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Guidelines for a Healthier Heart

The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association have released a set of guidelines that promote adults ages 18 to 65 to exercise a minimum of five days per week to prevent disease. The guidelines recommend moderate intensity aerobic physical activity, such as brisk walking, for 30 minutes five days a week or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, like jogging, for 20 minutes three days per week. Also emphasized is strength training a minimum of two non-consecutive days per week and includes 8 to 10 exercises repeated 8 to 12 times.

Lead author of the guidelines, William Haskell, says "Following the current recommendations will lead to an increase in cardiovascular and muscle fitness, help achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, and assist in the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer."

A large aspect of these new guidelines is the recognition that exercise must be planned. The guidelines advise finding a kind of movement you enjoy: from dancing, martial arts, roller blading, yoga, to running a treadmill. As long as you're enjoying yourself and increasing your heart rate, then you've accomplished the recommended level of physical activity. Currently only 25% of the US population follows these guidelines, but the authors believe this can jump to 50% over the next decades with the support of community agencies and employers.

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