Kenneth Gardner - FITNESS CLUB

The frequency of exercise sessions will vary based on need and the prescription. Exercise can be done as often as twice each day, on a weekly basis; this more applicable to rehabilitation cases. At the other end of the spectrum, exercising for 30 minutes, three days each week, is used as the minimum, standard prescription.

Frequency of exercising is highly dependent on whether the sessions are vigorous. Our exercise sessions should be sufficiently spaced to allow adequate time for muscles and support structures to grow, repair and recuperate.

Exercises which are progressive and involve working against resistance are better when done on alternate days; in this case, daily exercise sessions could be detrimental, unless the workload is reduced or different groups of muscles are used on alternate days.

Persons who exercise only twice weekly will not experience any noticeable improvement in a timely fashion. Even for maintenance purposes, exercising once each week will prove insufficient. Seventy two hours after completing a session, we will start losing the benefits gained, thus another dosage of exercise is needed to halt the decline. A variety of exercises is always necessary to make your programme attractive.

Exercise at least three times per week and add some aerobics. Lift back leg to chest while pumping your arms and return to starting position. - photo by Daviot Kelly

A slow aerobic warm-up routine

1. Jogging in place.

2. For two to three minutes, jog easily in place.

3. Raise your arms out to the side at shoulder height.

4. Use your arms to make small circles then progress to bigger circles.

5. Lift your feet higher and higher as you jog and land on the ball of your feet.

6. Breathe easily and rhythmically as you jog.

A fast aerobic exercise (the flyer)

1. Stand with all your weight on your left foot, right foot slightly raised straight out to the side.

2. Hands in front of your chest, palms down, elbows out to the side, arms parallel to the floor.

3. Hop off your left foot and place your right foot in the same spot as you swing your arms out to the sides.

4. Hop back off your right foot to the left foot as you swing your hands back to the starting position.

5. Repeat, hopping from left to right foot on the same spot and swing your arms with the hops.

A weight training exercise (Seated alternate dumb bell curls)

1. Sit with a moderately heavy dumbbell in each hand

Place your feet flat on the floor so you won't rock back and forth as you perform the exercise.

2. Hang your arms straight down to your sides with your palms facing forward.

3. Keep your upper arms tightly against your sides as you do the curls.

4. Slowly curl the weight in your right hand up to your shoulder.

5. As you lower the dumbbell in your right hand, curl the dumbbell in your left hand to your shoulder.

6. Do the same number of repetitions with each arm.

Dr Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at Holiday Hills Research Center; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.