It’s important to exercise regularly because it can reduce your risk to many chronic diseases and quicken COVID-19 recovery time. In addition, physical activity also has other benefits, such as an improved sense of wellness, better sleep partners and increased energy.
For the most benefits, here’s how much physical activity you should be getting:
FOR ADULTS
- Exercising with moderate intensity for a minimum of 150 minutes a week will decrease your risk of death by 20% and vigorous exercise for 75 minutes will reduce your risk of death by 28%. Do a combination of both for best results.
- Split physical activity into several small chunks to make it easier to schedule. It’s also more likely that you’ll stick with the plan.
- If you only have small windows of time to work out, try working out in chunks of ten minutes or more.
What is the difference between Moderate Intensity exercises and Vigorous Intensity exercises?
- Moderate intensity means you are able to talk in a conversation but not sing.
- Vigorous intensity means that while you are doing that activity, you won’t be able to say more than a few words without stopping for a breath.
FOR YOUNG CHILDREN (3-5 YEARS)
- Small children should be physically active throughout the day, to help with their growth and development.
- Active play isn’t just about structured activities like sports and classes. It’s also important to have unstructured playtime with friends, family, pets, and neighbors.
FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS
- Get 60 minutes or more of physical activity every day. Most of it should be moderate-intensity aerobic activity like running, walking briskly, swimming, playing sport, biking, etc.
- Physical development varies from child to child, so it’s important for physical activities to be adjusted accordingly.
- Be sure to get at least 3 days a week of each of these: vigorous-intensity aerobic, muscle-stimulating, and bone-strengthening exercises.
- Vigorous-intensity aerobic activities include running, doing jumping jacks, and fast swimming
- Muscle-strengthening activities include playing tug-of-war, and doing pushups and pull-ups.
- Bone-strengthening activities include skipping, doing jumping jacks, and playing volleyball.
