For the last 2 weeks, I have been reading about the “right” amount of exercise from every possible source I could find. And there are literally hundreds of opinions offered and studies that have been done over the last few years. These studies, from all over the world, ran the spectrum – they discuss how much exercise a person needs, what type, how long, how intense vs walking the dog, what time of day is better and, based on that timing, does the exercise make you more tired as you start your day or disrupt your sleep if you exercise in the evening? Whew, I’m exhausted just reading all of this!
With all of these conflicting ideas, what concepts kept coming to the surface time and time again throughout my reading? Here they are:
- If you haven’t exercised in a long while, check with your healthcare provider for initial guidance
- Whatever time of day works for you and your lifestyle, then that is your time. No one has proof that one time of day is better than another
- Even if you can only exercise on your days off, that’s okay. It’s better than nothing!
- Start slowly and gradually increase your activity – the concept of adults needing 150 minutes of medium to intense exercise a week is uniformly accepted but extremely challenging for many people just starting to move. A 5-10 minute walk is a great way to begin!
- Other options – chair yoga, water aerobics, swimming
The bottom line is that the longest journey begins with the first step so start moving!
Be well!!
Barbara