Exercising is an individual activity. No one can do it for you and does not benefit anyone but you. And we do not all do it for the same reason. Some people are trying to lose weight and others are exercising for heart health. The intensity of these types of exercise is different. Mostly any type of movement will help with weight loss, but for heart health and diabetes prevention you are going to have to step it up.
It is recommended that if you are trying to lose weight that you exercise up to an hour per day five days per week. It is not necessary to begin at this level, but this is a good goal for you to strive for if you trying to shed pounds. If you are looking for the health benefits a moderate workout of 2.5 hours per week or a vigorous workout of 1.25 hours is a good goal to set for yourself.
If you are exercising at a moderate level, you should be able to carry on light conversation and if your workout is intense you will only be able to say a few words. You should not be able to give a lengthy lecture or be out of breath either. You should be somewhere in the middle.
Another good indicator of intensity is your heart rate. If you are exercising moderately, you want a heart rate that is 50%-70% of your maximum rate and a vigorous workout should have a heart rate of 70%-85% of the maximum. Your maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220. Your heart rate will dictate how intense your workout is and how it will benefit you.
Exercise is a big part of your health. It is important that you not only do exercise to keep your heart healthy, but you also have to exercise your muscles to keep the lean muscle mass. This can be done with weight machines, free weights or resistance bands. There are also exercises that can use the weight of your own body to accomplish this.
Exercise is an individual program and if you are not exercising the best thing you can do is get started. After you have been walking, swimming, bike riding or participating in any other activity regularly for 30 days than you can be customizing your workouts for the goals that you are hoping to accomplish by exercising.
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