Are You Doing Your Five Times Thirty?
What does "moderate" mean?
What level should you be exercising at? "Moderate" activity varies depending on your age and current fitness levels. A good rule of thumb is that it should leave you slightly out of breath while you're doing it; you should be able to hold a conversation, but not to sing. After the thirty minutes are up, you should be warm and a bit sweaty.
If you can't sustain that level for thirty minutes in a row, or if you're unable to find a free half-hour stretch for exercise, it's fine to break it down into two blocks of fifteen minutes, or three blocks of ten.
(NB: Since August 2007, the Government have been stressing that interspersing some vigorous activity such as jogging and weight training is best, rather than just sticking to "moderate" levels every day. But the minimum target is still the five times thirty of moderate exercise.)
What activities could I do?
If the thought of spending thirty minutes a day plodding away on the cross-trainer or treadmill is less than appealing, here's five easy gym-free ways to clock up thirty minutes' exercise:
- Cycle fifteen minutes to work and back instead of getting the bus.
- Go on a brisk thirty-minute walk to the local shops, rather than driving to the supermarket.
- Swim for half an hour - about twenty to thirty lengths, depending on your speed.
- Take a boat out on a rowing lake for thirty minutes. Adding friends or family members to the cargo increases the resistance and your workout!
- If you're braver than me, hit the dance floor when you're out, rather than hiding in the corner with a drink. If the thought of that makes you cringe, just put your favorite CD on at home and dance around for half an hour.
Who's meeting their five times thirty? What activities help you to get there?
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I certainly am! I can't imagine ever having problems with that amount... I love to do much more. And hey, if I can manage it pregnant I'm sure I can manage it for the rest of my life. (That, and that's such a little time there's no excuse not to be able to fit it in.)
ReplyMy partner? No way.
My friends? Half no, half (the half I met through running/triathlon) yes.
Ali, I think we have to be realistic about what constitutes a good exercise regimen. I think a bunch of random tasks is a recipe for failure. It doesn't build the "exercise habit", it's too complicated & time consuming to plan, and it's usually ineffective. (I see so many women lie to themselves by saying that housework and dancing are going to burn off some calories. The physical benefits of these tasks are negligible).
ReplyI don't know how people could lie to themselves about dancing. If someone goes out and salsas for two hours straight or takes an hour-and a half long tap, ballet, or jazz dance lesson, that's pretty good exercise. I've taken dance my whole life, and proper practice is a sweaty endeavor.
I suppose if you're just kind of lazily shaking your booty at a bar, it's not going to count as exercise, but who actually does that and tries to call it fitness?
ReplyHousework as in, doing the dishes, ironing, loading the washing machine?
Agreed. Not exercise.
Housework as in vacuuming your entire house, then mopping/steaming/waxing the floors, scrubbing windows, bathroom and kitchens, washing a garage? That is exercise. What do you call 1h or more (I take 1h just on the floors, and my place is *not* big) moving nonstop, both walking and moving your arms, while lugging the vacuum and the bucket or the steam cleaner around? That is some Nordic Walking, my friend.
ReplyThat's ok, but it still doesn't work all the muscle groups. Nothing beats doing compounds at the gym with barbells and dumbbells.
ReplyOh yeah. That just replaces the cardio part. Replaces walking. It is obviously not a replacement for weight training.
ReplyI do strength training/housework sometimes. When I bring my groceries home, I will do curls or rows with the 10 lb or so bags of food. I also do squats with the 50 lb bag of dog food on my shoulders...I do other weight training too, but this is a good added workout.
Replyoh, I easily exceed that! For starters, I walk to work (35min each way), zigzagging to overtake everyone around me who walk way too slow! Plus I run three times a week - a 5-8k tempo run plus free weights, a 12-15k long run, and a ~10k road circuit. And once a month, I go out in the countryside with a walking club and we do a full-day jaunt.
My partner doesn't do the running, but he cycles to work and joins in on the walking club, and whenever we need to go to the supermarket (once in a blue moon since we started getting Abel & Cole), we always walk there (about 25min) and then get the bus back with all our bags.
ReplyI actually just got a dog and one of the great benefits is being forced to walk her every morning and evening. I'm getting at least an hour in every day!
ReplyI actually think numbers like this freak people out. What if they aren't doing *exactly* 30 minutes 5 times a week? are they failing? according to the tone and wording of this, that's EXACTLY what they are made to fee like.
I work hard for 30 minutes twice weekly, HIIT stuff that really pushes my limits. Two other days I lift tons and tons of weight in a rotating series of various exercises. It takes about 40 minutes. I take Wednesdays off due to the fact that I have other commitments.
OH MY GOD I AM TEN MINUTES SHY OF THE RECOMMENDED MINIMUM! Meanwhile someone who walks at 2MPH for 30 minutes a day thinks they are doing more than I am - or doing it more properly as per the guidelines, and the both of us are being fooled by the expert recommendation of the government.
If you take these numbers in as advice, treat them as just that: ADVICE, not a hard limit to which you must stick. No one can tell you what is right for your body except you.
Well, you and maybe a massively expensive battery of tests run by dozens of geeks in lab coats. And one lonely lab guy in the corner who has the unfortunate job of analyzing your poop.
That poor tech. He went to college for this? ;)
ReplyYes, I am. Though that is all I'm doing lately - 30m walk with the dogs.
ReplyWhere I work is a gym that employees are allowed to use during the day and that is often such a great help in getting through the workday. I try to exercise almost every day. Making it a priority and getting in the habit are, I believe, the primary ingredients for success. Once you get used to that healthy activity, your body craves it and you don't feel as good when you have to miss a few days.
