Aerobic, Muscle-Strengthening, and Bone-

Strengthening Activity
Aerobic, Muscle-strengthening, and Bone-strengthening Activity

Aerobic activities, also called endurance activities, are physical activities in which people move
their large muscles in a rhythmic manner for a sustained period. Running, brisk walking,
bicycling, playing basketball, dancing, and swimming are all examples of aerobic activities.
Aerobic activity makes a person’s heart beat more rapidly to meet the demands of the body’s
movement. Over time, regular aerobic activity makes the heart and cardiovascular system
stronger and fitter.

Aerobic physical activity has these components:

 Frequency
 Intensity,or how hard a person works to do the activity. The intensities most often
examined are moderate intensity (equivalent in effort to brisk walking) and vigorous
intensity (equivalent in effort to running or jogging);
 Duration, or how long a person does an activity in any one session.

Although these components make up a physical activity profile, research has shown that the total
amount of physical activity (minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, for example) is
more important for achieving health benefits than is any one component (frequency, intensity, or
duration).

Quick Review: Which is the more important for achieving health benefits from aerobic activity:

1. total minutes
2. how vigorous the activity is

Key Guidelines for Adults

All adults should avoid inactivity. Some physical activity is better than none, and adults who
participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits.

For substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a
week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity
aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity
aerobic activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, and
preferably, it should be spread throughout the week.

For additional and more extensive health benefits, adults should increase their aerobic physical
activity to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity, or 150 minutes a week of
vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and
vigorous-intensity activity. Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity
beyond this amount.

Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that are moderate or high intensity and
involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these activities provide additional
health benefits.

How Much Total Activity a Week?

When adults do the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week,
the benefits are substantial. These benefits include lower risk of premature death, coronary heart
disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and depression.

Not all health benefits of physical activity occur at 150 minutes a week. As a person moves from
150 minutes a week toward 300 minutes (5 hours) a week, he or she gains additional health
benefits. Additional benefits include lower risk of colon and breast cancer and prevention of
unhealthy weight gain.

Also, as a person moves from 150 minutes a week toward 300 minutes a week, the benefits that
occur at 150 minutes a week become more extensive. For example, a person who does 300
minutes a week has an even lower risk of heart disease or diabetes than a person who does 150
minutes a week.

The benefits continue to increase when a person does more than the equivalent of 300 minutes a
week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. For example, a person who does 420 minutes (7
hours) a week has an even lower risk of premature death than a person who does 150 to 300
minutes a week. Current science does not allow identifying an upper limit of total activity above
which there are no additional health benefits.

How Many Days a Week and for How Long?

Aerobic physical activity should preferably be spread throughout the week. Research studies
consistently show that activity performed on at least 3 days a week produces health benefits.
Spreading physical activity across at least 3 days a week may help to reduce the risk of injury
and avoid excessive fatigue.

Both moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at

least 10 minutes. Episodes of this duration are known to improve cardiovascular fitness and
some risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

How Intense?

The Guidelines for adults focus on two levels of intensity: moderate-intensity activity and

vigorous–intensity activity. To meet the Guidelines, adults can do either moderate-intensity or
vigorous-intensity aerobic activities, or a combination of both. It takes less time to get the same
benefit from vigorous-intensity activities as from moderate-intensity activities. A general rule of
thumb is that 2 minutes of moderate-intensity activity counts the same as 1 minute of vigorous-
intensity activity. For example, 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week is roughly the
same as 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity.

A person doing moderate-intensity aerobic activity can talk, but not sing, during the activity. A
person doing vigorous intensity activity cannot say more than a few words without pausing for a
breath.

Examples of Different Aerobic Physical Activities and Intensities

Moderate Intensity

 Walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking)

 Water aerobics
 Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour
 Tennis (doubles)
 Ballroom dancing
 General gardening

Vigorous Intensity

 Racewalking, jogging, or running

 Swimming laps
 Tennis (singles)
 Aerobic dancing
 Bicycling 10 miles per hour or faster
 Jumping rope
 Heavy gardening (continuous digging or hoeing, with heart rate increases)
 Hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack

Muscle-Strengthening Activity

This kind of activity, which includes resistance training and lifting weights, causes the body’s
muscles to work or hold against an applied force or weight. These activities often involve
relatively heavy objects, such as weights, which are lifted multiple times to train various muscle
groups. Muscle-strengthening activity can also be done by using elastic bands or body weight for
resistance (climbing a tree or doing push-ups, for example).
Muscle-strengthening activity also has three components:
  Intensity, or how much weight or force is used relative to how much a person is able to
lift;
 Frequency, or how often a person does muscle strengthening activity; and
 Repetitions, or how many times a person lifts a weight (analogous to duration for aerobic
activity). The effects of muscle-strengthening activity are limited to the muscles doing
the work. It’s important to work all the major muscle groups of the body: the legs,
hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms.

