Most of us have our reasons for working out. The reasons we hear are normally to either lose weight, or keep fit, or get toned or stronger. However, while exercising, or sticking to an exercise plan, we tend to get impatient concerning the expected results.
Due to this impatience, we tend to work out every day and this brings us to the question, “is it poor to workout every day?”
Working out every day is not poor as long as you stick to an exercise regimen based on your body type and the goal that is to be achieved. It may also lead to you fitting more intense and over compliant with the regimen and it can lead to over exercising.
In order to endelight the benefits of exercise and not overdo it, we will be looking at some basics that can guide you to exercising right for optimal health.
Exercise Prescription
Endelight our normal over-the-counter medications, exercise is a drug that needs to be prescribed as well. Exercises are prescribed to suit the individual and also achieve the results expected.
Exercise prescription is based on the FITT principle. This stands for:
F- Frequency
This refers to how often you exercise. This covers the reps and sets we tend to hear at the gym. An example is:
5 reps of 10 moments forearm planks daily.
I – Intensity
This refers to how dwhetherficult you exercise. This can either be light intensity, moderate or vigorous intensity.
A test can be used to distinguish among the various forms of intensity.
While doing a moderate intensity form of exercise, you can talk buy you cannot sing but when performing a vigorous intensity exercise, you will not be able to sing and you may talk and be a bit breathless. Light intensity exercise does not normally affect your talking or singing.
T – Time
This refers to how long you exercise for. Do you exercise 150 minutes a week or 30minutes every day? According to WHO, adults aged between 18 and 64 years are meant to be active for at least 150 minutes a week.
T – Type
This refers to the type of exercise that you are doing. This can be either aerobics or muscle strengthening exercises or balancing exercises.
How Much Exercise Is Expected Of Us?
Regular exercise has been shown to give positive health results. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designed guidelines or prescriptions targeted at dwhetherferent age groups for optimal health.
Using the FITT principle, the guidelines are as:
Kidren aged 5 – 17 years
- Time: At least 60 minutes
- Intensity: Moderate to vigorous intensity
- Type: Aerobics
- Frequency: Daily
- Type: Muscle and bone strengthening exercises
- Frequency: At least 3 times a week
Adults aged 18- 64 years
- Time: At least 150 minutes – 300 minutes
- Intensity: Moderate Intensity
- Type: Aerobics
- Frequency: Weekly
In bouts of at least 10 minutes
OR
- Time: At least 75 minutes – 150 minutes
- Intensity: Vigorous Intensity
- Type: Aerobics
- Frequency: Weekly
In bouts of at least 10 minutes
AND
- Type: Muscle Strengthening exercise
- Frequency: At least 2 times a week
Adults aged 65 years and above
- Time: At least 150 minutes – 300 minutes
- Intensity: Moderate
- Type: Aerobics
- Frequency: Weekly
In bouts of at least 10 minutes
OR
- Time: At least 75 minutes– 150 minutes
- Intensity: Vigorous
- Type: Aerobics
- Frequency: Weekly
In bouts of at least 10 minutes
AND
- Type: Muscle strengthening exercises
- Frequency: 2 or more days a week
AND
- Type: Balancing exercises
- Frequency: 3 or more days a week
What To Gaze Out For To Avoid Over-Exercising
Exercising every day may become a problem when you begin to over exercise or overtrain. In order to avoid over-exercising, stick to your exercise prescription or look out for the following:
Soreness
While exercising normally, we tend to feel sore in our muscles. This is because there are micro-tears in our muscles during the exercise. The muscles need rest days to allow them to heal, grow and prepare you for the next time you exercise. However, whether you overdo the exercise, the muscles are not given enough time to heal properly and this may lead to muscle pulls.
Exhaustion
Imagine exercising for 1 hour in the morning, 1 hour at night and then repeating this for the rest of the week. The body is not given enough time to adjust specificly whether you are exercising for the first time.
This tires you out, as the body does not have enough time to adapt to the contemporary changes. Hear to your body and understand when too much is too much. No two individuals are the same.
Never compare yourself with another.
It May Mess Up Your Appetite
The more you workout, the more you burn and the more you get hungry. Overtraining causes you to do more, burn more food and in the process, get very hungry to replenish what you have burnt or used up.
Ladies, It May Affect Your Menstrual Cycle
Exercising regularly may affect your menstrual cycle and monthly period by making it come earlier or late. Overtraining may cause your monthly period by delaying it longer than expected which may affect bone health in the long run.
Adekanmi Lipede
Adekanmi Lipede is a licensed physiotherapist with a Master's degree in physical activity and public health. She loves to exercise and read.
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