffe (Men’s Fitness)
