In this blog we will review the government recommendations for exercise and exactly how much exercise we should be doing in these unprecedented times!
Covid-19 Exercise Craze
As Covid-19 continues to take its toll on our lives, an increasing number of us are turning towards various social media outlets such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for our daily exercise inspiration. A channel which has seen an exponential growth during these unprecedented times is that of Joe Wicks. Joe Wicks has stepped up and generously provided us with the "Joe Wicks live workout", the "Joe Wicks PE workout" for kids and various other workouts via his YouTube channel in a bid to maintain the health of the population alongside their mental well-being.
Despite this, one of the questions Aim 4 More physiotherapy is most frequently asked asked is "am i doing enough exercise?" 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏻♀️
At Aim 4 More Physiotherapy we see regular exercise as one of the core pillars to maintaining and living a healthy lifestyle. 💪🏾
What Does The Research Say?
According to the NHS (2019) and various other organisations looking into exercise recommendations, the average adult should be aiming to complete 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise weekly, across 5 days or alternatively 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise 3 days weekly. To many peoples amazement, this excludes the "10,000 steps" if these steps are performed at a leisurely pace.
Moderate intensity exercise is defined as exercise which should make you mildly breathless but still able to hold a conversation. An exercise of moderate intensity will increase your heart rate by 50%-70% of your resting heart rate. Types of moderate intensity exercise include activities such as brisk walking, light jogging, home work outs (leg, bums and tums), gardening, small games with friends or children. If you were to rate the intensity of these exercises out of 10 they will be scored somewhere between 4-6 in terms of rate of perceived exertion.
Vigorous intensity exercise is defined as exercise performed with a substantial amount of effort leading to a significant increase in an individuals heart rate and respiratory rate. Following this type of exercise you will commonly find it difficult to talk in full sentences and will be working at 70-85% of your maximal heart rate. These activities will commonly include competitive sports (football, baseketball, netball etc), fast cycling, HIIT workouts, sprints, lifting heavy weights etc. The rate of perceived exertion will be 7-9 out of 10.
It is worth noting that the figures stated above are for maintaining general fitness. However, depending on your goals you may choose to increase these figures. If you are looking to improve general fitness levels or if you are targeting weight loss etc. then it is likely these figures will need to be higher.
So What To Do Now?
With regards to when, where and what type of exercise you choose to do the great news is that it's entirely up to YOU! So if it is Joe Wick's work out you enjoy, whether it be leg workouts at home or going for a jog, as long as it's something you find enjoyable it will be a good form of exercise. The intensity of an excise can easily be adjusted by increasing the duration, the speed, the weight etc 🚴🎾⚽🏈🏉🏀
🎉 So, competition time....At Aim 4 More Physiotherapy we want to encourage you to participate in exercise and being active! 🎉
Therefore, throughout the month of April see if you can comply with the national exercise guidelines and complete:
1) 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 times weekly
OR
2) 20 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 times weekly
Record a short clip of you doing your chosen exercise. Post this to your Instagram story and tag us @aim4morephysiotherapy 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
If you have any questions about the above content, on your exercise levels or if you are wanting a more specific tailored exercise programme to meet your needs please get in touch with us at Aim 4 More Physiotherapy. Also if you find you are limited taking part in exercise due to injury or your medical history please get in contact with us :) Aim 4 More Physiotherapy - Aiming to optimise your health and well-being.