Choosing your exercise intensity

How hard should you be exercising? For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

• Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. Or get at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. You also can get an equal combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Aim to spread out this exercise over a few days or more in a week.

  For even more health benefits, the guidelines suggest getting 300 minutes a week or more of moderate aerobic activity. Exercising this much may help with weight loss or keeping off lost weight. But even small amounts of physical activity can be helpful. Being active for short periods of time during the day can add up and have health benefits.

  Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, biking, swimming or mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running, swimming laps, heavy yard work or aerobic dancing.

• Strength training. Do strength training for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. One set of each exercise is enough for health and fitness benefits. Use a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

  Strength training can include use of free weights, weight machines or resistance tubing. And it can include activities that use your own body weight, such as rock climbing or heavy gardening. Or try squats, planks or lunges.

Your exercise intensity must generally be at a moderate or vigorous level for the most benefit. For weight loss, the more intense or longer your activity, the more calories you burn.

Exercise progression is important, but this should be at a gradual rate. Overdoing it can raise your risk of soreness, injury and burnout. Start at a light intensity if you're new to exercising. Slowly build up to a moderate or vigorous intensity. As a general guide, aim for about a 10% increase in the amount of your activity per week for a safe progression.

Think about the reasons you exercise. Do you want to improve your fitness, lose weight, train for a competition or do a combination of these? Your answer will help decide the right level of exercise intensity for you.

Be realistic and don't push yourself too hard too fast. Fitness is a lifetime commitment, not a sprint to a finish line. Talk to a health care professional if you have any medical conditions or you're not sure how hard you should exercise.