21 Jan American Diabetes Association makes exercise recommendations

How much exercise is enough?
Of course there’s no single answer to this question, but many experts recommend exercising a minimum of at least 30 minutes a day at least three times a week.
The American Diabetes Association recommends getting in even more exercise on its website: “People with pre-diabetes, diabetes, or the general adult public should aim for a minimum of 30 minutes most days. Walking, gardening, doing yard work, swimming, or cleaning house will all work to meet this goal. Anything that increases your heart rate and causes you to break a light sweat. Children and teens should aim for at least 60 minutes most days.”
The ADA points out that the Diabetes Prevention Program showed that 150 minutes of physical activity a week (30 minutes, five times a week) helped prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. The large-scale study also showed that people also lost 10 to 20 pounds by making changes in their eating habits.
Keep in mind that these are general goals. For people just starting out or trying to get back into shape, they may only be able to exercise for 5-10 minutes at a time. Don’t give up if you can’t exercise for 30 minutes at a time.
It’s important to get in any exercise you can. Also, exercise can be broken up into different segments, such as 10 minutes of walking, 10 minutes on exercise bike and 10 minutes of brisk housework.
The exercise guidelines may seem very difficult to work into your lifestyle.
However, the ADA offers some good motivational tips:
* “You won’t go from zero to thirty or sixty (minutes), in a day or week. Take one step at a time. Slowly build up to your goal.”
* “Struggling to find an activity you enjoy? Explore new options for fun, healthy exercise. There’s no one way right way to exercise. The most important thing, if you’ve been putting it off, is simply to get started.”
* “There are 1,440 minutes in every day. Set aside 30 of them to exercise!”

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. Consult a doctor before making any significant changes in your exercise routine or diet. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com