Question

Most people do not get the recommended dosage of exercise a week. What is that recommended dose, and why do you think people are not getting enough of it?

As a health psychologist, what are some things you could do to get people to exercise more? How could you buffer against the perceived barriers people face in getting enough exercise?

If you are someone who does get the recommended dose of exercise a week, you might in your response mention the habits and strategies you do personally.

Answer 1

Exercise is important for an individual. It relaxes our mind, body and helps in controlling our emotions. One doesn't need to go to the gym and do the exercises. There are many exercises that a person can do in the comfort of their house, like Yoga, meditation, deep breathing, etc.

As per the American Heart Association, an adult individual requires

1.150 minutes per week of moderate- aerobic activity or 75 minutes of intense aerobic activity.

2. muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days per week.

3. Do not continuously sit and do the sedentary work.

4. Increase the exercise gradually.

5. Scrubbing and mopping help to clean the house and it acts like aerobic exercise and stress buster.

physical activities help in burning the extra calories and keep our body muscles flexible, during aerobic exercises the intake of the oxygen level increase that help in strengthening our heart muscles and internal organs.

Meditation, yoga and deep breathing help in calming our mind, body and relaxed our muscles as the oxygen intake increases. Brisk walking, cycling, water aerobics, dancing, swimming, rope jumping are some of the exercises an adult must do. These exercises increase heart rate thus strengthen the cardiovascular muscles.

The change in lifestyle and long office hours and commuting long journey leaves a man exhausted and tired. The TV and other entertainment take away lots of our time.

To promote good health it is important to make exercise a habit, the people should be made aware of its importance, although many people know about it but failed to make it a habit.

It should be important to propagate the benefits of doing exercise through social media and arranging community events. A health psychologist can conduct classes in public parks; inspire people to use the staircase instead of using the elevators. Instead of sitting in a bar and taking alcohol and smoking, people should be encouraged to do exercises. They can be encouraged to teach their children the benefits of the exercise so that it would become a habit from the beginning.