Many physical activities offer a range of health benefits. With their help you can improve your moodLower blood pressureor simply get in touch with friends. People with adequate aerobic activity are 29 percent less likely to die regardless of the cause, according to a new study. The lowest risk of death occurs with moderate-intensity aerobic activity between 150 and 300 minutes per week.
Physical activities during the pandemic
Above all, this study supports the idea that physical activities are an important factor for a good lifestyle and can improve health along with well-being during the Corona crisis. The guidelines say people should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week or engage in vigorous physical activity for 75 minutes per week. However, a combination of both offers the best option. People should also aim to do physical activity two or more days a weekfor muscle strengtheningperformed with moderate or strong intensity. Additionally, the results of the study show that either aerobic or resistance training was beneficial at recommended levels. Similar benefits have been observed in deaths from cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
The study had some limitations, including its observational nature, meaning researchers cannot show cause and effect. The study participants also self-reported how physically active they were. This is not as accurate as using an activity monitor, also known as an accelerometer. If you train more you will get an additional benefit, but not much. There is also a higher risk of overuse injuries with higher training volumes. However, the greatest increase in benefit occurs early - just by standing up. Even if you don't meet the recommendations, you will receive significant health benefits from not being sedentary.
Prevent illnesses with exercise
These benefits also apply to people with chronic illnesses, as long as they exercise safely. So this can sometimes mean speaking to a doctor first. This is emphasized in both the new study and the physical activity guidelines. Despite the evidence, very few people meet these guidelines. The authors of the new study found that only 16 percent of people met physical activity guidelines for both aerobic and resistance training. This is lower than the 23.2 percent in previous times. The researchers note that "lack of time" deters some people from exercising and suggest that those pressed for time focus on aerobic activity due to the greater benefits found in this study.
The way muscle strengtheningin the studywas counted, making it difficult to directly compare these exercises to aerobic activities. Muscle strengthening activities were based on how often people did them, not for how long. This is the same way the guidelines count these. However, the health benefits of this type of exercise also depend on how hard you train. This again depends on the type of exercise and the number of repetitions and sets. In addition, some types of physical activity, such as circuit weight training andhigh-intensity interval training HIIT, combining both aerobic and muscle strengthening. Even yoga can be both aerobic and muscle-building, not to mention increased flexibility, balance and coordination.
