{"id":725,"date":"2024-10-02T11:43:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T11:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/the7.io\/business-advisors\/?p=725"},"modified":"2024-10-13T11:32:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T11:32:26","slug":"physical-activity-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/?p=725","title":{"rendered":"Physical Activity Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"725\" class=\"elementor elementor-725\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-91f3094 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"91f3094\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-wider\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e9bc554\" data-id=\"e9bc554\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c8036f6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c8036f6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Physical Activity Guidelines for Older Adults<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>How much physical activity do older adults aged 65 and over need to do to keep healthy?<\/strong><\/p><p>To stay healthy or to improve health, older adults need to do two types of physical activity each week: aerobic and strength exercises.<\/p><p>The amount of physical activity you need to do each week depends on your age.\u00a0Click on\u00a0links below for the recommendations for\u00a0other age groups:<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/physical-activity-guidelines-for-children.aspx\">early childhood (under\u00a05 years old)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/physical-activity-guidelines-for-young-people.aspx\">young people (5 to 18 years old)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults.aspx\">adults (19-64 years old)<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/li><\/ul><h2>Guidelines\u00a0for older adults aged 65 and over<\/h2><p>Older adults aged 65 or older, who are generally fit and have no health conditions that limit their mobility,\u00a0should\u00a0try to be active daily and should do:<\/p><ul><li>at least 150 minutes of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/physical-activity-guidelines-for-older-adults.aspx#moderate\">moderate aerobic activity<\/a>\u00a0such as cycling or\u00a0walking every week, <strong>and<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/physical-activity-guidelines-for-older-adults.aspx#muscle\">strength exercises<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0two or more days a\u00a0week\u00a0that work all the major muscles\u00a0(legs,\u00a0hips,\u00a0back,\u00a0abdomen, chest,\u00a0shoulders and arms).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li><li>75 minutes\u00a0of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/physical-activity-guidelines-for-older-adults.aspx#vigorous\">vigorous aerobic activity<\/a>\u00a0such as\u00a0running or a game of singles tennis every week, <strong>and<\/strong><\/li><li>strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>a\u00a0mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs, plus 30 minutes of fast walking, equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, <strong>and<\/strong><\/li><li>strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).<\/li><\/ul><p>A rule of thumb is that one minute of vigorous activity provides the same health benefits as two minutes of moderate activity.\u00a0<\/p><p>You\u00a0should also try to break up long periods of sitting with light activity, as sedentary behaviour is now considered an independent risk factor for ill health, no matter how much exercise you do. Find out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/sitting-and-sedentary-behaviour-are-bad-for-your-health.aspx\">why sitting is bad for your health<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/healthy-bones\/Pages\/falls-risk-assessment-tool.aspx\">Older adults at risk of falls<\/a>, such as people with weak legs, poor balance and some medical conditions, should do exercises to improve balance and co-ordination on at least two days a week. Examples\u00a0include <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/yoga.aspx\">yoga<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/taichi.aspx\">tai chi<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-dancing.aspx\">dancing<\/a>.<\/p><h2>What counts as moderate aerobic activity?<\/h2><p>Examples of activities that require moderate effort for most people include:<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-walking.aspx\">walking<\/a><\/li><li>water aerobics<\/li><li>ballroom and line <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-dancing.aspx\">dancing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-cycling.aspx\">riding a bike<\/a> on level ground or with few hills<\/li><li>playing doubles tennis<\/li><li>pushing a lawn mower<\/li><li>canoeing<\/li><li>volleyball\u00a0<\/li><\/ul><p>Moderate activity will raise your heart rate and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you&#8217;re exercising at a moderate level is if you can still talk, but you can&#8217;t sing the words to a song.<\/p><p>Daily chores such as shopping, cooking or housework don&#8217;t count towards your 150 minutes, because the effort isn\u2019t enough to raise your heart rate, but they are important nonetheless, as they break up periods of sitting.<\/p><h2>What counts as vigorous aerobic activity?<\/h2><p>There is\u00a0good evidence that vigorous activity can bring health benefits over and above that of moderate activity.<\/p><p>Examples of activities that require vigorous effort for most people include:<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-running.aspx\">jogging or running <\/a><\/li><li>aerobics<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-swimming.aspx\">swimming<\/a> fast<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-cycling.aspx\">riding a bike<\/a> fast or on hills<\/li><li>singles tennis<\/li><li>football<\/li><li>hiking uphill<\/li><li>energetic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/getting-started-guides\/Pages\/getting-started-dancing.aspx\">dancing<\/a><\/li><li>martial arts<\/li><\/ul><p>Vigorous activity makes you breathe hard and fast. If you&#8217;re working at this level, you won&#8217;t be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath.<\/p><p>In general, 75 minutes of vigorous activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate activity.<\/p><h2>What activities strengthen muscles?<\/h2><p>Muscle strength is necessary for:<\/p><ul><li>all daily movement<\/li><li>building and maintaining strong bones<\/li><li>regulating blood sugar and blood pressure<\/li><li>maintaining a healthy weight<\/li><\/ul><p>Muscle-strengthening exercises are counted in repetitions and sets. A repetition is one complete movement of an activity, like a bicep curl or a sit-up. A set is a group of repetitions.<\/p><p>For each strength exercise, try to do:<\/p><ul><li>at least one set<\/li><li>eight to 12 repetitions in each set<\/li><\/ul><p>To gain health benefits from strength exercises, you should do them to the point where you find it hard to complete another repetition.<\/p><p>There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether at home or in the gym. Examples of muscle-strengthening activities include:<\/p><ul><li>carrying or moving heavy loads, such as groceries<\/li><li>activities that involve stepping and jumping, such as dancing<\/li><li>heavy gardening, such as digging or shovelling<\/li><li>exercises that use your body weight for resistance, such as push-ups or sit-ups<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/fitness\/Pages\/yoga.aspx\">yoga<\/a><\/li><li>lifting weights<\/li><\/ul><p>Try <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/strength-and-flexibility\/Pages\/strength-flexibility-podcasts.aspx\">Strength and Flex<\/a>, a 5-week exercise plan for beginners, to improve your strength and flexibility.<\/p><p>You can do activities that strengthen your muscles on the same day or on different days as your aerobic activity\u00a0\u2013\u00a0whatever&#8217;s best for you.<\/p><p>Muscle-strengthening\u00a0exercises are not an aerobic activity, so you&#8217;ll need to do them in addition to your 150 minutes of aerobic activity.<\/p><p>Some vigorous activities count as both an aerobic activity and a\u00a0muscle-strengthening\u00a0activity.<\/p><p>Examples include:<\/p><ul><li>circuit training<\/li><li>aerobics<\/li><li>running<\/li><li>football<\/li><li>rugby<\/li><li>netball<\/li><li>hockey<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stay active and healthy! Explore essential physical activity guidelines tailored for older adults to enhance mobility, strength, and overall quality of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-useful-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=725"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10844,"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions\/10844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inchyra.ie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}