Skip navigation

FACT SHEET #1

Return to healthy living

Why Exercise?

Need to know!

By definition, exercise is any movement produced by your skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure - sounds technical - well yes and no. Exercise includes any structured exercise, like going to the gym, but also lifestyle activities such as walking, shopping and gardening and the good news is that it doesn't have to leave you exhausted to do you good!

Exercise has many more benefits than the obvious one of increasing fitness. Regular exercise can aid weight loss, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, improve your joint function and help to maintain your bone health.

For it to be beneficial you need to OVERLOAD your body using a combination of FREQUENCY, INTENSITY & TIME (fit principle), these combined equal the overall VOLUME of training which are essential when improving fitness.

Training Cardio Resistance Flexibility
Freq 3-5 days a week 2-3 days a week 2-3 days a week
Intensity 1-10 RPE (Phillipson Training Triangle 2005) of at least 65-85% HR 8-16 reps Comfortable but noticeable
Time 20-60 minutes Intensity 1-3 sets of compound exercises 10-30 sx 3-4 per muscle group

Nice to know!

Health benefits can be achieved without measurable improvements in fitness and there is a 'dose response continuum' to exercise - or in less scientific terms, "the more you do the greater the reward!" However, significant health benefits can be achieved through just a little exercise.

In terms of improving fitness, it seems that 3 cardiovascular (CV) sessions per week is ideal, with research showing that CV training in excess of 4 times per week results in no extra benefits over those gained by training 3 times per week. But, the risk of injury increases disproportionately.

More good news with cardio vascular exercise - you do not need to complete it all in one block, performing 2x15 minutes will result in virtually the same benefits as doing 1x30 minute session. If time for workouts is limited, it's comforting to know that performing 1 set of your resistance exercises is almost as beneficial as performing 2-3 sets. The extra 20-30 minutes spent on the extra sets will result in only small additional gains.

Fun facts

  1. Only 20% of UK adults perform the recommended amount of exercise. At rest, we breathe at a rate of around 16 times per minute - that's up to 8 litres of air per minute and is enough to inflate two hot air balloons over a year! When exercising moderately this will double!
  2. Jogging just 1 mile 3 times per week will result in weight loss of approximately 4.5lbs in a year for the average person! Even jogging slowly this will take 30 minutes out of your week! Do more exercise than this and lose more weight!
  3. At rest, the average UK adults heart runs at 70bpm, pumping 5 litres of blood around your body - in a year that's enough blood to fill several large swimming pools. If you stop training there will be a significant reduction in your CV fitness after 2 weeks with up to a staggering 50% loss after 8 weeks - so once you've started - keep going!