THE RECOMMENDED QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF EXERCISE FOR DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING CARDIORESPIRATORY AND MUSCULAR FITNESS, AND FLEXIBILITY IN HEALTHY-ADULTS

ACSM Position Stand on The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercis e for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Fitnes s, and Flexibility in Adults. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 975-991, 1998. The combination of frequency, intensity, and durat ion of chronic exercise has been found to be effective for producing a training effect. The interaction of these factors provide the overloa d stimulus. in general, the lower the stimulus the lower the training effect, and the greater the stimulus the greater the effect. As a resu lt of specificity of training and the need for maintaining muscular st rength and endurance, and flexibility of the major muscle groups, a we ll-rounded training program including aerobic and resistance training, and flexibility exercises is recommended. Although age in itself is n ot a limiting factor to exercise training, a more gradual approach in applying the prescription at older ages seems prudent. It has also bee n shown that aerobic endurance training of fewer than 2 d.wk(-1), at l ess than 40-50% of (V) over dot O2R, and for less than 10 min(-1) is g enerally not a sufficient stimulus for developing and maintaining fitn ess in healthy adults. Even so, many health benefits from physical act ivity can be achieved at lower intensities of exercise if frequency an d duration of training are increased appropriately. In this regard, ph ysical activity can be accumulated through the day in shorter bouts of 10-min durations. In the interpretation of this position stand, it mu st be recognized that the recommendations should be used in the contex t of participant's needs, goals, and initial abilities. In this regard , a sliding scale as to the amount of time allotted and intensity of e ffort should be carefully gauged for the cardiorespiratory, muscular s trength and endurance, and flexibility components of the program. An a ppropriate warm-up and cool-down period, which would include flexibili ty exercises, is also recommended. The important factor is to design a program for the individual to provide the proper amount of physical a ctivity to attain maximal benefit at the lowest risk. Emphasis should be placed on factors that result in permanent lifestyle change and enc ourage a lifetime of physical activity.