Are you sweating ENOUGH?

If you thought pottering around in the garden and a stroll in the park are good enough to fight the flab, here’s a reality check. In spite of the fact that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 30 minutes of gentle exercise a day for a basic level of fitness, the liberal interpretations of the term “gentle” has led some scientists to revise the guidelines. “The WHO came up with these guidelines to make sure that there is some continuity in people’s everyday fitness routine. However, it may work well for those who have an excellent metabolism system. For those who don’t, more exercise is definitely required,” says Dr Gulab Chand Gupta, internal medicine, Fortis.

A paper published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, says that many people misconstrue the WHO guideline and count daily activities such as shopping or watering the plants as gentle exercise. If you want to benefit from exercise, the study says, you better push yourself. The recommendations are: for good health, aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week or 30 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week. Brisk walking qualifies as moderate exercise while running or jogging is vigorous. The type of exercise also varies from person to person. “If a person is genetically fit and has a good metabolism, then 30 minutes of gentle exercise is enough to keep him or her healthy,” says fitness expert Leena Mogre. “Gentle exercise could be a stroll, dancing or light yoga exercises such as pranayama,” says Mogre.  

The study also said that people should include both vigorous and moderate exercise combined with some weight training. “It is important to maintain a balance. You should always mix light cardio with intense weight training. This will provide more results in a lesser amount of time,” says Mogre. Moderate exercise would be a jog followed by lightweight training. “This exercise routine is recommended for those whose weight is slightly above ideal,” says Mogre. For those who are obese and have a low metabolism, vigorous exercise is recommended. It could be 30 minutes of cardio followed by intense weight training or power yoga. “Power yoga is a very intense form of exercise and 30 minutes of power yoga five days a week can show drastic results in weight loss,” says Mogre 

However, make sure not to go overboard as you may end up doing damage to your muscles and tissues. Also, pregnant women and people over 65 years of age should have a measured level of exercise. “People who are old run a risk of heart failure and should, therefore, not overwork themselves,” says Mogre. Pregnant women should stick to lighter forms of exercise such as aqua aerobics.