Guidelines

Physical activity can result in substantial health benefits, including reduced risk of premature death or of developing depression, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and stroke. The following guidelines are recommended for achieving these goals:

  • Aerobic activity– at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity per week – or an equivalent combination of both
  • Muscle-strengthening activities (weight training)–at least 2 times per week at moderate or high intensity involving all muscle groups

Exceeding these guidelines may result in additional benefits including a reduced risk of developing colon or breast cancer, and weight-control or maintenance of weight loss. The following guidelines are recommended for achieving these additional health benefits:

  • Aerobic activity– at least 300 minutes of moderate or 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity per week– or an equivalent combination of both

Warm-up and cool-down. Take 5-10 minutes before and after your moderate/vigorous activity to move at a lower intensity (example: walk for 5-minutes to warm-up before jogging; complete 1 set of body weight exercises to cool down after lifting weights). This may reduce your chance of injury.

It’s better to spread your physical activity throughout the week, such as participating in 30 minutes of moderate activity at least 5 days a week (30 x 5 = 150 minutes).

You can perform your physical activity in short bouts to fit it into your busy schedule. Be sure to engage in multiple bouts that add up to at least 20-30 minutes of activity each day.

Whenever possible, try to move more and sit less!

FITT

A well-designed physical activity plan involves consideration of the Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type of activity*. A training plan that will lead to health benefits may be quite different than the type of training you likely did as an athlete to improve your sports performance. Often, the type of physical activity you do to achieve health benefits is much more flexible and varied than sport-specific training. You can choose to participate in a wide variety of activities and still meet your health and fitness goals.

*Also consider Volume (V) and Progression (P) when designing a physical activity program. Each of the FITT-VP variables should be adjusted to match your health, fitness, and performance goals.

Physical activity doesn’t have to be hard or painful to “count”- and it can also be fun!

FITT for Health:

Frequency (How many days per week are you active?) 
At least 3-5 days (aerobic activities)
At least 2 days (muscle-strengthening activities)

Intensity (How hard are you working?)
Moderate (50-70% of maximum heart rate ) OR Vigorous (70-85% of maximum heart rate)

Time (How long are you exercising each week?)
150 minutes (2.5 hours) if moderate or 75 minutes (1 hour & 15 minutes) if vigorous
*More activity time results in additional health benefits

Type (What type of movements are included the activities?)
Any movement that is continuous and uses large muscle groups

You can improve fitness by increasing one or more of the FITT elements.

Watch this video for more information about using the FITT principles to design a physical activity plan.

Estimating Your Target Heart Rate Zone

Heart rate is related to the amount of oxygen your body is consuming and how hard your cardiovascular system is working. An increased heart rate during activity indicates that your body is working harder to supply your muscles with oxygen and fuel needed to support your activity. A relatively lower heart rate during activity indicates that your cardiovascular system is more easily able to supply the muscles with oxygen and fuel they need. 

Your heart rate (# of beats per minute) should fall roughly within the range calculated below when participating in moderate or vigorous activity necessary to achieve health-related fitness benefits. Enter your information in the Heart Rate Calculator to calculate your estimated target heart rate zone for moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity. This calculation is based on your age-related maximum heart rate. 

Heart Rate Calculator

How to Measure Your Heart Rate

For manual measurement of your heart rate, lightly place your pointer and middle finger over your radial (wrist) pulse. To determine heart rate during exercise, count your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6, or count for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. Confirm if your heart rate falls within your estimated target heart rate zone. You can increase/decrease your HR during physical activity to get it closer to your desired target heart rate zone by changing the pace/speed, incline, resistance, and/or amount of muscle used during the activity. For example, you can increase your heart rate while walking by walking faster, walking uphill, carrying weights while walking, and/or swinging your arms to involve more muscles in the action.

 
 
Check out this American Heart Association website for more information on your target heart rate zone.