How Much Exercise Do I Need to Reach My Fitness Goals?

This is a hot fitness topic of late thanks to a recent study that suggests too much endurance exercise- from training for events such as marathons and triathlons – can actually have anegative effect on your heart.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organizationand Surgeon General, 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise is what you need each week to stay healthy. They also recommend two strength training sessions.

Knowing that you need to exercise for your health, but given the recent news that it may be possible to exercise at a level that is unhealthy, you might be wondering “what types of exercise should I do and how much should I be doing it?”

This is the kind of competing health and fitness information that can become so confusing, it ends up sending people to their couch in defeat. This is why we created Koko. Getting fit and healthy doesn’t have to be confusing.

It ultimately depends on your fitness goals, but if you’re doing 2-3 strength and 3-4 cardio Smartraining sessions each week, you’re in the ballpark of what these health agencies recommend. If it’s a bit more? Fine. Just remember, your exercise routine should become part of your lifestyle, and something you maintain for a lifetime.

If you are training excessively – especially if it is excessive distance and endurance work – then you need to consider the possible risk to your heart. If you are not training to an extreme that risks your heart, but you are “over-the top” with the amount of exercise you are doing, consider that with any extreme you are undermining your long term success. The extreme road is impossible to travel forever.

With the obvious caveat that what you do outside the club – from the quality and amount of food you put into your body to how much you move in a day – is of critical importance, if you’re looking to build muscle, lose weight or prevent weight gain, the amount and type of exercise prescribed by Koko fits the bill. It is also designed to be a fitness routine you can stick with long term. As Koko Co-Founder, Mary Obana, likes to say, “Koko for Life!”

If you’d like to read more about the study I mentioned here, visit:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/moderation-as-the-sweet-spot-for-exercise/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21330616

http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/12/05/eurheartj.ehr397.abstract

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

925-556-5559