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How much exercise should I do per week?
I have heard that I should be active for 30 minutes a day, for 5 or more days a week. Where does this message fit in with the 10,000 steps programme?
This advice is still valid. Walking briskly for 30 minutes a day has been proven to reduce the risk of disease in many areas. It is the current guideline given by most UK and US health organisations. It has also been shown that the 30 minutes can be split into two lots of 15 minutes, or three lots of 10 minutes, and still bring significant health benefits.
Getting started with a physical activity routine is a major step on the way to a physically active lifestyle. Unfortunately we cannot bottle the benefits from our current exercise habits for use at some point in the future. Physical activity has to be sustained over the long term to accrue the significant health benefits that are associated with it. Even former athletes who quit exercise altogether at the end of their careers have similar rates of chronic disease as people who've never exercised. Finding a physical activity routine that you can sustain throughout your lifespan is critical for deriving maximum benefit. Importantly, it's never too late to start. People who take up exercise in their 60s can still achieve significant health benefits.
From The Step Counter Diet® by Joanna Hall (Copyright © 2004 Thorsons Publishing). All rights reserved. Reproduced here by permission of the publisher.
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