Helping Employees Understand and Navigate the New Activity Guidelines for Americans

The government has come out with a new set of exercise guidelines called: 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. You can find the full list of guidelines at http://www.health.gov/PAGuidelines/. This new website provides specific and updated recommendations about the types and amounts of physical activity people need to do each week and how hard they need to work to gain substantial health benefits. The key guidelines for adults are:

• All adults should avoid inactivity
• Some physical activity is better than none, and adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits
• For substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous intensity aerobic activity
• Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, and preferably, it should be spread throughout the week
• For additional and more extensive health benefits, adults should increase their aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate intensity, or 150 minutes a week of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond this amount
• Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that are moderate or high intensity and involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits

Bottom line; try to get in 30 minutes per day of activity plus some extra strength training at least 2x per week. A good way to fit all this into the day is to organize exercise classes at work. Wellness Corporate Solutions has a database of over 1000 fitness professionals around the country ready to bring movement to your workplace. Contact us at: 877-469-5411 or http://www.blogger.com/www.info@wellnesscorporatesolutions.com for a menu of classes.