The Decaturian is Millikin's student-run newspaper. The opinions reflected may not be those of Millikin as an institution.

The Decaturian

The Decaturian is Millikin's student-run newspaper. The opinions reflected may not be those of Millikin as an institution.

The Decaturian

The Decaturian is Millikin's student-run newspaper. The opinions reflected may not be those of Millikin as an institution.

The Decaturian

Perfect amount of exercise: How much is too much?

When people begin working out, it’s easy to overestimate what their body can handle. They believe that if they work out at a high intensity rate for 30 to 60 minutes every day of the week that they will “lose weight fast;” a common misconception that needs to be proven wrong.

According to the CDC, an adult between the ages of 18 and 65 only needs 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week. These are leisurely activities such as brisk walking, raking leaves, shoveling snow, yoga, washing your car or a round of golf.

When broken down, this is only 30 minutes, five days a week. If this sounds too daunting, you can split it up into three 10 minutes sessions rather than one 30 minute session.

Moderate-intensity aerobic activity is when you are working your body in a way that not only raises your heart rate, but also makes you break a sweat. A way to test if you are exercising in a way that’s classified as a moderate-intensity aerobic activity is to do the singing test. You should be able to talk while exercising, but not be able to sing the words to your favorite song.

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Along with this, two or more days a week are needed to do muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups—legs, arms, shoulders, abdomen, hips, back, and chest. You can perform these exercises after or before your 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity; this way, you can have two days off a week in order for your body to recover.

Another option to gain the recommended amount of exercise per week is to fit in 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, which includes biking, jogging or mountain climbing, This is only 15 minutes a day, five days a week.

Vigorous-intensity aerobic activities should make you breathe hard and fast while raising your heart rate quite a bit. At this level, you shouldn’t be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.

Although this type of activity may seem more difficult, in comes in handy when you only have a short time to fit in a workout; you get the same benefits as moderate-intensity aerobic activities, but in half the time.

For this plan, the recommended amount of muscle-strengthening activities is the same as before, two or more days a week.

If people begin exercising with knowing the proper amount of exercise needed, they are more likely to stick to their program and see results, which is what everyone really wants.

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