Rainbow Fitness Flower: Exercise

Oh… exercise. I can hear some of you groaning already… Why does it have to be so hard? The good news is, it doesn’t have to be! Exercise “personalities,” if you will, are just as unique as nutritional needs. Intense or moderate? Morning or night? Solo or group? You absolutely have to find what works for you. But your most basic goal is to increase the heart rate enough to break a sweat.

As I mentioned before, my reasons to exercise are:

• Healthy Heart
• Strong Muscles
• Happy Mind

All in favor… Aye!

And so, the detail questions begin. What counts as exercise? How much? What kind? So many things to consider…For starters, here are some basic recommendations from the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine).

 

• CARDIO:

We all know the need for a strong, well-functioning heart and cardiovascular system. Get the blood flowing throughout your body to help clear out those veins and arteries. Jog, swim, bike, dance… whatever it takes to increase your normal resting heart rate.

o   150 minutes of “moderate” intensity cardiovascular exercise/week

o   30 min 5 days/week seems logical here

o   IF your exercise intensity is “vigorous,” you could get away with 20 min 3 days/week

o   CAN break into down into 10 min segments if a 30 min chunk is too long

 

• STRENGTH:

And it seems to make sense that we need to strengthen our muscles to help us move heavy objects, carry grocery bags from our cars, lift small children, etc. You can use dumbbells, resistance tubes, body weight (squats, pushups, etc), or even soup cans or milk jugs! Getting a quality strength training workout at home without a gym membership is definitely possible – so please do not use that as an excuse!

o   Train each major muscle group 2-3 times/week

o   2-4 sets of the exercises

o   8-15 reps of each exercise at one time with a weight heavy enough that makes the last few reps a bit of a challenge

o   Rest 48 hours between strength training sessions for the same muscle groups

 

• FLEXIBILITY:

Your range of motion will increase, therefore, making your strength and cardio exercising more effective, and it can help relieve or lessen muscle soreness.

o   Stretch AFTER muscles are warm

o   2-3 days/week

o   Hold stretch for 10-30 seconds at a time

o   Repeat each stretch 2-4 times

 

• NEUROMOTOR:

Say what? Have you ever even heard of such a thing? Yes, “another” way we need to be exercising. You might have heard it referred to as “functional fitness.” It’s how your brain and your muscles connect to make your body work well. Coordination, agility, balance….

o   2-3 days/week

o   20-30 min/day

o   Focus on proprioceptive actions during multifaceted activities

 

When you add up all of these time recommendations separately, it’s topping 7 hours a week! I completely understand that number may seem overwhelming, but the beautiful thing is that you can combine these exercises and use your time more efficiently. We’ll talk more about that another day…

For now, just remember that ANY exercise is better than NONE. And, remember to progress slowly as you’re going about this journey. No need to hurt yourself or burn out by doing too much too soon.

I know some of you don’t naturally love to exercise (we can talk about that in a future post as well). And for those who do enjoy a good sweat session, I know there are days when you don’t feel like exercising. So on those days when motivation is lacking and you’re thinking of your workout as a “fight,” I’d like to leave you with this verse for encouragement:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Tim 4:7

Whatever type, however long, whatever intensity … Fight. Finish. Keep the faith.

How do you feel about exercise? What’s your “exercise personality”?