Is exercising once a week enough for your body to benefit?

 

If you can only make it to the gym on Saturdays and Sundays, you can still meet your weekly goal of 150 minutes, or 2 1/2 hours, of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes, or 1 hour and 15 minutes, of intense exercise. If you exercise every day of the week, you'll probably add almost as many years to your life, or the "life to your years." In addition to enhancing the quality of your day-to-day life, you will also lower your risk of developing long-term health issues like cardiovascular disease and cancer. According to Harvard School of Public Health, moderately intense exercises include brisk walking, at 4 miles per hour; bicycling at 10-12 miles an hour; playing badminton or tennis doubles; or even doing chores like heavy house cleaning and maintenance, such as vacuuming, window washing, lawn mowing.  Hiking, jogging at 6 miles per hour, cycling at 14 to 16 miles per hour, playing singles tennis, and playing basketball or soccer are examples of vigorous or intense activities. You can decide. Do at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week if you have the time or preference! However, this study, which surveyed the exercise habits of more than 63,000 men and women aged 40 and older, found that, on average, those who exercise according to recommended guidelines live years longer than those who do not exercise at all. This is true even if your schedule means you can only get to the gym or run on weekends. However, there is a catch: weekend exercisers only met or exceeded the guidelines on one or two occasions. Regular exercisers met and exceeded the guidelines more frequently. When it comes to exercise, more is usually better, so some weekend warriors may benefit from adding another session during the week. Note: If you’re older than 35, new to frequent or vigorous exercise, significantly overweight, pregnant, have high blood pressure, asthma or lung disease, arthritis, kidney disease or diabetes, smoke or quit recently, have a family history of heart disease or are simply unsure of your health status, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends seeing your doctor before beginning any exercise program, to determine which type and how much exercise is best for you.  If you experience any pain, shortness of breath, swelling, dizziness, or heart sensations during or after exercise, consult your doctor.