“Exercise Bites” and Physical Activity Recommendations
Exercise is key to improving your physical fitness and overall wellbeing. In this blog we will discuss the physical and mental benefits of exercise, provide some exercise guidelines and recommendations, along with different ways to achieve these.
Benefits of exercise
Exercising, along with a balanced and varied diet, is the best way to stay healthy. Exercising presents a variety of health benefits, such as
Weight control
Slowing the natural loss of bone mineral density as adults age (1).
Providing high muscle strength, which reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, stroke, arthritis, and coronary artery disease (2).
Mental benefits: Improved symptoms of depression and anxiety, through releasing dopamine and endorphins (Hormones that improve your mood by boosting energy levels and reducing stress levels).
A fun way to meet new people (At a weekly yoga class or part of a regular running group).
It is good to note that exercise does not have to be performed for 30 or 60 minutes at a time if that does not suit you, instead you could try exercise bites.
Exercise bites
As part of our Move For 30 campaign, “Exercise bites” are short bursts of exercise that can be taken throughout the day to boost our daily activity levels. They are designed to keep us moving regularly to meet the guideline of 30 minutes of exercise per day.
“Exercise bites” are designed to be taken just 5-10 minutes at a time, and can be comprised of any form of movement to suit what you want to do and what you feel able to. Some suggestions of ways that you can perform exercise bites is by taking the stairs instead of the lift, parking further away from the door, standing up or walking during calls, and doing jumping jacks or squats during advert breaks on the TV.
Exercise recommendations
To achieve the full benefits of exercise, The Health Service Executive (HSE) and Department of Health and Children have produced The National Guidelines on Physical Activity for Ireland.
The NHS guidelines for recommended daily exercise are as follows;
Recommendations:
Brisk walking, doubles tennis, gardening
Running, skipping, swimming
Lifting weights, resistance bands, hill walking
Adults aged 18-64 Per Week
Aerobic Exercise ≥150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, ~30 minutes/day
OR, 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week
Anaerobic Exercise Muscle-strengthening exercises on 2 or more days of the week
Before doing any sort of exercise, it is always recommended to perform a warmup in order to get your body ready for the exercise. Just as importantly, a cool down is recommended to gradually reduce your heart rate back down to normal after exercising, as well as some static stretches (holding a stretch of key muscle groups for 20-30 seconds).
Remember, exercising does not have to be a chore and can be performed by anyone, even if that’s for 5 or 10 minutes at a time!
