There’s a lot of variation on how long you need to workout every day to stay fit. Some say it’s an hour, while other focus on 30 minutes-a-day. Most research varies because everyone is different with different goals and there are different levels of intensity during exercise. If your goal is to become a better athlete, you’ll need to push yourself harder to get fit and stay fit for your sport. If you’ve been a couch potato, a half hour will definitely help you get into shape.
Your workout benefits vary by intensity.
The more intense the workout, the less time you have to spend. The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that you need at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week to be fit. That averages out to less than 30 minutes a day or can translate to 30 minutes five days a week. If you switch up the intensity the amount of time necessary drops to 75 minutes a week. That could mean as little as 15 minutes a day of intense exercise. Of course, all these numbers are based on aerobic training and fitness, so you also need time for strength, balance and flexibility training.
Besides increasing the intensity, you can also vary the intensity to cut exercise time shorter.
Varying the intensity means going from pushing your body to its maximum potential for a few minutes, then dropping back to a recovery intensity for an equal amount of time. This type of workout is called High Intensity Interval Training—HIIT. Intensity, in this case, is measured by heart rate. You can use almost any type of exercise for a HIIT workout, even walking. It provides more benefit than a steady state workout and does it in a shorter amount of time. Just a half hour of HIIT compares to 45 minutes of steady state exercising.
Is your goal to stay fit, get fit or get your body ready for competition.
If you just want to look better and have a some of the vitality you used to have, you probably won’t be training like a professional athlete like a boxer or football player or bodybuilder. Most of these people workout longer than just two to three hours a day, but if you’re an average person, two hours could be too long, especially if you have medical conditions such as joint problems, chronic injuries or other health issues.
- Anyone who has a health issue needs to check with his or her health care provider to ensure that exercise is safe for their condition. In most cases, it’s not only safe, but encouraged.
- If you’re doing a half hour a day of exercise, use a few minutes every day for flexibility exercises. Do strength training two days a week skipping two days between sessions and aerobic workouts the rest of the time.
- Scheduling your workout at the same time every day can help you get into the habit of exercise. If you have a packed schedule, you can break your workout into two to three sessions throughout the day. Studies show that several short sessions are as good as one long one.
- Add something fun that’s active to your schedule to increase the amount of exercise you get. Instead of staying home and watching TV, take a hike, play games with the kids or go dancing. Live the active lifestyle.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym