Saturday, February 13, 2010

3 Basic Fitness Terms


It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with some basic terms. Today I want to discuss three terms: physical fitness, physical activity and exercise.

Physical fitness is an outcome that can be attained through exercising at the frequency, intensity and length of time prescribed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), below.

Physical activity is any bodily movement that results in the burning of calories.

Exercise is a subcategory of physical activity; it's physical activity that's planned, structured and repetitive.


The ACSM physical activity & public health guidelines for healthy adults under age 65 is this:

"Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
Do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week."

It also states that you may split the 30 minutes of cardio into 3 -- 10 minute bouts.

For more information about these guidelines and more, click here to go to ACSM website.

Remember that's it's important to become knowledgeable about fitness terms & definitions. When you have a basic understanding of fitness, you'll be more likely to understand what you need to do to become fit.

*Always check with your doctor before starting an exercise program*



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