Good news adults: 10 minutes of exercise is enough

By Neil Allen

10 minutes? Are you serious?

In the last few years, there have been many studies that show that just 10 minutes of exercise every day can have important health benefits for adults. Ten minutes is enough to help you maintain your weight, be more cheerful, and be healthier. And, it doesn’t need to be done at aerobic levels to be helpful.

According to a study from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, just 10 minutes of exercise a day can improve heart strength and general fitness.

"Your body responds very positively, very quickly to even small amounts of exercise," says lead study author Tim Church, MD, PhD. (Yeager, 2007) "If you're sedentary, you'll see a lot of your greatest gains going from zero to 10 minutes a day.”

Church goes on to say that just 10 minutes of exercise per day changed the autonomic nervous system (the fight-or-flight stress reflex), can trim your waistline with brisk walking for 10 minutes, build muscle and protect your joints, and can lead to lifting your mood.

If you look online, you’ll find a gazillion different 10 minute workouts. Many of them are high intensity routines that are not for those starting to exercise or are looking for something that is moderate to just stay active.

Some tips:

• Read through the exercises or watch the whole video before getting started. If you don’t think you’ll be capable of doing most of the exercises then choose a different workout routine.
• Start slow and increase the time you’re doing the exercises each week. Then, when you feel you’re comfortable with what you’re doing, increase the intensity of the exercises.
• Set reasonable goals so that you feel like it is being effective and that you’re not wasting your time but not too much so you feel defeated.
• If you have balance issues, there are many exercise routines that can be done from a seated position.
• Always remember to check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise routine. This is especially important if you have physical limitations due to a disability or health condition.

Reference:
Yeager, S. (2007). Exercise: The least you can do (would you believe 10 minutes?). Retrieved from www.oprah.com/health/even-10-minutes-of-exercise-a-day-can-improve-health#ixzz5BXlLgrnA).

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