Adults Benefit from Short Bouts of Exercise

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that adults aged 65 and older should aim to achieve at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week. This is in addition to at least 2 or more days of muscle-strengthening exercise per week. However, many individuals in this age group don't fulfill the recommendations. The good news is that even small amounts of physical activity can be beneficial.

A study presented at the EuroPrevent 2016 meeting suggested that just 15 minutes of daily exercise can yield a positive response. The conclusion was based on data from two studies involving more than 123,000 subjects. The researchers looked at weekly physical activity records and death rates, and found that as activity levels increased, death rates declined. Subjects classified as highly active had a 35% lower risk of death during the study. However, subjects at the lower end of the activity spectrum--who exercised for just 15 minutes per day--still saw their risk decrease by 22%.

These two studies show that the more physical activity older adults do, the greater the health benefit. The implications of this research are also likely true for adults younger than 65.

Do you meet these activity recommendations currently? If not, you can start by adding in short bouts of exercise until you are achieving the recommended amount of time. If you are meeting these recommendations, congratulations! Keep up the good work and keep in mind that going over the recommendations only yields greater benefits.

Do you know others who are not currently meeting the minimum exercise requirements that could benefit from incorporating more exercise into their lives? Please pass along the findings of this research. If you or anyone you know would like help in achieving the health benefits of exercise, I'd be be happy to meet and discuss some solutions.

The study appeared in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (2015; 49 [19], 1262-67).

Spin into health

Cardiovascular exercise is vital to keeping our organs healthy, for example, heart, lungs, circulatory system, etc. Cardiovascular or Aerobic exercise is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism. Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time. When practiced in this way, examples of cardiovascular/aerobic exercise are medium to long distance running/jogging, swimming, cycling, and walking.

Spinning is a convenient indoor version of cycling that may be more convenient. While attending a spin class is the best way to keep motivated to maintain a high intensity session, there are also online resources that can help you make your own personal spin class. The Global Cycling Network has a YouTube channel, where they have posted 16 spinning workouts ranging in length from 13 to 60 minutes.

Train with Global Cycling Network

Benefits of Cardiovascular Exercise:

• Improved hormonal profile: ease symptoms of depression and fatigue and release hormones that decrease appetite
• Increased metabolism: can lead to weight loss
• Improved heart health: decrease in blood pressure, decrease in bad (LDL and total cholesterol, increase in good (HDL) cholesterol
• Improved recovery ability
• Diabetes management: increased insulin sensitivity