How much exercise - as a minimum do you really need ?

Tough question because emotionally you might want a really big number like every day - two hours a day - or you really hate exercise but want to stay around long enough to see that grand-daughter getting married.

Wayne Westcott has been seriously researching this question at the South Shore YMCA, Quincy, Massachusetts and he might have the answer.

The ACSM [American Council on Sports Medicine] has a simple to understand recommendation on strength training and it is:

• 8 to 10 exercises covering all the major muscle groups
• 1 set of each exercise
• 8 to 12 reps per set
• exercise like this 2 or 3 times every week (non-consecutive day)
• full-range of pain-free movement i.e. no cheating by just doing part of a rep but don't go into the pain zone either
• Take about 6 seconds over each rep i.e. no rush, moderate speed but not dead slow either.

Wayne Westcott started using this minimum strength and endurance protocol in 1996 and since then has trained and studied more than 1600 men and women with ages ranging from 21 to 80 years.

So what can we learn from Wayne's experience concerning:

• changes in body weight (particularly weight loss)
• body composition (less fat and more muscles)
• blood pressure (lower would be good).

Image via Wikipedia

Because the ACSM recommendation says 2 or 3 times a week, he did 2 times a week with about half the people and 3 times a week with the other half.
Overall these are his numbers for results of doing the minimum recommended for just 10 weeks. In those 10 weeks, without changing anything else you'll see:

1. Body Weight change Loss 0.6 pounds
2. % body fat Reduced 2%
3. Weight of fat in body Reduced 3.7 pounds
4. Muscle and bone in bodt Increased 3.1 pounds
5. Systolic Blood pressure change Reduced 3.8 mm

Over the first 10 weeks of exercise the typical experience is to not lose much weight but for clothes to fit much better and smaller sizes become possible.

So if you really want to do the minimum but still get the health benefits should you exercise 2 or 3 times a week ?

The answer is 3 times a week if you want to lose weight and it's also 3 times a week if your objective is improvement in health.

However if want you really want to do is put on some more muscle, then 2 times a week seems to give the same result as 3 workouts a week.

Here are the numbers with working out 2 or 3 times a week:

1. Body Weight change Reduce 0.1 pounds with 2 times a week but 1.3 pounds with 3 times a week
   
2. % body fat Reduced 1.9% (2 /week) but 2.2% (3/week)
   
3. Weight of fat in body Reduced 3.2 pounds (2/week) but 4.4 pounds (3/week)
   
4. Muscle and bone in body Increased 3.1 pounds with both 2 and 3 /week.
   
5. Systolic Blood pressure change Reduced 3.1 mm (2/week) but 4.6 (3/week)

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Mental Decline and Calcium Levels

Calcium levels are important to bone health. We all know that. Osteoporosis and low calcium level are linked (plus of course the need for sufficient Vitamin D - see yesterday's post on Vitamin D). However have you thought about the link between mental acuity and blood calcium levels.

The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported last month (November 2007) of this linkage in over 75's. Reuters have a good summary of the research. High levels of calcium can kill nerve and brain cells - hence possibly contribute to mental decline. So where might the high-levels of blood calcium in the elderly come from? The research hypothesis's about cancer, incipient kidney failure or possibly excessive parathyroid activity. I'd kick in one more thought about calcium being released from the skeleton as a result of reduced standing and walking (hence the 'body' signaling lower requirement for bone strength).

Fitness Trends from the ACSM worldwide survey

The November/December 2007 Health & Fitness Journal published by ACSM [American Council on Sports Medicine] recently arrived in the mailbox and as usual it had a few gems. One such is the results from the annual survey of fitness trends. The top 5 and the changes between last year and this year:

1. Fully certified and accredited health/fitness professionals. (previously #3). In Georgia,USA there is draft legislation to license Personal Trainers. If a Personal Trainer is well qualified this is a good thing. However the major gym chains are all against it and probably are able to spend enough on lobbying to stop it becoming law.
2. Fighting childhood and adolescent obesity. (previously #1). This slipping down a notch is a surprise as I can see more and more parents sending their children into the gym to workout with Personal Trainers.
3. Personal Training (up from #7). In an area like mine, north of Atlanta, most people have long, tough commutes. Working out has to be squeezed into an already punishing schedule. Having a Personal Trainer makes sure that maximum value is obtained from time spent in the gym.
   
4. Strength Training (previously #6). Weight loss or weight control is an issue for many and it is now well established that an integrated program of cardio (aerobic) training plus muscle strength training is the best combination of exercise.
5. Core Training (unchanged at #5). Just about everyone wants a flat tummy and nice looking abs. This is not an easy look to get because you have to really work at it. The trick is to work the whole core area because just concentrating on the Rectus Abdominous (the 6 pack ab muscle in the front) does not get results. What you have to do is work the whole core area which includes everything front, back at sides from the hips up to the line across the nipples. To do all of this you need to know a lot of exercises and be able to use them in sequence and combination.

Aging and Exercise

26 useful thoughts about exercise as you age from a remarkably sensible site.

Lots of advertising at lifetips but not objectionable.

Tip 9 (out of 26):

Balance Training: Falling can be dangerous for older people, and fear of falling can cause people to restrict their activities. Strength training can help prevent falls. Tai chi and some yoga can improve balance, and there are also specific balance exercises, some using exercise balls. Exercise training is specific so you have to do balance training on your feet. Chair exercises won´t do it.