We’re often told that we need to get active and add more exercise to our lifestyle but just how much exercise is too much?
Regular exercise is important for overall wellbeing: it can help maintain a healthy weight, improve mental health and reduce the risk of developing some types of cancers.
Too much exercise can result in chronic soreness, mood issues, increased resting heart rate, decreased appetite and dehydration.
According to the experts at House Call Doctor, there are a multitude of factors that determine how much exercise you should do per week, such as body composition goals, age, training background, and overall health.
Recommendations
The Australian guidelines recommend 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity exercise or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous exercise per week. The guidelines also recommend doing muscle strengthening activities at least 2 days a week.
If you’re hoping to lose weight, your exercise amount should be at the higher end of these recommendations. If you are training for an event or competition, you’ll need to train regularly to maintain your fitness.
People who are new to exercise might assume physical activities must be done in long sessions, but it’s best to start incorporating exercise into your lifestyle and slowly build up. It’s also important to mix up your exercise regime by including a variety of activities.
There are simple ways to add exercise to your lifestyle including walking the dog, cleaning, getting off the train a stop early and walking home, or going for a walk during your lunchbreak.
Rest days
Rest days are essential to allow your body to rest and recover after training and can help you to reach your fitness goals. If you are training heavily, then you need to focus on recovery, which is often overlooked in a fitness regimen.
On rest days, make sure you eat well and hydrate, walk around, don’t binge on junk food or stay up too late at night.
How much exercise is too much?
