Are you meeting the "minimum" exercise requirements?
/When governments put “exercise recommendations” in place, they take into account the “entire population” of their respective countries.
This means that if the population suffers from a high level of “inactivity” and “metabolic disorders”, they set the recommendations to a lower level, so that they don’t discourage people.
This is important because this means that most of those “exercise recommendations” are no longer for “optimal health”, but they are rather the “minimum” needed to avoid health problems.
So, I’ll be listing below the recommendations from some major countries. When you read them, think: “these are the minimum recommendations, and if I want to significantly improve my health, I should aim higher”.
At least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity, or
75 minutes (1.25 hour) to 150 minutes (2.5 hours) a week of vigorous-intensity
Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond the equivalent of 300 minutes (5 hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity a week
Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities 2 or more days a week
(“moderate intensity” means: you can talk but not in full sentences; “vigorous intensity” means: you can only say a few words at a time).
UK Exercise Recommendations (same as Australia, Canada)
Aim to be physically active every day, more is better
Strengthening activities that work all the major muscles on at least 2 days a week
At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week
Again, remember that there is a linear relationship between level of physical activity and overall health (up to a certain point).
This means that the more you exercise, the better you’ll feel (again, up to a certain point, but that point isn’t even reachable for 99.99% of the population).
So, what about you? Are you meeting those minimum guidelines for physical activity?
