Chapter 18 Physical Activity
Recommendations and Exercise
Guidelines Established by Leading
Health Organizations
Jacalyn J. Robert-McComb, PhD,
FACSM
Learning Objectives
• Define the difference between moderate physical activity,
vigorous physical activity, exercise, health-related physical
fitness, and sports related fitness.
• Discuss physical activity recommendations for healthrelated fitness from leading health organizations.
• Explain the American College and Sports Medicine’s
exercise recommendations for cardiorespiratory fitness,
muscular fitness, healthy body composition, and flexibility.
Introduction
• Women are generally less active than men
at all ages and by age seventy-five, one in
three men and one in two women engage in
no regular physical activity (United States
Department of Health and Human Services,
2000 ).This has important public health
implications.
What is the difference between
physical activity and exercise?
• The United States Department of Health and
Human Services refers to physical activity as,
bodily movement that is produced by the
contraction of skeletal muscle that substantially
increases energy expenditure (1996).
• Whereas, exercise, is a type of physical activity
that represents structured, planned activities, and
repetitive bodily movement, designed to promote
or enhance over-all physical fitness (Dwyer &
Davis, 2004).
Both physical activity and
exercise contribute to increases
in physical
fitness.
Health-Related Components of
Physical Fitness
•
•
•
•
Cardiovascular Endurance
Muscular strength and Endurance
Flexibility
and Body Composition.
Skill-Related Components of
Physical Fitness
These components are associated mostly with sport
performance.
• Balance
• Speed
• Agility
• Power
• Coordination • Reaction Time
How do we define moderate
physical activity or exercise
and vigorous physical activity
or exercise?
• There are varying definitions, perhaps the easiest
to understand involves the use of the Borg Scale or
the Rate of Perceived Exertions Scale.
Moderate Exercise
• In the 1996 Surgeon General’s Report (1996),
moderate exercise was defined as some increase in
breathing or heart rate or a "perceived exertion" of
11 to 14 on the Borg Rate of Perceived Exertion
(RPE) scale. These levels are equal to the effort a
healthy individual might burn while walking at a 3
- 4.5 mph pace on a level surface, playing golf,
gardening and yard work, swimming for
recreation, or bicycling.
Vigorous Exercise
• In the 1996 Surgeon General’s Report (1996),
vigorous exercise was defined as a large increase
in breathing or heart rate (conversation is difficult
or “broken”) or a "perceived exertion" of 15 or
greater on the Borg RPE scale. These levels are
equal to the effort a healthy individual might burn
race walking or walking at a 5 mph pace, engaging
in heavy yard work, participating in high-impact
aerobic dancing, swimming continuous laps, scuba
diving, or bicycling uphill.
Borg Scale
• 6 No exertion at all
• 7
• 13 Somewhat hard
Extremely light (7.5)
Hard (heavy)
•
•
•
•
•
8
9 Very light
10
11 Light
12
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Very hard
Extremely hard
Maximal exertion
Physical Activity
Recommendations for HealthRelated Fitness from Leading
Health Organizations
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) and the American College
of Sports Medicine
All adults in the United States should
accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate
physical activity on most, and preferably all,
days of the week.
American Heart Association
• Older adults and people with disabilities can
gain significant health benefits with a
moderate amount of physical activity,
preferably daily. Physical activity doesn't
need to be strenuous to bring health
benefits. What's important is to include
activity as part of a regular routine.
American Heart Association
• Children and adolescents should participate in at
least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical
activity every day.
• All children age 2 and older should participate in
at least 30 minutes of enjoyable, moderateintensity activities every day. They should also
perform at least 30 minutes of vigorous physical
activities at least 3–4 days each week to achieve
and maintain a good level of cardiorespiratory
(heart and lung) fitness.
A Report of the Surgeon General
• People of all ages should include a minimum of 30
minutes of physical activity of moderate intensity
(such as brisk walking) on most, if not all, days of
the week. Experts advise previously sedentary
people embarking on a physical activity program
to start with short durations of moderate-intensity
activity and gradually increase the duration or
intensity until the goal is reached.
American College of Sports Medicine’s
Resistance Training Guidelines for
Healthy Adults
• Perform a minimum of 8 to 10 separate exercises
that train the major muscles of the hips, thigh,
legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms, and abdomen. A
primary goal of the program should be to develop
total body strength and endurance in a relatively
time-efficient manner. Total exercise training
programs lasting longer than 1 hour per session to
the point of volitional fatigue for healthy
individuals, while maintaining good form.
Continued…..
• Exercise each muscle group 2 to 3 nonconsecutive
days per week and if possible, perform a different
exercise for the muscle group every two to three
sessions.
• Maintain a normal breathing pattern; breathholding can induce excessive increases in blood
pressure.
• For people with high cardiovascular risk or those
with chronic disease (hypertension, diabetes),
terminate each exercise as the concentric portion
of the exercise becomes difficult (RPE 15 to 16)
while maintaining good form.
General Exercise Prescription for Achieving
and Maintaining Flexibility (ACSM, 2006)
• Precede stretching with a warm-up to elevate
muscle temperature
• Stretch major muscle groups: neck,
shoulders and upper arms, chest and upper
arms, back and posterior thighs, thighs and
hips, legs and ankles
Continued……..
• Perform a minimum of 2 to 3 d•wk-1, ideally 5 to
7 d•wk-1
• Stretch to the end of the range of motion to a
point of tightness, without inducing discomfort
• Hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds
• Repeat two to four repetitions for each stretch
Recommendations for Body Fat
Percentages for Women (Lohman TG,
Houtkooper LB, Going SB. 1997)
• Category
• Recommended %
• Essential
• Minimal
• Athletic
• 8-12%
• 10-12%
• 12-22%
Continued….
Recommendations for 34 years or less
20-35%
Recommendations for 35-55 years
23-38%
Recommendations for over 56 years
25-38%
Thank You
Continued….
Recommendations for 34 years or less
20-35%
Recommendations for 35-55 years
23-38%
Recommendations for over 56 years
25-38%