Fitness: Cardio, Strength, Stretching
CARDIO:
Recommended dose: For good overall health benefits 150 minutes is a great place to strive for! Planning this into your daily and weekly schedule is crucial to achieve this goal! Some people find that doing 5 days a week of 30-minute chunks works well for them and others do longer 60 minute sessions a few times per week.
Effort and Intensity: Your workouts should be at a moderate intensity most days. A couple sessions you can try to bump it up to a higher intensity on non-consecutive days. In both intensities you should feel uncomfortable. A 5-7 level of exertion on moderate intensity workouts and 8-9 on higher intensity workouts.
Duration: For low-moderate intensity workouts try hitting the goal of 30-60 minutes and higher intensity workouts limit to around 20 minutes.
Method: Finding an activity that you can both stick with doing consistently and one that you enjoy is the best form to do! Alternating between a few activities can be great to prevent bored and injury.
STRENGTH TRAINING:
Recommended dose: Try to get 2-3 days of strength training in per week (on non-consecutive days).
Effort and Intensity: The goal is to get to 8-12 repetitions when you are lifting weights. If 12 reps is not challenging at the weight you have selected you need to increase the weight. You want the last 2 reps to feel challenging, also done with proper form! Once you see your form decline you should stop in order to prevent injury.
Method: Finding an activity that you can both stick with doing consistently and one that you enjoy is the best form to do! Alternating between a few activities can be great to prevent bored and injury. Body weight exercises are a great way to start. Try things such as push-ups, pull-ups, dips, sit-ups, etc. When you are ready to transition to other options you can try dumbbells, kettlebells, stability balls, barbells, or resistance machines.
STRETCHING AND FLEXIBILITY:
Recommended dose: It can be beneficial to aid in muscle soreness to stretch daily or on non-exercise days.
Forms and styles: Static stretching is a form of stretching where you hold a position for 30-60 seconds. Dynamic stretching is when one joint takes a full range of motion several times without actually holding the position. Dynamic stretching is great before working out. Static stretching is great for flexibility and is best to be done after a workout.
Duration: For dynamic stretching prior to your workout try at least 6-8 flowing reps. Completing a static stretch post-workout and take as much time needed for the major muscle groups involved in your activity (30-60 seconds is beneficial).
Method: Try both dynamic and static stretching. Fun forms of activities that include stretching are Pilates or yoga.
