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Exercise Recommendations for Health, Body Composition, and Physical Fitness
There are three slightly different exercise recommendations or prescriptions being given by leading health/fitness related agencies today. These vary because of the different purposes of the three recommendations.
The Surgeon General recommends 30 min of light to moderate activity on most days of the week. This is a general public health recommendation that is viable because many Americans are sedentary and many health benefits occur when individuals begin get this reasonable amount of physical activity. A primary purpose of this recommendation is to get sedentary Americans moving. Additional health benefits can be gained by greater amounts of physical activity.
While following the Surgeon General's recommendation will result in many health benefits, current evidence suggests that more physical activity is needed if prevention of obesity or weight regain is the objective. Specific to this, the International Association for the Study of Obesity recommends 45-60 min of moderate physical activity per day to prevent obesity and 60-90 min to prevent weight regain in previously obese individuals.
If the purpose is beyond health and body composition to total, overall physical fitness, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends a minimum of: (1) Aerobic Training: 20-60 min of continuous aerobic exercise at 60-90% of maximal heart rate 3-5 days per week; (2) Resistance Training: One set of 8-12 repetitions to muscular fatigue of 8 - 10 exercises that condition the major muscle groups 2 days per week; and (3) Flexibility: After the conditioning period, stretch each of the major muscle groups used for 15 - 30 seconds.
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