Fitness Resources
Why Walk? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination each week.
The Center for Physical Activity and Health (University of Tennessee)
Physical Activity Resources including links to exercise and health information.
Programs to Help You Move More
Different Types of Exercise
Different types of activity help gain different health benefits. These types can be combined for greater fitness and health.
- Increases your breathing and heart rate which improves the health of your heart, lungs and circulatory system and improves your stamina.
- Allows heart, lungs and circulatory system deliver oxygen faster and more efficiently to all parts of your body.
- Strengthens the heart because it is a muscle. As a muscle the heart gets stronger with aerobic exercise. Larger amounts of blood can be pumped with each beat. Thus fewer heart beats are required to move oxygen to all parts of the body.
- Delays or prevents many diseases associated with aging: diabetes, colon cancer, heart disease, stroke and reduces death and hospital rates.
- Examples include: hiking, stair climbing, swimming, kick boxing, dancing, cycling, brisk walking, martial arts and sports such as volleyball, basketball, and tennis.
- Builds your muscles and bones, increases metabolism helping to keep your weight and blood sugar in check.
- Examples include: calisthenics or weight machines that work both the upper and lower body, martial arts, pilates, rowing, kick boxing, cycling, and hiking.
- Prevents falls, a major cause of broken hips and other injuries that often lead to disability and loss of independence. Falls are a common problem among the elderly.
- Examples include: yoga, martial arts (especially Tai Chi), weight machines and other exercises that strengthen leg and back muscles, postures exercises (such as walking with a book on your head)
- Keeps your body limber by stretching muscles and tissues that hold your body’s structures in place. Flexibility prevents injuries from happening in the first place. Flexibility may play a part in preventing falls.
- Examples include: yoga, ballet, pilates, martial arts, calisthenics, Tai Chi
- Weight-bearing describes any activity you do on your feet that works your bones and muscles against gravity. Bone is living tissue that constantly breaks down and reforms. When you do regular weight-bearing exercise, your bone adapts to the impact of weight and pull of muscle by building more cells and becoming stronger. Examples include: brisk walking, jogging, hiking, yard work, team sports such as soccer, baseball and basketball, dancing, step aerobics, stair climbing, tennis, racquet ball, skiing, skating, karate and bowling.