Are you exercising often enough?

There is a positive relationship between the frequency of exercise sessions and health status. Exercising three to five times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session is recommended. Additional gains are minimal if sessions extended beyond five days.

For a weight loss prescription, 45 to 60-minute sessions of low to moderate intensity, five to six days per week are recommended. However, longer sessions will increase caloric expenditure for faster weight reduction. Three 20 to 30-minute sessions per week on non-consecutive days will maintain healthy heart and lung functions as long as heart rate is kept in the appropriate target zone.

Benefits can be attained from exercising as few as two days each week, but this requires exercising harder. If you exercise three days per week, space the sessions to every other day. Allowing a day between exercise sessions permits full recovery and distributes the exercise evenly throughout the week. However, you can exercise three days in a row if that is the best that your schedule allows. If your schedule dictates that you exercise on the weekend plus one day during the work week that is also acceptable.

Resistance training

If you want to develop strength, resistance exercises on alternate days will bring maximal returns. If they are performed daily, the resistance should be reduced or alternate muscle groups should be exercised. Two days each week is the bare minimum from which any noticeable improvement will come. For maintenance of strength, once a week may be sufficient.

In cases where people have arthritis or circulation problems, the frequency of exercise sessions should be daily. Because some people can only exercise for short periods at a time due to structural and functional limitations, exercise sessions will have to be shorter and less intense but more frequent. As their functional capacities improve, the duration and intensity can be increased and the frequency reduced. If you have to take a break you can exercise a few additional days before and after the break to maintain your exercising gains.

More calorie burn

Increasing the frequency of exercise is one of the easiest ways to burn more calories. Many of the benefits of exercise diminish within two weeks of substantially decreased physical activity. These benefits are completely lost within two to six months of inactivity.

Dr Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at Holiday Hills Research Center; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.