How many days per week does the ACSM recommend participating in moderate intensity cardiorespiratory exercise?

150 minIwkj1 of moderateintensity
PA for overweight and obese adults to improve health; however,
200-300 minIwkj1 was recommended for long-term weight loss.

Evidence supports moderateintensity
PA between 150 and 250 minIwkj1 to be effective to prevent
weight gain. Moderate-intensity PA between 150 and 250 minIwkj1 will
provide only modest weight loss. Greater amounts of PA (9250 minIwkj1)
have been associated with clinically significant weight loss. Moderateintensity
PA between 150 and 250 minIwkj1 will improve weight loss in
studies that use moderate diet restriction but not severe diet restriction.
Cross-sectional and prospective studies indicate that after weight loss,
weight maintenance is improved with PA 9250 minIwkj1. However, no
evidence from well-designed randomized controlled trials exists to judge
the effectiveness of PA for prevention of weight regain after weight loss

The NHLBI
Guidelines (101) recommend a minimum weight loss of
10%. However, there are also numerous studies that show
beneficial improvements in CVD risk factors when weight
loss is less than 10% (16,38,56,80,114,150). In fact, beneficial
improvements in chronic disease risk factors have been
reported with as little as 2-3% of weight loss (30,45,85,141).

2001 recommendation by ACSM of 200-300 minIwkj1 of
moderate-intensity PA for long-term weight loss,

PA to prevent weight gain. PA of 150 to 250 minIwkj1 with an energy equivalent of 1200 to 2000 kcalIwkj1 will prevent weight gain greater than 3% in most adults. A
PA for weight loss. PA G 150 minIwkj1 promotes minimal weight loss, PA 9 150 minIwkj1 results in modest weight loss of È2-3 kg, PA 9 225-420 minIwkj1
results in 5- to 7.5-kg weight loss, and a dose-response exists.
B
PA for weight maintenance after weight loss. Some studies support the value of È200- to 300-minIwkj1 PA during weight maintenance to reduce weight regain after
weight loss, and it seems that ''more is better.'' However, there are no correctly designed, adequately powered, energy balance studies to provide evidence for the
amount of PA to prevent weight regain after weight loss.
B
Lifestyle PA is an ambiguous term and must be carefully defined to evaluate the literature. Given this limitation, it seems lifestyle PA may be useful to counter the
small energy imbalance responsible for obesity in most adults.
B
PA and diet restriction. PA will increase weight loss if diet restriction is modest but not if diet restriction is severe (i,e., GkcalIwkj1 needed to meet RMR). A
Resistance training (RT) for weight loss. Research evidence does not support RT as effective for weight loss with or without diet restriction. There is limited evidence
that RT promotes gain or maintenance of lean mass and loss of body fat during energy restriction and there is some evidence RT improves chronic disease risk
factors (i.e., HDL-C, LDL-C, insulin, blood pressure).

1. Warm-up: at least 5-10 min of light-to-moderate intensity cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance activities

2. Conditioning: at least 20-60 min of aerobic, resistance, neuromotor, and/or sports activities (exercise bouts of 10 min are acceptable if the individual accumulates at least 20-60 min ∙ d −1 of daily aerobic exercise)

3. Cool-down: at least 5-10 min of light-to-moderate intensity cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance activities

4. Stretching: at least 10 min of stretching exercises performed after the warm-up or cool-down phase

Aerobic activity or “cardio” gets you breathing harder and your heart beating faster. From pushing a lawn mower, to taking a dance class, to walking or biking to the store – these types of activities and more count. As long as you’re doing aerobic physical activities at a moderate- or vigorous-intensity, they count toward meeting the aerobic guideline.

Intensity is how hard your body is working during a physical activity.

Moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity means you’re working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. One way to tell if it’s a moderate-intensity aerobic activity is that you’ll be able to talk, but not sing the words to your favorite song. Here are some examples of activities that require moderate effort:

• Walking fast
• Doing water aerobics
• Riding a bike on level ground or with few hills
• Playing doubles tennis
• Pushing a lawn mower

Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity means you’re breathing hard and fast, and your heart rate has gone up quite a bit. You may use the Talk Test to gauge the intensity of your aerobic physical activity. If you’re being active at a vigorous level, you won’t be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath. Here are some examples of activities that require vigorous effort:

• Jogging or running
• Swimming laps
• Riding a bike fast or on hills
• Playing singles tennis
• Playing basketball

If you are doing moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking or hiking, you can talk, but not sing during the activity.

Build Up Over Time
If you want to do more vigorous-level activities, slowly replace those that take moderate effort like brisk walking with more vigorous activities like jogging. Learn more about getting started with physical activity to improve health.

You can do moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or a mix of the two, each week. A rule of thumb is that 1 minute of vigorous-intensity activity is about the same as 2 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.

Some people like to do vigorous activity because it gives them about the same health benefits in half the time. If you haven’t been very active lately, however, increase your physical activity level slowly. If you have a history of a chronic disease, consider telling your doctor you are planning to increase your physical activity, including moving to more vigorous activity. You need to feel comfortable doing moderate-intensity activities before you move on to more vigorous ones. Learn more about additional types of physical activity that are right for you.

Want more tips on how you can add a variety of activities to your life? Check this out.

How often does the ACSM recommend stretching per week?

How many days per week does the ACSM recommend participating in resistance exercise?

What is the ACSM recommendation for frequency of exercise for an individual of average fitness?

What is moderate intensity exercise ACSM?