With the start of a new year comes new resolutions. Perhaps these include working on your fitness and prioritizing your health. Sound familiar? But what does it mean to be fit? To be “healthy”? Diet and exercise come to mind and for today’s post I want to focus on what being active can look like. To start, all you need is 10 minutes!
How much do I need to move?
According to the Canadian Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines, people aged 18-64 years should aim for 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity each week. But what does this truly mean? 150 minutes can seem like a lot, but let’s break it down. This can look like exercising for 30 minutes for 5 days of the week. It is recommended to exercise for periods of 10 minutes or more at a time. With that in mind, we can break this down even further and exercise 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon, and another 10 minutes in the evening. Sounds a lot more manageable when we think of it like this, right?
What types of movements should I be doing?
Now that we’ve worked the timing into our schedule, let’s talk about what types of movement we should be doing. Moderate intensity aerobic exercises are those can cause us to break into a little sweat and breathe a little harder. These include brisk walking and bike riding. Vigorous intensity aerobic exercises are those that cause us to break into more of a sweat and end in us being “out of breath”. These include activities like jogging and swimming laps.
What about strength training?
Now that we’ve got our aerobic exercises covered, let’s talk about strength training. It is recommended that we incorporate activities that focus on strengthening our bones and major muscle groups at least 2 days each week. Examples of these include lifting weights, working with resistance bands, body-weight exercises like push-ups and squats and so many more!
What are the benefits?
There are many benefits of following these guidelines such as improving our overall fitness, strength, and mental health. It can also help reduce the risk of the following:
- Premature death
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Certain types of cancer
- Type 2 diabetes
- Osteoporosis
- Overweight and obesity
As you work on your goals, don’t forget to take care of your body. Whether it be for an injury or a wellness visit, we’ve got you covered. We offer massage, chiropractic, kinesiology, and acupuncture. Book an appointment today!