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Fitness

New in Fitness: Be Active Your Way!

For healthy adults to maintain health and reduce the risk of chronic disease, the federal guidelines recommend:

• Doing moderately intense cardio 150 minutes per week OR
• Doing vigorously intense cardio 75 minutes per week AND
• Doing strength training exercises two times per week
• Include all the major muscle groups such as legs, hips, back, chest, stomach, shoulders, and arms. Exercises for each muscle group should be repeated 8 to 12 times per session.
  
  Click here to read about the new guidelines.

Remember, Health Iowa has a fitness specialist who can help you meet your physical activity goals! Call 335-8394 for an appointment.

Designing your own fitness program:
There is certainly no shortage of information out there on fitness. However, sorting through all the hype for the truth is a tough task. Some basic tips to get started:

• Set goals that are "just right" for you. Beginners may want to start with 1-3 days of exercise per week. More advanced exercises may be able to commit to 3-5 days of exercise.
• Select a type of exercise that is convenient and enjoyable for you.
• Don't forget about daily physical activity! Walking or biking to class is a great way to stay active.
• Use commercial exercise plans with caution. These often use a "one size fits all" approach and may not meet your personal needs.
• Check out these tips and resources to help you start and stay active.
  
  

General Cardiovascular Benefits
Activities such as biking, running, walking, and cycling are considered aerobic exercise. Aerobic activity maintained at a "somewhat hard" or "hard" intensity for at least 20 minutes (up to ~ 60 minutes) will help you enhance your cardiovascular fitness. To obtain this benefit, exercise aerobically at least 3-5 days per week.

Muscle Up!
High-intensity activities that involve short energy bursts are considered anaerobic. Examples are weight training and sprints. This type of exercise is important but should be combined with cardiovascular aerobic training to obtain optimal results. Also, remember to give your muscles time to recover from such activities as lifting--use an every-other-day rotation to allow for muscle mending!

Check out this website for exercise demonstrations for each muscle group. Here are some other examples of Simple Strengthening Exercises:

• Push-ups: Excellent exercise for the upper body. Make sure the back is kept straight and rigid. Modified push-ups are performed on the knees.
• Dips: Exercise for the shoulder and triceps. Beginners start with floor exercises or a chair and progress to parallel bars.
• Squats: Works the front and back of thighs as well as buttocks. Participants must make sure that the back remains straight and the knees do not bend in front of the toes.
• Wall Sit: Similar to squats only the wall is used as a support. Again, protect the knees by planting the feet away from the wall.
• Lunges: Exercise for the lower body. Protect knees and keep upper body erect.
• Calf Raises: Strengthen the calf by raising and lowering the heel.

Stretching is important too!
Maintaining joint range of motion is necessary for optimal performance when doing exercise and in daily life! Poor flexibility is related to low-back pain and may contribute to muscle strains and injury.

• When stretching, hold each stretch for 10 – 30 seconds at the point of slight discomfort. Relax and repeat up to 4 times.
• Check out this website for a variety of stretches to try for each muscle group.
• Some exercises to help you prevent low-back problems.

Written by: Amy Fletcher, M.S., ACSM-certified
Fitness Specialist, Health Iowa/Student Health Service

Reviewed by: Sarah Hansen, MA, CHES (Certified
Health Education Specialist), Health Iowa Coordinator

Page updated: 9/02/09