ENDURANCE

Endurance is defined as physical stamina to sustain stressful activities. Are your heart lungs and muscles strong enough to keep you going for years to come?

  • What is enough to remain independent and self-sufficient as you age?
  • Do you start getting out of breath doing everyday routine activities such as
    • going up and down stairs,
    • carrying your groceries,
    • playing with your grandchildren
  • Lack of the right amount of endurance activities can result in declining walking speeds, usually the first sign of Frailty
  • Act at the right time, before you reach that point of low walking speed
  • What Activities comprise of endurance activities
    • Walking
    • Running
    • Zumba
    • Tennis
    • Biking
    • Dancing
    • Hiking
    • Sports etc…
  • Pick an activity that you enjoy
  • Mix it up to prevent boredom and remain compliant
  • Combine it with socializing and exercise or play a sport with a friend
  • Build up gradually, start where you are, do what you can, every bit of movement counts
  • Walking is the easiest and can be done in the neighborhood with no special equipment
  • Tips on what walking speeds are average, slow and fast
    • 80 steps a minute- Slow
    • 100 steps a minute -Moderate
    • 120 steps a minute – Brisk
    • >130 steps a minute – Fast
  • Moderate Intensity activity quickens breath, you sweat lightly after 10 minutes, you can talk but not sing
  • Vigorous activity breathing becomes deep and rapid, you sweat sooner, you can only say a few words
  • Current guidelines by the Health and Human services recommend 150 minutes to 300 minutes of moderate intensity activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity in a week.
  • The commonly stated goal of 10,000 steps a day is not based on an evidence-based guideline. It would take an hour and 40 minutes at a moderate speed to achieve that. However, if one added walking as exercise minutes, with steps counted during everyday activities, it is more practical to achieve.
  • Research has shown that with 30 minutes 5 times a week shows health benefits and increased health benefits are seen with 60 minutes 5 times a week at moderate intensity.
  • Contact us for the Adult Functional Independence test to check out your endurance