There is an abundance of conflicting information on exercise. Certain organizations recommend thirty minutes of daily exercise, while others advise 60-minutes. Certain healthcare advocates encourage household chores, walking or gardening as excellent ways to attain exercise. Then again, other personal trainers sanction strength training, and others prescribe aerobic exercise or both.

So the question becomes, how can one be sure that they are getting enough physical fitness? Although, the answer is subjective from individual to individual, only a primary care physician can provide an accurate response. Nonetheless, a medical practitioner will weigh and compare the following criteria: age, weight, gender, and diet.

Additionally, the answer relies heavily upon one’s fitness objectives. For instance, one individual may have the goal to exercise to lose weight. Another person may include fitness in their regimen to reduce the risk of specific chronic diseases. Then again, it is ideal to exercise to maintain one’s weight and well-being.

Despite all the conflicting information, what does a reasonable fitness training program mean in the realm of maintaining an appropriate body weight while lowering the risk of chronic ailments?

Based on the recent reports of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), 30 minutes of activity six out of seven most days of the week may not be insufficient for most people to actualize well-being advantages coupled with an ideal weight. Essentially, current trends are demonstrating how the American population is gaining weight from the consumption of excess calories. Consequently, the most recent exercise recommendations are targeted to counterbalance high caloric intakes.

When it comes to determining how much you should exercise, consider the following factors:

-How old are you?
-How much do you weigh?
-What is your ideal weight?
-How many calories are you consuming on a daily basis?

In order to maintain an appropriate weight you should not exceed 10 percent of calories of your appropriate/ideal body weight minus calorie burned from physical activity.