Muscle-strengthening Activities provide additional benefits not found with aerobic
activity, including increased bone strength and muscular fitness. Muscle-strengthening
activities can also help maintain muscle mass during a program of weight
loss.

Muscle-strengthening activities make muscles do more work than they are accustomed
to doing. That is, they overload the muscles. They should involve all the
major muscle groups and should be done at least two days a week. One set of eight
to 12 repetitions of each exercise is effective, although two or three sets is likely
to be more effective. Short rest intervals of 30 to 90 seconds between sets seem
best for building muscle endurance, and longer, two to five minutes rest intervals
are recommended for building strength. Reps should be performed to the point at
which it would be difficult to do another repetition without help. The development
of muscle strength and endurance is progressive over time. Increases in the amount
of weight or the days a week of exercising will result in stronger muscles.

Flexibility and balance activities
Flexibility is considered to be an important part of physical fitness, especially for
some types of physical activity. Stretching exercises are effective in increasing
flexibility and improving cardiovascular health. It is unclear whether they reduce
the risk of injury. Time spent doing flexibility activities by themselves does not
count toward meeting the aerobic or muscle-strengthening Guidelines.
Balance training activities are movements that safely challenge postural control.
If practiced regularly, they improve the ability to prevent falls, whether walking,
standing, or sitting. Standing on one foot, walking heel-to-toe, the balance walk,
and using a wobble board are examples of balance training activities.

This blog presents opinions and ideas and is intended to provide helpful general information. I am not engaged in rendering advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures and suggestions in that are presented are not in any way a substitute for the advice and care of the reader’s own physician or other medical professional based on the reader’s own individual conditions, symptoms or concerns. If the reader needs personal medical, health, dietary, exercise or other assistance or advice the reader should consult a physician and/or other qualified health professionals. The author specifically disclaims all responsibility for any injury, damage or loss that the reader may incur as a direct or indirect consequence of following any directions or suggestions given in this blog or participating in any programs described in this blog or in the book, The Building Blocks of Health––How to Optimize Your Health with a Lifestyle Checklist (available in print or downloaded at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble and elsewhere). Copyright 2021 by J. Joseph Speidel.