ReplyYep. My dh? Well, most of the time he runs after work, but I don't think he does 30 minutes.
ReplyThis is what I do. Gotta list them LOL
-I do upper/lower strength training at the gym ~45 min, 3x/week (before work)
-I play a friendly game of basketball ~40 min, 2-3x/week at work. (lunchtime)
-I run/walk at the gym or park ~45min, 3x/week (before work)
-I do an easy jog for ~20 min, 2-3x/week (after work)
-I hike anywhere from 5-9 miles, once a week (usually Saturdays) with the local hiking club.
I am able to do all this because I have a great workout friend (I am almost never doing this alone), so we support each other. It's a different world when you are doing all this alone.
It seems a lot I know, and I've never done this much in my entire life, but I'm happy and am actively trying to lose weight (and it's working as long as I don't blow off my diet), and most importantly I feel so much better about myself.
ReplyI have NO problem getting 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week. I do a lot more than that, actually...I try to get at least 60 minutes of intense cardio 6 days a week, plus 20-30 minutes of strength training 3 days a week.
Nobody else that I know exercises the "minimum" amount. My husband likes walking, but he rarely goes walking with me. My dad walks, but he lately hasn't been walking the dogs since they fenced in their yard.
As far as other activities, I get so annoyed when people say "Oh yeah, I get 30 minutes of activity per day" and go on to say that sex, dusting, folding clothes, cooking dinner, etc. counts as "exercise". Please...sex doesn't burn NEARLY as many calories as people say it does. Especially when it lasts as long as it does with my husband...3 minutes doesn't burn off many calories, no matter WHAT you're doing.
ReplyYou're funny. I was so sad many years ago when I discovered that sex didn't burn as many calories as I thought it should (you get sweaty - that should make it good exercise!) - but after nearly 20 years of marriage I wouldn't be counting on it for exercise as much as I would have then anyway!
I've never counted dusting or folding clothes but I have been known to count vacuuming marathons and frantic races around shopping malls as moderate exercise in a pinch.
My old stand-by is always power walking and we have had day after day of RIDICULOUS weather, complete with snow, and of course it melts during the warmer day and the sidewalks are covered with ice. So the dog and I are feeling a little hard done by for exercise. I had great plans of daily 5k walks for the two of us when spring got here. I'm wondering if it ever will.
ReplyLift your partner from the Living room to bedroom everyday and you have a good exercise.. :)
ReplyVery sweet but the suggestions are totally city oriented. They all worked when I lived in NYC. Now I live in a rural village area in upstate NY, and they mostly don't apply. I don't mind as I have things I can do, but it would be nice if this article recognized that not everyone lives the same life.
It would take my husband two or three hours and a lot of breathing in of exhaust to bike to work. I homeschool and the places I go with my children would take a long time to get to and my kids just aren't ready to ride on those roads.
I do happen to live in walking distance of some shops, but I can't live on books and boutique clothes. There's very little practical shopping in walking distance.
Taking a boat out only works if you have a boat and a lake or at least have access to lake and have a good roof rack. Or you could do it if you don't mind driving a few hours to get somewhere where there are boat rentals.
Not a whole lot of dance clubs out here in the country, either.
There's plenty of things I CAN easily do to add 30 minutes of exercise to my day (jump on the neighbor's trampoline, go for a walk/hike/bike ride in the country, visit a friend's swimming hole in the summer, even parking regularly on the opposite side of the parking lot from where I'm going, meet friends for a walk rather than a meal or a cup of coffee, sled, snowshoe, get an inner-tube to go down the creek...). They're just not the same things I could do in the city.
ReplyWhen I go visit my inlaws on their farm, I can't do most of the city stuff, either. But I do other things instead: I get out there with my husband and split wood for kindling using an 8 lb maul and wedge, help my father in law bale hay and put it in the haymow, take walks around the 90 acres of land, climb trees with my husband, help fix equipment...etc., etc., etc. There is a LOT of opportunity for exercise in the country!
ReplyI love rowing.
ReplyI started doing just 5 mins and that was a huge struggle. Now im up to 40 minutes 3 times per week and I feel great, and its like a drug, once you get into it you cant wait until your next fix.
My body fat in the last 2 months has gone from 16% to 9%.
Exercise really CAN be fun if you find the right exercise for you.
I like their thinking with 5 x 30. It lends itself to getting your exercise in every weekday morning or evening, and then forgetting about it entirely at the weekend. Funny isn't it? If they'd have suggested 6 days a week everyone would probably be up in arms about it :-) ~ James
ReplyI think the most important thing is to have a goal. I started running 5 or 6 years ago and could only run for 2 minutes on the treadmill. I didn't get too much better until I signed up for a mini-marathon (4 years later). I worked HARD for 6 months and actually ended up running the. whole. thing. I am amazed by what you can do if you actually put your mind to it. I wouldn't have ran that much if it weren't for the $50 I spent on the race. The joy in crossing the finish line was better than any gym membership I could have paid for. Set goals for yourself and you will find that you can achieve them. (Geez, can you tell that I'm a 1st grade teacher?)
ReplyI think the biggest thing that helps me reach this minimum is having someone to do it with. Having that person who keeps you accountable and vise versa has been my key to exercise success.
Reply3 times a week for 60 minutes is a little more than 30 times 5.
Sportscenter and CNN help me get some extra cardio in during the winter, and long walks to Starbucks for tea help in the summer.
Reply