How Much Should you Exercise?

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, current guidelines suggest that to stay healthy, adults between 19 and 64 should try to be active daily and follow these recommendations:

Cardiorespiratory Exercise
Cardiorespiratory exercise, often abbreviated to 'cardio', is any exercise that increases the heartbeat and breathing rate.
Such exercises include walking, running, swimming, cycling, dancing and team sports such as football, hockey, basketball etc.

Resistance Exercise
Resistance exercise is concerned with working the bodies muscle groups and building strength.
It is recommended that adults train each major muscle group two or three days each week using a variety of exercises and equipment.
Very light or light intensity resistance training is best for older persons or previously sedentary adults new to exercise
Two to four sets of each exercise will help adults improve strength and power.
For each exercise, 8-12 repetitions improve strength and power, 10-15 repetitions improve strength in middle-age and older persons starting exercise, while 15-20 repetitions improve muscular endurance.
It is recommended that adults should wait at least 48 hours between resistance training sessions.

Moderate vs Vigorous Intensity
There are a number of different ways to classify the intensity of any exercise, some based on heart rate, some on perceived exertion and some on how the exercise affects your metabolic rate.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggests that moderate-intensity activity allows you to talk but not to sing, whereas more vigorous activity results in an inability to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.

Examples of moderate intensity exercise include:
*Brisk walking (100 steps/minute)
*Dancing
*Swimming or aqua aerobics
*Gentle cycling (5-9mph)
*Badminton or doubles tennis
*Volleyball
Examples of vigorous intensity exercise include:
*Running
*Power walking at 5mph or more, or *walking uphill briskly
*Cycling faster than 10mph
*Aerobics
*Martial arts
*Competitive sports (football, basketball,           rugby etc.)
*Skipping/jump rope
*Rowing
Overall though, any activity that gets you moving, gets your heart rate up and gives you enough pleasure to do it regularly and often is good for you in almost every way.
Have fun, be healthy and feel good!