Physical Activity is Important

Posted on February 19, 2014

Regular physical activity is essential for your health. It can help prevent many health problems that come with age. It keeps your muscles stronger, which enables you to stay more independent.

Sedentary lifestyles with little physical activity can be bad for you, no matter what your age. The more physical activity that you do, the more your health benefits will increase.

If you’re 65 years of age or older, are generally fit, and have no limiting health conditions, you can follow the guidelines listed below.

• Do 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate aerobic activity (e.g., brisk walking) every week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms).

or

• Do 1 hour and 15 minutes
(75 minutes) of vigorous aerobic activity (jogging or running) every week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms).

or

• Do an equivalent mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening activities 2 days a week that work all major muscle groups
(legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms).

It’s fine to do 10 minutes at a time. We know 150 minutes each week sounds like a lot of time, but it’s not. That’s 2 hours and 30 minutes, about the same amount of time you might spend watching a movie. The good news is that you can spread your activity over the week, so you don’t have to do it all at once. You can even break it up into smaller chunks of time during the day. It’s about what works best for you, as long as you’re doing physical activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Categories: Feb2014General, Newsletter