55 Minutes, 5 Days a Week? Are You Kidding Me?!?
July 31, 2008 by Liberty Kontranowski
Filed under Blogosphere, Exercise, Fitness, Weight Loss, Womens Health, Your Body, men's health
So in a moment of “don’t shoot the messenger”, I am sorry to have to share the news that “moderate” exercise is no longer going to cut it, if weight loss is your main goal. And by “moderate”, I’m referring to the old standby of 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.
Bummer, eh?
As if we don’t have enough on our plates (heh. Punny, huh?) Now we need to ramp up our routines in order to shed a few. This, according to a recent article on TIME.com.
Truly, it makes sense. When I first went on a crusade to lose the baby weight from my second child and consistently exercised “moderately”, at first, the pounds flew off. But then I plateaued and, well, from that point on it was just maintenance. Losing more would’ve taken more effort, and thus, I see now where the TIME.com article’s study arrived at the recommendation they did.
So here’s my question: in this world full of obligations, responsibilities and very little “me” time, do you plan to carve this extra twenty-five minutes into your day somehow to fulfill this new recommendation? Or does it seem way too far-fetched? Or maybe you’re already exercising this hard? Let us know your habits and plans. I love to hear how people go about achieving their health goals.
For the science behind this new magic number, be sure to catch the whole TIME.com article.
Read a man’s take on this from Scott at Health and Men.
Thanks for the link liberty. You know what I hate/like about being linked sometimes, is that it makes you reread your original post…and I always end up editing some stupid grammar or spelling mistake. Mine had quite a few.
I cry BS on the conclusions! Moderate exercise 30-minutes a day probably is NOT enough, sure. But to simply conclude that dialing up the time is the solution (and the only one) is obtuse, at best.
Here’s an idea: Change the “moderate” part. Study after study has proven that slow plodding cardio is not effective for weight loss. Have 30 minutes? You need intervals. You need to get your heart rate up. You need to challenge your muscles. Why?
1. The obvious (it’s obvious, right?) point that working harder for those 30 minutes burns more calories.
But even MORE importantly…
2. You continue to burn calories after the workout is done. This is important and just doesn’t happen with your old 1980’s treadmill routine; sorry. Rebuilding muscle is an expensive metabolic process, and continues for up to 39 hours after resistance work.
But, readers of this blog knew all this stuff anyway, right?