Exercise Advice and Tips

Exactly how much exercise do mature adults need to achieve good health?  The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) makes the following general recommendations on the types and amounts of exercise for overall health and fitness:

Your exercise programme should concentrate on the three following areas:

Improving Aerobic Endurance. For aerobic exercise your choices are numerous.  Rowing is excellent for its all-over effect. Swimming and water exercise are excellent because they don't place a lot of stress on the joints. Stationary and seated (known as recumbent) cycling are less stressful on the back and legs than some activities, and fitness walking on a treadmill or outdoors in the good weather is also a good option.

Increasing Strength. Resistance training has gained considerable popularity with mature adults over the last decade.  It has been show to stimulate bone growth, improve posture, decrease percent body fat and improve balance and mobility.  To ensure you train properly and effectively it is best to get help from a certified personal trainer, and have him or her design an appropriate resistance exercise programme for you.

Improving Flexibility. You need to perform flexibility exercises in a slow, sustained manner, holding the stretches for up to 30 seconds.  Make sure you feel the stretch in the muscles, not in the joints.  It is okay to stretch daily.  Stretches for the backs of the legs, fronts of the legs, lower back and shoulders are recommended.  These flexibility stretches are best performed at the end of the workout.

Minimums recommended are as follows: