State of Readiness
Improving Your Physical Fitness
- Physical fitness is to the human body what fine-tuning is to an engine
- Fitness can be described as a condition that helps us look, feel, and do our best
- Physical fitness involves the performance of the heart, lungs, and muscles. And, since what we do with our bodies also affects what we can do with our minds, fitness influences to some degree qualities such as mental alertness and emotional stability
Recommendations for Physical Activity
Recommendations for Adults
- Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week.
- Add moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity (such as resistance or weights) on at least 2 days per week.
- Gain even more benefits by being active at least 300 minutes (5 hours) per week.
- Aim for 10,000 steps per day
Recommendations for Youth
- Children 3-5 years old should be physically active and have plenty of opportunities to move throughout the day.
- Kids 6-17 years old should get at least 60 minutes per day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, mostly aerobic.
- Include vigorous-intensity activity on at least 3 days per week.
- Include muscle- and bone-strengthening (weight-bearing) activities on at least 3 days per week.
Getting Ready to Exercise
- Consult a doctor
- Evaluate how fit you are
- Make a goal
- Clear and realistic
- Start low and go slow
- Starting out too aggressively can lead you to give up when they end up tired, sore, or injured
Cardiovascular Exercise aka Cardio
- An activity that raises your heart rate
- Why cardio is important:
- It’s one way to burn calories and help you lose weight
- It makes your heart strong
- It increases your lung capacity
- It makes you feel good
- It helps you sleep better
- It helps reduce stress
- How long?
- Typically cardio is done for 30+ minutes
- Real answer depends on the amount of calories you need to burn and the intensity of your workout
Resistance Training
- Any exercise that causes the muscles to contract against an external resistance
- Typical expectations:
- Increase strength
- Tone muscles
- Build muscle mass
- Improve muscle endurance
- Resistance can be dumbbells, rubber exercise tubing, your own body weight, bottles of water, etc.
- Tips:
- Breathe out anytime you lift or push the weight
- Never hold your breath
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water
- Maintain proper form:
- Raise the weight to a count of 2, lower to a count of 4
- Breathe out anytime you lift or push the weight
- Common terminology:
- Repetition or “rep”: One complete movement of a exercise
- Set: A group of reps
- Reach your desired results:
- Muscle Mass/Strength: 6-8 reps 4 sets
- Tone/Endurance: 12-15 reps 4 sets
Resistance Training Recommendation
American College of Sports Medicine Guidelines:
- Healthy adults under age 65
- 8 to 10 strength-training exercises
- 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise
- Twice a week
- Adults 65+ or adults 50-64 with chronic conditions
- 8 to 10 strength-training exercises
- 10-15 repetitions of each exercise
- Twice to three times per week