How Much Exercise Is Enough?

How much exercise you should do depends on your goal: health, or fitness. There is a distinction, says Maria Nardini at the Duke Health & Fitness Center, and the time invested and commitment required for each are actually a bit different.

Getting Healthy

Your goal: To lower risk factors for illnesses such as cancer and heart disease by reducing excess weight, lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol and triglyceride counts, and improving glucose tolerance

Your plan: Moderate physical activity such as brisk walking for 30 minutes on most days

Try this: If you hate the gym, try dance lessons; if you don’t dance, try a cycling or group hiking club.

Getting Fit

Your goal: To reach a level of overall physical fitness, which includes not only a strong heart and lungs, but also strong muscles, flexible joints, and a healthy body weight

Your plan: Moderately intense or intense aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week; eight to 10 strength training exercises (of eight to 10 repetitions each) at least two times a week; stretching exercises every day

Try this: To get more bang for your workout buck, choose the random protocol on the stairclimber, bike, or treadmill and put your towel over the readout so you can’t see what’s coming ahead. That way your body is always adjusting and you’re never in a set routine.

How Am I Doing?

Maria Nardini gives some advice on these checkpoints for your activity routine:

How do I know if I’m working hard enough? You can gauge your exertion by your breathing: it should be hard -- but not so hard that you’re panting or can’t talk.

How do I know if I’m doing too much? Exercise should make you feel tired, but ultimately good, Nardini says. If you feel nauseated, overheated, or just plain lousy after your workout, then you’ve done too much during that workout. If you feel worn out on a day-to-day basis, despite a consistent exercise program, you could be over-training and not giving your body enough time to recover.

How do I know I’m doing something that works? If you don’t see improvements in your health, performance, and general well-being after three months, seek the advice of an exercise physiologist or personal trainer. You also may want to see your doctor, to make sure a health problem isn’t underlying your lack of progress.

How do I know it’s something I can stick with? Nardini says people who maintain an active lifestyle in the long term often credit one of two things: they choose activities that they truly enjoy, and they exercise with a partner.

Sports Medicine for the Rest of Us

When many people hear the term sports medicine, they think of team physicians and specialized care for athletes.

Alison Toth, MD, director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Program at Duke, thinks this stereotype can be misleading. “People do not have to be athletes to see us,” Toth says. “Our practice is for anyone who has musculoskeletal problems and wants to stay active, whether through sports, walking for exercise, or simply being able to reach overhead and comb her hair. We can help people maximize their ability to stay active and remain injury-free.”

Toth says visiting a primary care sports medicine physician would be helpful for:

• Any joint or muscle injury that hasn’t improved after two weeks, despite proper rest
• Ankle sprain
• Shoulder impingement
• Tennis elbow
• Wrist pain
• Someone who would like to begin exercise, but is unsure where to start
• Exercise prescription

Visiting a sports medicine surgeon would be helpful for:

• A ligament tear in the knee (ACL tear)
• Dislocated shoulder
• Meniscus tears
• Rotator cuff tears