General Exercise Guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine

by Lauren Williamson

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently updated its position stand on the quantity and quality of exercise for healthy adults. For improvement of cardiovascular fitness and body composition, they recommend performing physical activity 3 - 5 times each week for 20 - 60 minutes at a time. That therefore means a minimum of 60 minutes per week of physical activity. Exercise sessions should involve activities that involve large muscle groups (e.g., walking, running, cycling, and swimming).

The intensity level (target heart rate) for this physical activity should be at least 55% - 65% of your maximum heart rate. (You can estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220.) You can quickly determine if your intensity is too high by taking the "talk test"; if you cannot maintain a conversation with your exercise partner while exercising, then your intensity is too high. The ACSM also recommends that you include muscular strength and flexibility training in your exercise program.

If you are not currently exercising, please consult your physician before beginning any exercise program. If you’ve been given the all-clear to exercise, start off at a comfortable training pace and slowly increase your intensity, frequency and duration of training.

REMEMBER! Consistency is the key to success in any exercise program; choose an activity that you enjoy and are likely to continue throughout your adult life.