Written By Alan Good
“With the increase of life expectancy, we are outliving our ‘fitness’ and succumbing to disabilities of old age, and to reverse this we need at lease moderate-intensity aerobically exercise,” so states Dr. Donald Paterson, Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging Director.
More on move it or lose it from the last article, lets break your exercise regimen down. I like to follow the FITT principle. This theory is a structured framework—Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type—used by fitness experts to design effective workouts and improve fitness. It helps tailor exercise routines, preventing plateaus and burnout by adjusting how often, hard, long, and what type of exercises you do.
Frequency is said to total a minimum of 150 minutes a week, as per the Canadian standard of fitness discussed last issue. You can break this up any way you want, so long as each segment is at least 20 minutes. So, for example, thirty-minute sessions for five days, taking two days off, might be to your liking. Play with it.
Next, intensity. This is the “push” you give to what you do for exercise, or how hard you want to work out. As with most things, the harder you work those muscles the more you benefit. Walk, or bike, faster, use higher weights or bands, or add more reps, it’s all up to you.
Thirdly, the time you choose is yours. Whatever time of day that works for you is okay—just be consistent! Use the same time each time. I like early morning as I’m fresher and have more energy.
The type of exercise is also a choice you can make, but again, try to be consistent. This doesn’t mean do the same routine each time. Change it up, by all means, but do that routine for a few weeks. Then, as you progress, make changes that will challenge your body.
The “Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines” can be found online. It encourages people to move more by completing “moderate to vigorous physical activity”. The guidelines call light physical activity, including standing, as important.
Health benefits touted are, a lower risk of mortality, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, several cancers, anxiety, depression, dementia, weight gain, adverse blood lipid profile, falls and fall-related injuries; and improved bone health, cognition, quality of life and physical function.
They call for performing a variety of types and intensities of physical activity including moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activities, such that there is an accumulation of at least 150 minutes per week. Muscle strengthening activities using major muscle groups at least twice a week and physical activities that challenge balance are included.
As well, they recommend getting “seven to eight hours of good-quality sleep on a regular basis, with consistent bed and wake-up times”, limiting sedentary time to eight hours or less, with no more than three hours of recreational screen time breaking up long periods of sitting as often as possible.
As said, keep track of your weekly exercises. Make a chart of what exercises you do and the days of the week. Chart each day’s event as to what you completed and for how long. Then, feel, and see, the difference.
