Physical activity guidelines for Americans at a glance
Substantial health benefits are gained by doing physical activity according to the guidelines presented below for different groups. Source: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Children and adolescents (ages 6-17)
Children and adolescents should do 1 hour (60 minutes) or more of physical activity every day.
Most of the 1 hour or more a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
As part of their daily physical activity, children and adolescents should do vigorous-intensity activity at least three days per week. They also should do muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity on at least three days per week.
Adults (ages 18-64)
Adults should do 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, preferably spread throughout the week.
Additional health benefits are provided by increasing to 5 hours (300 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.
Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups performed on 2 or more days per week.
Senior citizens (ages 65 and older)
Older adults should follow the adult guidelines. If this is not possible due to limiting chronic conditions, older adults should be as physically active as their abilities allow.
They should avoid inactivity.
Older adults should do exercises that maintain or improve balance if they are at risk of falling.
The numbers are alarmingly high and rising.
During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of American adults (35.7 percent) and approximately 17 percent (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents, ages 2-19, are obese. Ohio’s state obesity rate in 2010 was 29.2 percent.
Those numbers translate into significant health problems and subsequent costs.
In response to such trends, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, a not-for-profit trade association, created “Get Active America!,” a health campaign designed to establish IHRSA clubs as the leading voice in their communities for healthy and active lifestyles. The program has aligned itself with President Obama’s Active Lifestyle Award as well as the first lady’s Let’s Move! initiative.
Now in its ninth year, the campaign prompted member clubs to offer free use of their facilities for one week in May. (Most participating clubs gave their offers the week of May 7, but member clubs could be doing other weeks. Offers included a “member bring a friend” promotion, or open houses for the general public. People can check with a health club or gym to see if similar promotions are still available.)
Urban Active, however, took it one step further. Urban Active, with close to 40 fitness clubs in seven states, including one at The Greene in Beavercreek, is offering free workouts for the entire month of May.
“A gym isn’t just about weight loss, it’s about having a healthy lifestyle,” said Bobby Lyons, general manager at The Greene Urban Active. “But gyms can also be intimidating, but they don’t have to be. This is a great way to discover that for yourself.”
NO EXCUSES
“I’m too busy.” “I have kids to take care of.” “It’s boring.”
There are countless excuses for not working out.
“I try to take the excuses out of the equation,” Lyons said.
Urban Active is open seven days a week and opens its doors at 5 a.m. on weekdays and stays open until 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. So before work, after work or after the kids are in bed, it is open. And if you can’t get a break from the kids, then you can bring them with you, as there is a staffed playroom.
Boredom seems unlikely at Urban Active as the 60,000-square-foot facility has a pool, racquetball and basketball courts, Spinning class, Zumba, yoga, an indoor track and a cardio cinema with feature film entertainment on the big screen — just to name a few amenities.
“And it’s all included, so members have the opportunity to experience so many different things,” Lyons said.
TEAMWORK
If you need a little extra motivation, then a personal trainer might be the answer.
And while that may seem like a luxury better suited for the rich and famous, Urban Active is offering a free Jumpstart Personal Training Session for nonmembers as part of the “Get Active America!” promotion. A free personal training session is tough to turn down — I should know. Be forewarned, however, it can be a humbling experience.
Let me start by saying I am not a fitness fanatic but nor am I a couch potato. I walk regularly, I chase children and I practice yoga, but none of that prepared me for my personal trainer’s assessment. My trainer Dennis put me through my paces, my legs felt like rubber when I was finished and my arms weren’t much better. And the BMI and body fat percentage measurements were a rude awakening, but helpful nonetheless. If I needed any extra motivation to get up and get active, Dennis provided it.
“That goal is not going to be the same for every person, in fact if I had 100 people lined up, I’d probably have 100 different goals,” Lyons said. “I have people in here who want washboard abs and I have others who just want to walk a flight of steps without getting winded. Regardless, we can help them meet those goals.
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