Exercise is like all things in life it is all about balance. Too much is bad for you and too little is also bad for you. So how do you find a balance and do the right amount of exercise, which will give you all the health benefits to your heart, brain, and mental health and give you the ability to keep moving without pain.

It is always impossible to give blanket advice but in terms of health there is one kind of fitness that will benefit us all and that is to improve our AEROBIC capacity. 

The reason that this is so beneficial to our health is that it will reduce inflammation in the body by regulating body fat and stabilizing the normal function of the hormones.

The great news is that improving your Aerobic fitness is very easy. All you need to do is walk. I will cover some specifics for different situations below, but as a general rule walking for 40-60 minutes per day 6 days a week will help you maintain fantastic aerobic fitness lose weight and reduce inflammation. 

Additionally walking has the great advantage that it is unlikely to cause any serious injury, which can really curtail our ability to keep healthy, and get us caught into a spiral of declining fitness and health.

The main reason aerobic exercise is best is that when your body is in the aerobic mode it is burning FAT not sugar for energy. The body automatically regulates this action in relation to the amount of effort you are putting in.  A good way to measure optimum aerobic capacity is with a heart rate monitor and if you use the formula below you will arrive at the maximum heart rate that you will be able to stay within your aerobic capacity:

180 - Age = Maximum aerobic capacity

By exercising at or below this rate you will be burning the most fat and getting the most health benefits.

If you are like me and don’t really want to strap on a monitor or rely on technology you can use your breath to gauge how much effort you are putting in. If, while exercising, you can breath through your nose and not your mouth, you are likely to be within your aerobic capacity.

Here are some guidelines that I hope will help those of you who haven’t been doing any exercise or are recovering from surgery or have major health issues:

All those in the following groups should minus another 10 from the above formula if using a heart rate monitor to ensure that they are not over doing it.

180 - Age -10 = Maximum Heart rate

Overweight or Obese

Walking is by far the best form of exercise for you if you are out of shape and have been unable to exercise up to now then you will need to start slowly and build up to 40-60 mins per day. Walking is better than going to the gym, better than spinning classes, better than running and that is because exercising at a level of walking burns fat not sugar.  Start slowly research shows that even 10 mins per day has many health benefits. Use your breath to guide you if you find you are getting out of breath when climbing a hill slow down, stop if you need to, then start again. Try to build up your time walking don’t worry about distance build up to 40 minutes a day the distance and speed will come. If you live in a hilly area drive to somewhere flat and start there.

Arthritis

Arthritis obviously impairs mobility but the rule of “use it or lose it” applies if you don’t use the joint it will start to cease up. Getting the balance of too much or too little is very important for you. If you do too much it will hurt and if you do too little you will lose mobility. Walking gives you a good opportunity to do a balanced exercise and gauge what is too much for you. If you have knee or hip problems walking over rough ground can hurt you so avoid this if it does and walk on good surfaces.

Recovering from major operations or illness

If you have had recent surgery or major operation you will need to be particularly careful. Ensuring that you remain within your aerobic capacity will be a very good way to do this. Starting slow and building slowly will be very important. Using a heart rate monitor to ensure you remain at a lower heart rate may give you peace of mind. Do follow the directions of the specialists who care for you they will tell you when it is safe to start exercising again.

Whatever your situation exercising is one of the most important things we can do to improve our health and reduce the chances of heart disease, cognitive decline, type 2 diabetes and even some cancers. Walking is free and can be a great way to socialize while you exercise.