Strenuous exercise like strength training causes tiny tears in muscle tissue. These tears are good, not bad: muscles grow stronger as the tears knit up. Always allow at least 48 hours between sessions for muscles to recover. So, if you do a strenuous full-body strength workout on Monday, wait until at least Wednesday to repeat it. It is fine to do aerobic exercise on the days between your strength training. If you're doing a partial-body strength session, however, you might do upper-body exercises on Monday, lower-body exercises on Tuesday, upper-body exercises on Wednesday, lower-body exercises on Thursday, etc., and also do aerobic exercise on as many days as possible.There is no single type of exercise that can take care of all your needs. In fact, to get the most benefits from your routine, you want a mix of activities during the course of a week. Otherwise, it's like a diet consisting only of fruit—healthful as far as it goes, but lacking a lot of the nutrients you'll find in other foods, such as fish, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains.
Developing a balanced exercise plan
So what does a balanced exercise plan consist of? The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urge all adults to include the following types of exercise in their weekly routines:
- 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week (for example, 30 minutes on each of five days)
or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (or an equiva- lent mix of the two). - two or more strength training sessions per week, with at least 48 hours in between to allow muscles
to recover. - balance exercises for older adults at risk for falls.
If this all sounds overwhelming, remember that workouts can be broken up into smaller segments. For example, three 10-minute walks can get you to your daily goal of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.
Each workout should also include a simple warm-up at the beginning and a cool-down at the end. The warm-up should consist of gentle exercise, such as marching in place, to loosen up your muscles and get more oxygen-rich blood flowing to them. To cool down, slow your activity and the intensity for five to 10 minutes, then finish off with stretches to help prevent stiffness.
Read on to learn more about each component of a balanced exercise program in greater depth and suggest a mix of activities and exercises to get you going.
Aerobic exercise (cardio)
Often called cardio or endurance activities, aerobic activities are great for burning calories and paring down unwanted fat. They consist of activities that make the heart and lungs work harder: think of walking, biking, running, and swimming, for example.
Aerobic exercise temporarily boosts your heart rate and breathing, allowing more oxygen to reach your muscles and tuning up cardiovascular endurance. These are the activities that are associated with lower risk for many diseases and longer life span.
How much should you do?
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend accumulating a weekly total of at least two- and-a-half hours of moderate aerobic activity, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity. (Note: If you prefer a mix, 10 minutes of vigorous activity equals roughly 20 minutes of moderate activity.) Raising your weekly goal to five hours of moderate activity, or two-and-a-half hours of vigorous activity, nets additional health benefits, especially weight loss. Each session should last at least 10 minutes.
Get started
Walking is usually safe for people of any age or level of fitness and can easily be adjusted to a comfortable speed. It doesn't jar joints or raise your heart rate to dangerous levels. For a greater challenge, you can add time, distance, or hills to improve endurance or use resistance bands to tone while you walk.
Flexibility exercises
Like stretching and yoga gently reverse the shortening and tightening of muscles that typically occur with disuse and age. Shorter, stiffer muscle fibers may make you vulnerable to injuries and contribute to back pain and balance problems.
Frequently performing exercises that isolate and stretch elastic fibers surrounding muscles and tendons helps counteract this. A well-stretched muscle more easily achieves its full range of motion. This improves athletic performance—imagine an easier, less restricted golf swing or tennis serve—and functional abilities, such as reaching, bending, or stooping during daily tasks. Stretching can also be a great way to get you moving in the morning or a way to relax after a long day. Activities such as yoga combine stretching and relaxation and also improve balance, a wonderful combination.
However, note that experts no longer recommend stretching before exercise. Prolonged stretching impedes the maximum contractile force of muscles. For example, stretching prior to jumping decreases jump height. Instead, experts now recommend starting off your exercise with a warm-up, such as an easy walk or a sport-specific routine such as serving some tennis balls and practicing ground strokes before a match. This increases the movement of blood and oxygen to the muscles. Then, when muscles are warm and pliable—for example, after five to 10 minutes of exercise—you can stretch. Or, even better, do your flexibility exercises as your post-workout cool-down.
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