Reference: 2022-12-16; https://mbp-japan.com/jijico/articles/32304/
Modified and translated by CFJA
How many times per week is exercise appropriate?
If you feel pain in your joints from over-exercising, you need to consider the cause of the pain. If it is a fracture, dislocation, sprain, or muscle or ligament injury, you should see an orthopedic surgeon or a bone setting clinic or osteopathic clinic. However, if it is not a traumatic injury, excessive exercise may be the cause of the pain. There are two different ways to strengthen muscles. That is.
- Isometric exercise
- Isotonic exercise
The first method involves only muscle contraction without movement of the joints, while the second method involves flexing and extending the joints. If you have stiff joints and muscles, or if you do not exercise regularly, you should do isometric exercise and then isotonic exercise to avoid joint pain. Isotonic exercise and isometric exercise should be done equally or with more isometric exercise. If a person wants to start exercising, he or she should start with only isometric exercise and gradually increase isotonic exercise after one year, so that joint pain is less likely to occur. Those who are doing only isotonic exercise are more likely to have local joint pain because they do not exercise their joints enough.
The following amount of exercise is required to improve physical strength.
- 5 to 9 years old: 4 to 5 days a week for 1.5 to 2 hours
- Teens: 6 days a week for 2 to 3 hours
Children under 4 years of age still do not have sufficient physical strength, and long-distance running may impair their physical functions. It is appropriate to start exercising around the age of 5 years old, and the above amount of exercise is necessary for healthy people up to their teenage years to improve their physical strength.
The following amount of exercise is appropriate to maintain the physical strength developed by teenagers.
- 20s: 1 day a week for 2 hours
- 30s: 2 days a week for 2 hours
- 40s: 2 days a week for 2 hours
- 50s: 2 days a week for 1.5 to 2 hours
People in their prime may find it difficult to find the time to exercise, but if you increase the amount of exercise from the above and experience joint pain, you need to reevaluate the amount and quality of exercise and give your body a break. Running is effective because of the added impact on the spine and joints of lower limbs, but when you get older, the more difficult it is to run. Running is not an exercise that can be done at any age. It is important to exercise every day, so in addition to walking, simple joint and muscle exercises that can be done indoors will provide an appropriate amount of exercise.
After people reach their 60s, simple muscle training for 5 to 10 minutes is necessary to prevent muscle weakness, but in addition, the following amount of exercise, such as walking, is appropriate.
- Early 60’s: 2 days a week for 1 to 1.5 hours
- Late 60s: 3 days a week for 50 minutes to 1 hour
- Early 70’s: 4 days a week for 40 minutes
- Late 70’s: 5 days a week for 30 minutes
- 80s: 6 days a week for 20 minutes
- 90s: 7 days a week for15 minutes
If you are physically fit, you can exercise more than this. However, if the amount of exercise exceeds your physical strength, you will have difficulty in getting rid of fatigue and will easily experience pain in your joints. Increasing the amount of exercise per day does not necessarily increase muscle strength. If you experience joint pain, it is important to rest your body. People with underlying medical conditions or joint pain should be considered on a case-by-case basis. In this case, please consult with your doctor to determine the appropriate amount of exercise.