Exercise for optimal aging?

Are we meeting exercise guidelines or exceeding them?

What are the exercise guidelines?

Did you know public health recommendations for cardiovascular exercise sits around 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (or 75 minutes vigorous) per week? The minimum has been set at this elevelt this level there is a longevity benefit (meaning if we do this, we live longer!) ? 

Alongside this public health recommends for cardiovascular activity, we should be completing two strength building activities using major muscle groups (weights, resistance bands, body weight activities), and we should be aiming for less than 8 hours of sedentary time (breaking up sitting as much as possible, and less than three hours of recreational screen time).

What does moderate intensity mean?

Moderate activity can be anything that gets your heart pumping and you breathing a bit harder so that you can hold a conversation, but not sing while exercising. Vigorous activity is where you can only speak a few words throughout your activity between breaths. We can also calculate this using heart rate levels, or by perceived exertion (how hard does it feel for you).

150 minutes of moderate intensity per week, equals out to about 30 minutes of brisk walking per week (for five days). Seems pretty attainable right?

We like to remind our patients these are the activity guideline minimums. If we want to be considered active, we probably want to increase this number (and the intensity!)

Why exceed minimums?

Research in seniors found that when those who engaged in 3-4 times the recommended activity levels (a low end about 450 minutes a week of moderate, or 225 vigorous minutes per week) they were found to have hearts that looked decades younger than their age matched peers. They also had reduced arterial stiffness, reduced risk of developing cancer and dementia,  and increased quality of life. 

If you are just starting out your new goals for movement this year - that’s great! Focus on trying to meet the minimums, and then you can increase your intensity and bouts of exercise from there.

If you have been meeting the minimums and you want to exceed them (and aim for 3-4 times the  recommendations) start out by increasing the bouts of exercise you are doing or increase the intensity (turn your daily walk into a walk-jog). Slowly and consistent changes help us maintain these movement habits over the long term, which is what we want in order to gain the lifelong (literally) benefits!