Q: How often should I exercise during the week?
A: According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), adults should exercise at a moderate intensity for 20-60 minutes at least 5 days each week. This can include a combination of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility training. This is an ideal amount, so beginners may need to work up to these guidelines – breaking exercise bouts into 10-20 minute sessions first, then working up to 20-60 minutes daily.
Q: What types of cardio should I do?
A: The type of cardio you choose is largely dependent upon your likes and your individual needs. Someone with joint problems may opt for low impact exercise machines like the elliptical or stationary bike or even swimming, while others may enjoy running, walking or doing stairs. The key to getting the most out of your cardio is to constantly challenge yourself. Try to gradually increase the intensity of your workout, even for short intervals, and you should see improved results from your cardio training sessions.
Q: Is walking ok as cardio?
A: Walking can be a great starting point for many people. In fact, walking and running 1 mile yield approximately the same caloric burn. It’s true…the difference is that over the course of 30 minutes you will run a greater distance than you walk, burning more total calories. A higher intensity exercise will also challenge your cardiovascular capacity, improving heart function at rest and during exercise. Just remember – it’s all relative to your individual abilities – for some people, walking is a high intensity exercise, for others running may be more appropriate.
Q: I want to “tone” a specific area of my body, how do I do that?
A: The short answer is that you can’t “spot tone.” Our bodies have very specific fat storage patterns that do not allow us to “spot reduce”. As we lose body fat, we lose it from all of our fat stores. So, to see improvement in muscle tone and lose body fat, it’s best to adopt an overall cardiovascular and strength training program – once you do that you can certainly add additional exercises for areas of your greatest concern.
Q: I’m afraid that strength training will make me look big or bulky. What should I do?
A: Let’s preface this answer by saying that we get this question mainly from women. Women do not naturally produce enough testosterone to build muscles that look like a man. Also, body fat has a much higher volume than muscle does. So, adopting a program that combines strength and cardio training will reduce more total body fat, revealing the muscle underneath, and leaving you looking more “toned.” Men who are also concerned with becoming too bulky or big may want to stick to a weight training program that focuses on higher reps, rather than trying to do only a few reps of a very high weight. Whatever your training goals, we can help you build an individualized program to meet them – just ask!
Post prepared by Jason Bacigalupo
Post prepared by Jason Bacigalupo