Tips to Guide Aerobic Exercise

At this point it’s well known that exercise is a key component of health. Leading health organizations have regularly released physical activity guidelines and led numerous initiatives to try and increase overall activity levels in people of all ages. Despite these widespread efforts, the number of sedentary individuals and rates of inactivity have not drastically changed. Why is that? Well one- knowledge alone does not translate to habit formation. Simply knowing that we should be more active is not enough to suddenly become more active. And two- telling people to do 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise is often meaningless and may be intimidating to some. There are a lot of questions- What counts? Does intensity matter? How long do I have to exercise at a time? Here are a few tips to help guide your aerobic exercise program based on older adult guidelines.

Moderate vs Vigorous Intensity

For general health benefits, it is recommended that you work at a moderate intensity (150 minutes). If you are able to work at a higher, vigorous intensity, the amount of exercise minutes per week is fewer (75 minutes).

Think: 2 minutes of moderate intensity exercise = 1 minute of vigorous intensity exercise

Three ways to measure aerobic exercise intensity

1.The “talk test”: For moderate intensity, work at a level that you can talk but not sing. If aiming for a vigorous intensity, exercise at a level that you can only say a few words at a time.

2. Perceived exertion: Use a 0-10 scale to rate how hard you feel like you are working. Moderate intensity is rated between 6-7/10 and vigorous intensity is rated between 8-9/10.

3. Target heart rate zone: To determine your maximum heart rate, use this equation: 220- age. For moderate intensity exercise, it is 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. For vigorous intensity, it is between 70-85% of your maximum heart rate. If you have a smart watch, you can see your heart rate during exercise to help guide where you are at. However, since there is some math involved in this one, using one of the above methods is likely easier when tracking your own exercise. Personally, I recommend using the talk test since it is more concrete than the perceived exertion scale and may be a better indicator of your true effort level.

How much exercise should I get?

Current CDC guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week OR 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise OR an equivalent combination of both on 2+ days/week. Ideally, aerobic exercise should be completed 3+days/week. You may have heard the recommendation of 30 minutes per day 5 days per week. However this is not the only dosage that has benefits. Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning your aerobic exercise:

1. Break exercise down into 5-10 minute increments if needed. If you can’t do 30 minutes, try to work in multiple 10 minute segments throughout the day.

2. Both continuous (like brisk walking) or intermittent (like interval training) exercise count toward your weekly exercise totals.

3. It is better to start slow and gradually increase your aerobic tolerance to help establish and maintain an exercise routine.

4. Active household activities, like gardening or yardwork can count as aerobic exercise when working at the appropriate intensity.

Most importantly, these are general guidelines and may not be what’s right for you, right now. Any amount of exercise has benefits so the important thing is to get started. If you need help planning your exercise routine and determining what’s right for you, reach out and see how the expertise of a physical therapist at Let’s Get Moving can help.

*The above tips are in relation to the current CDC guidelines for adults and older adults