Aerobic Exercise – Duration and Frequency

Transcript: Aerobic Exercise – Duration and Frequency

Today we’re going to discuss how long and how often to perform aerobic exercise.

So you want to start exercising and you have a pretty good idea of how you want to do it. Walking, jogging, cycling, indoors, or outdoors. But the confusion sets in when trying to figure out how long and how often you actually have to exercise to get good results.

Choosing the right amount of exercise varies from person to person depending on your current level of fitness and your goals. But here’s a few simple pointers to help guide you.

For overall good health we recommend getting aerobic exercise for 20-30 minutes per session at least 3 days per week. However, if losing weight is your goal you may need to ramp that up to 4-5 days per week.

There are countless reasons why people don’t get enough exercise, whether it’s being too out of shape or you’re too busy to fit in a 20-30 minute session of exercise. However, there is a solution. Try breaking up your exercise into 5-10 minute sessions throughout the day.

For example, a 10 minute walk in the morning or at lunch and a 10 minute walk after dinner will give you a total of 20 minutes for the day. Your body adds up aerobic exercise as you go. You don’t always have to exercise in long sessions. Even a few 5 minute session throughout the day could be beneficial. Keep in mind, a little exercise is much better than none at all. But if you stay consistent you will notice that you will be able to exercise longer than you could when you first started. As that happens you can progress by adding a few minutes to your sessions each week. Just to be safe don’t increase your exercise more than 5 extra minutes per week.

So lets say you start walking 2 times a day, 3 days a week, for 10 minutes each session and you feel like you’re making progress. Maybe the next week you can walk 10 minutes on your first walk, 15 minutes on your second one, and then the week after that ramp it up to 2, 15 minute walks. And just like that you’re now at 30 minutes per day. This format will get you in great shape much faster than you think. Pretty cool, huh.

Ok, let’s recap. The goal is to get 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least 3 days per week. But if you are trying to lose weight more days may be necessary. Keep in mind that if you can’t do 20-30 minutes at a time you can break up your exercise into smaller sessions throughout the day. If you start slow, work your way up, and stay consistent, you’ll get results.

1-Minute Weight Loss is a program that will help you gradually add movement to things you already do in a way that is easy, realistic, and convenient. Learn more...

Permanent Weight Loss 101 is a 10 step program that will help you achieve permanent weight loss the only way that works. Set small and effective goals, develop a solid plan to achieve your goals, and create the motivation necessary to stick with your plan. Learn more...