Fitness Fact 2. About 25 percent of American adults - and an even
greater percentage of women - are sedentary. After age 44, upwards of
30 percent of women are sedentary, and by age 65, the proportion
increases to almost 35 percent. By the time they reach age 75, about
50 percent of all women are sedentary.
Fitness Fact 3. Only about 22 percent of American adults engage in
regular, sustained physical activity for at least 30 minutes five
times a week, and only 15 percent exercise both regularly and
vigorously.
Fitness Fact 4. No matter how poor your current level of fitness, you
can start an exercise routine and become fitter and healthier. Even 90-
year-old women who use walkers have been shown in studies to benefit
from light weight training.
Fitness Fact 5. Simply adding movement into your daily routine can
increase your level of fitness. For example, if you park in the last
row of the parking lot and walk briskly five minutes each way between
your office and your car, walk up and down the stairs at your office
during your 10-minute afternoon coffee break, and walk the dog for 10
minutes when you get home, you've racked up 30 minutes of exercise for
the day.
Fitness Fact 6. Women with heart disease or arthritis actually
experience improved daily function from involvement in various modes
of physical activity.
Fitness Fact 7. Fitness consists of four components: your body's
ability to use oxygen as a source of energy, which translates into
cardiovascular fitness; muscular strength and endurance; flexibility;
and body composition.
Fitness Fact 8. To address all the components of fitness, an exercise
program needs to include aerobic exercise, which is continuous
repetitive movement of large muscle groups that raises your heart
rate; weight lifting or strength training; and flexibility exercises
or stretching.
Fitness Fact 9. Walking at a brisk pace (a 15-minute mile or 4 mph)
burns almost as many calories as jogging for the same distance. The
benefit of jogging is that it takes less time to cover the same
distance and it benefits the bones; however, it may be too strenuous
for some.
Fitness Fact 10. It takes about 12 weeks after starting an exercise
program to see measurable changes in your body. However, before 12
weeks, you will notice an increase in your strength and endurance.