The key to the 150 minutes recommended is that you need to move enough to raise your heart rate. You don’t need to do them all at the same time. You can break them down and do some each day.
Taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes five times a week will get you what you need. Others will complete all 150 minutes in a sports training session.
The way in which minutes are built is unique to the individual and needs to be increased gradually. Exercising vigorously gives you double the minutes — so 75 minutes would be all you needed.
There are many ways to track activity — technology plays a crucial role and most trackers and apps will automatically tell you when you have gained ‘zone minutes’ easily allowing you to see how you are doing.
Fitbit — AppleWatch — Polar — Her Spirit Phone app to name but a few all automatically register when you have gained zone minutes. These are divided into sections— fat burn, cardio and peak. There are based on your heart rate at rest and during exercise.
If you don’t have a tracker then simply read How To Calculate Your Training Heart Rate Zones by Active fitness which will give you the target for low, moderate and intense exercise.
As you get fitter you’ll need to build up the intensity and duration of your chosen activity. A mix of strength and aerobic work is ideal. Whatever activity you choose is worth the effort.
If you need a reminder about why this is important and how to get going The American Heart Association has this handy poster with the key facts. The more you move the fitter you will get and the more benefits you will gain.
Not everything you do will gain you minutes but that doesn’t mean that it’s a waste of time. Activities such as yoga, meditation and pilates may not increase your heart rate enough but stretching, relaxing and moving gently are still supporting both mental and physical health.
Active Essex has a great website filled with guidance on getting active. Read more here: http://www.activeessex.org/find-your-active/time-to-move/
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