Muscle-strengthening activities provide additional benefits not found with aerobic activity. The
benefits of muscle-strengthening activity include increased bone strength and muscular fitness.
Muscle-strengthening activities can also help maintain muscle mass during a program of weight
loss.

Muscle-strengthening activities make muscles do more work than they are accustomed to doing.
That is, they overload the muscles. Resistance training, including weight training, is a familiar
example of muscle-strengthening activity. Other examples include working with resistance
bands, doing calisthenics that use body weight for resistance (such as push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-
ups), carrying heavy loads, and heavy gardening (such as digging or hoeing).

Muscle-strengthening activities count if they involve a moderate to high level of intensity or

effort and work the major muscle groups of the body: the legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen,
shoulders, and arms. Muscle strengthening activities for all the major muscle groups should be
done at least 2 days a week.

No specific amount of time is recommended for muscle strengthening, but muscle-strengthening

exercises should be performed to the point at which it would be difficult to do another repetition
without help. When resistance training is used to enhance muscle strength, one set of 8 to 12
repetitions of each exercise is effective, although two or three sets may be more effective.
Development of muscle strength and endurance is progressive over time. Increases in the amount
of weight or the days a week of exercising will result in stronger muscles

Bone-Strengthening Activity

This kind of activity (sometimes called weight-bearing or weight-loading activity)

produces a force on the bones that promotes bone growth and strength. This force is
commonly produced by impact with the ground. Examples of bone-strengthening activity
include jumping jacks, running, brisk walking, and weight-lifting exercises. As these
examples illustrate, bone-strengthening activities can also be aerobic and muscle
strengthening.

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bone-strengthening-activity/

Types of Physical Activity

The four main types of physical activity are:

 aerobic
 muscle-strengthening
 bone-strengthening
 stretching.

Aerobic activity is the type that benefits your heart and lungs the most.

 Aerobic Activity

Aerobic activity moves your large

muscles, such as those in your arms and legs. Examples of aerobic activity are:

 running
 swimming
 walking
 bicycling
 dancing
 doing jumping
jacks.

Aerobic activity is also called “endurance activity”.

Aerobic activity makes your heart beat faster than usual. You also breathe
harder during this type of activity. Over time, regular aerobic activity makes
your heart and lungs stronger and able to work better.

 
Muscle-Strengthening Activity

Muscle-strengthening activities
improve the strength, power, and endurance of your muscles. Examples of
muscle-strengthening activities are:

 doing pushups and

situps
 lifting weights
 climbing stairs
 digging in the
garden.

Muscle-strengthening activities also can be aerobic, depending on whether they

make your heart and lungs work harder than usual. For example, climbing stairs
is both an aerobic activity and a muscle-strengthening activity.

Bone-Strengthening Activity
 With bone-strengthening activities, your
feet, legs, or arms support your body's weight, and your muscles push against
your bones. This helps make your bones strong. Examples of bone-
strengthening activities are:

 running
 walking
 jumping rope
 lifting weights.

 Bone-strengthening activities also can be aerobic, depending on whether they

make your heart and lungs work harder than usual. For example, running is
both an aerobic activity and a bone-strengthening activity.

Stretching
 Stretching helps improve your flexibility and your
ability to fully move your joints.   Examples of stretching are:

 touching your toes

 doing side stretches
 doing yoga exercises.

Levels of Intensity in Aerobic Activity

You can do aerobic activity with light, moderate, or vigorous intensity.
Moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activities are better for your heart
than light-intensity activities. However, even light-intensity activities are better

than no activity at all.

The level of intensity depends on how hard you have to work to do the activity.
To do the same activity, people who are less fit usually have to work harder
than people who are more fit.  So, for example, what is light-intensity activity
for one person may be moderate-intensity for another.

 
Light- and Moderate-Intensity Activities

Light-intensity activities are common daily activities that do not require

much effort.

Moderate-intensity activities make your heart, lungs, and muscles work

harder than light-intensity activities do.

On a scale of 0 to 10, moderate-intensity activity is a 5 or 6 and produces

noticeable increases in breathing and heart rate. If you are doing
moderate-intensity activity, you can talk but not sing.

 
Vigorous-Intensity Activities

Vigorous-intensity activities make your heart, lungs, and muscles work

hard.

On a scale of 0 to 10, vigorous-intensity activity is a 7 or 8. If you are

doing vigorous-intensity activity, you cannot say more than a few words
without stopping for a breath.