I was mentioning to my brother n law the other day the importance of including not just physical activity, but vigorous physical activity, into his routine. It is the higher intensity that improves our overall fitness but also more stronger effects our cholesterol levels, in fact, exercise intensity directly impacts HDL levels.
It is recommended that adults participate in 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity several days a week. [or moderate intensity two and a half hours a week.]
So just what IS vigorous?
It gets a little complicated if you consider it in METs or metabolic equivalents.. but being still is equal to one and vigorous activity is six or more. If you think of perceived exertion is it about a seven on a scale of ten.. for the 20 minutes.
Now what is moderate for a 20 year old may be vigorous for a 70 year old, so some subjectivity is involved.
Here are just a few examples that the CDC and the ACSM consider high intensity or vigorous.
walking very fast... five miles per hour..
(it usually takes me 17 minutes to walk a mile which is low to moderate activity!)
running - no MPH given but 12 or less minutes per mile is usually considered "running"
bicycling at least ten miles per hour...
(I can do 12 in around 63 minutes on my no gear bike! and believe me, cyclists fly by me on the road so that I am almost embarrassed. I actually want to yell out, "I am just an injured runner, not a cyclist!")
mountain climbing and hiking
roller blading
aerobics, step, dance, floor - high intensity
jumping jacks
jumping rope
and YES TOM... rowing machine (at vigorous effort)
boxing
ballroom dancing
competitive sports (tennis, soccer, football, basketball, etc)
steady paced lap swimming
canoeing etc, at more than 4 mph
well, that ought to get you started...
Tomorrow I will be in conference so I should learn something new to share!
