The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults participate in 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. This can be broken down into several smaller chunks: a single session of 75 minutes of vigorous exercise can substitute for an hour of moderate exercise or two sessions of strength training. The recommended amount of exercise may vary, depending on the person’s physical activity level, age, and health conditions.
Cardiometabolic exercise includes a variety of activities that improve health and heart function. The amount of time spent exercising is measured by metabolic equivalents, or METs. A moderate amount of walking will result in a MET value of three. Therefore, a person who walks for two hours a day will burn six METs. By comparison, lying in bed will result in a MET multiplier of one. However, vigorous activities like rollerblading can add up to more than a hundred METs to your daily total.
If you have diabetes, your exercise routine should incorporate both aerobic and strength-building activities. Strength training should be done with a weight or resistance level heavy enough to exhaust your muscles after doing twelve to fifteen repetitions. Aerobic exercises, like brisk walking, cycling, swimming, and yard work, are also considered moderate exercises. Strength training exercises can include your own body weight, resistance tubing, and weights. Similarly, a variety of other activities, such as rock climbing, can also count as moderate exercise.
