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At Healthfully, we strive to deliver objective content that is accurate and up-to-date. Our team periodically reviews articles in order to ensure content quality. The sources cited below consist of evidence from peer-reviewed journals, prominent medical organizations, academic associations, and government data.
- ACSM.org: ACSM Position Stand of Physical Activity and Weight Loss
- ACSM.org: ACSM Position Stand of Physical Activity and Weight Loss
- ExRx.net: Modified ACSM Risk Classification Form
The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a professional health care provider. Please check with the appropriate physician regarding health questions and concerns. Although we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, no guarantee to that effect is made.
How Long Should a 45-Year-Old Do Aerobic Exercise?
Spending forever on a treadmill or doing any aerobic exercise is futile without goals. If you're frustrated with your training and have been unable to reach your fitness or weight loss goals, ensure you follow a cardio plan that gets you results quickly and effectively.
A 45 year old should perform aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes per week at a moderate intensity, or 75 minutes if it's seriously intense, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Make Me Healthy
A lack of time is a major reason you may not be hitting the road or taking an aerobics class, especially when business and family duties are tight on your heels. While most major organization suggest healthy adults to do about 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity weekly, you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death by fulfilling half of the recommendation.
If time is tight, help your health along by raising your heart rate three times a week for 25 minutes. Whatever form of activity you choose — jogging, vigorous landscaping or circuit training — be sure to get your heart pumping. Make these short sessions intense, so it's hard to sing a song or talk in sentences longer than three words.
- A lack of time is a major reason you may not be hitting the road or taking an aerobics class, especially when business and family duties are tight on your heels.
- Whatever form of activity you choose — jogging, vigorous landscaping or circuit training — be sure to get your heart pumping.
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To lose fat, you must drop the excuse of not having time to exercise. It’s a big goal to lose weight, and a bigger challenge to keep the weight off. You need more than 250 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week to lose one to two pounds per week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine 2.
Reduce your risk of injury by varying the type of exercise you do during the week. A combination of group exercise classes, outdoor hiking and elliptical routines throughout the week can be effective. But consider adding a circuit training class that utilizes aerobic and resistance training intervals. As long as your heart rate remains elevated, it counts toward your weekly accumulation of aerobic activity, burning fat and toning your muscles.
- To lose fat, you must drop the excuse of not having time to exercise.
- A combination of group exercise classes, outdoor hiking and elliptical routines throughout the week can be effective.
Go the Distance
Aerobic capacity is the ability of your heart, lungs and blood vessels to meet the oxygen and energy needs of your muscles. If you have been sedentary for the last six months, are unable to walk a mile or if you want to finish a group fitness class, you must increase the endurance component of your aerobic capacity. The intensity of your exercise has to be low enough so you can go for a longer duration.
When you first start out, you may feel winded after 10 to 15 minutes. You can perform two or three of these short sessions per day and still meet your weekly exercise goal, or gradually add time to each session to eventually exercise 30 minutes on most days. Depending on your current fitness level, you may add as little as two minutes to your daily walk or as much as 10 minutes to your jog.
- Aerobic capacity is the ability of your heart, lungs and blood vessels to meet the oxygen and energy needs of your muscles.
- If you have been sedentary for the last six months, are unable to walk a mile or if you want to finish a group fitness class, you must increase the endurance component of your aerobic capacity.
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Age is a risk factor for cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic disease. If you're a 45-year-old man, make an appointment to see your doctor prior to beginning a focused exercise program. If you're a 45-year-old woman and you or your immediate family members have a cardiovascular, pulmonary or metabolic condition, you should also see your doctor. While exercise is beneficial for adults with no signs, symptoms or risk factors of disease and illness, unsupervised exercise could be dangerous if you have an existing medical condition.
- Age is a risk factor for cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic disease.
- If you're a 45-year-old woman and you or your immediate family members have a cardiovascular, pulmonary or metabolic condition, you should also see your doctor.
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References
- Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise: Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromuscular Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults: Guidance for Prescribing Exercise
- ACSM.org: ACSM Position Stand of Physical Activity and Weight Loss
- ExRx.net: Modified ACSM Risk Classification Form
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High cholesterol in the United States. Updated February 6, 2019.
- Ho SS, Dhaliwal SS, Hills AP, Pal S. The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:704. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-704
- American Heart Association. American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids. Updated April 18, 2018.
- Williams PT, Thompson PD. Walking versus running for hypertension, cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus risk reduction. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2013;33(5):1085-91. doi:10.1161/ATVBAHA.112.300878
- Grøntved A, Koivula RW, Johansson I, et al. Bicycling to work and primordial prevention of cardiovascular risk: a cohort study among Swedish men and women. J Am Heart Assoc. 2016;5(11):e004413. doi:10.1161/JAHA.116.004413
- Volaklis KA, Spassis AT, Tokmakidis SP. Land versus water exercise in patients with coronary artery disease: effects on body composition, blood lipids, and physical fitness. Am Heart J. 2007;154(3):560.e1-6. doi:10.1016/j.ahj.2007.06.029
- Ho SS, Dhaliwal SS, Hills AP, Pal S. The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:704. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-704
- Chu P, Gotink RA, Yeh GY, Goldie SJ, Hunink MG. The effectiveness of yoga in modifying risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2016;23(3):291-307. doi:10.1177/2047487314562741
Writer Bio
Paula Quinene is an Expert/Talent, Writer and Content Evaluator for Demand Media, with more than 1,500 articles published primarily in health, fitness and nutrition. She has been an avid weight trainer and runner since 1988. She has worked in the fitness industry since 1990. She graduated with a Bachelor's in exercise science from the University of Oregon and continues to train clients as an ACSM-Certified Health Fitness Specialist.