Exercise

The World Health Organization recommends at least 75 minutes of intense exercise or 2.5 – 5 hours of light to medium exercise each week, combined with 2 days of strength training. This equates to 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise over five days or 25 minutes of high-intensity exercise spread across three days. Unfortunately, about one-third of adults and 80% of teenagers fail to meet these guidelines, which heightens their risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, obesity, mental health issues, cancer and diabetes. The following sections will explore different forms of exercise, along with their benefits and drawbacks.

Incidental exercise or non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)

This is the type of physical activity that is not intentional, such as cleaning, fidgeting, walking up the stairs instead of taking the escalator, walking around the home or office whilst on the phone, alternating between standing and sitting at the office, parking further away from the shop entrance etc. NEAT can contribute anywhere up to 2000 kcal depending on one’s physical activity, for example someone who has a standing job can burn up to 700 kcal extra per day, and someone who has a job entailing more physical activity such as a gardener up to 2000kcal extra, thus NEAT can have a huge impact on health, wellness and overall caloric expenditure. One can increase their NEAT expenditure by investing in a standing desk and getting a pedometer watch and aiming to increase steps taken daily ¹.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

This is a form of exercise that alternates between high-intensity exercise at heart rates of 85-90% of maximum heart rate (HRmax) and recovery exercise at 50-60% of HRmax which has received a lot of attention lately because of its ability to stimulate rapid body fat percentage loss, increased muscle mass, growth hormone, decreased visceral abdominal fat, and biochemical markers such as total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) triglycerides, fatty liver markers ²  and cuts training time by 40% ³. The downfall of HIIT is that it stimulates stress hormones and is therefore not appropriate for the elderly, cardiac, chronically fatigued or stressed individuals and more moderate types of interval training of 55–75% HRmax can still be implemented to achieve some of the benefits ⁴ or low impact forms of HIIT such as cycling, which have also been found to have more benefits in postmenopausal women, who are more prone to oestrogen-decline related weight gain ⁵.

Cardio

Exercise such as walking, cycling, jogging, rowing etc has been shown to have many potential benefits, such as reducing stress, upregulating insulin receptors, thereby balancing blood glucose in diabetic patients, decreasing blood pressure, weight, stress, improving cardiac health (by reducing LDL cholesterol, clotting factors such as fibrinogen and increasing the good HDL cholesterol) and heart contractility. It can also improve bone density to help reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life, improve immunity, and counteract the reduced metabolic rate which is triggered in menopause due to oestrogen decline and loss of muscle mass ⁶ ⁷.

Strength training

This form of exercise has numerous benefits, especially in the menopausal and postmenopausal group of people, improving their spinal health, lean mass, strength, metabolism, increasing growth hormone, testosterone and oestrogen, reducing hot flashes, reducing systolic blood pressure, and reducing body fat. Strength training could result in injuries if done incorrectly or if weight training is too heavy, especially for people who have underlying issues such as disc herniations, rotator cuff tears or meniscus injuries of the knee. It is therefore advisable to follow a plan, invest in a personal trainer or follow classes under supervision if you are new to any form of exercise ⁸.

Yoga / Pilates

The main benefits reported were enhanced physical fitness, such as reduced weight, improved strength, core strength, balance, energy, flexibility and coordination, mental health, such as reduced stress, improved sleep, depression and cognitive functions, such as improved memory and concentration. The risk and incidence of injury are relatively low, with patients often reporting muscle aches and strains ⁹ ¹⁰.

In summary, there are many forms of exercise, and not one protocol and form suits everyone. Ideally, one would like to incorporate a combination of cardio, strength training and flexibility training, however, time is often limited in today’s busy world. If you would like more advice on what changes you can implement and how, please click here for a free 15 minute consult or here for an in-depth initial consultation.