It's official: add a constant dose of balance and flexibility training to your workouts. Limiting yourself just to aerobic and strength training is not enough. That's the word from the American College of Sports Medicine, which today released a new position paper with guidelines for adult exercise. It's a significant change from its last statement on the issue, released in 1998.
And for those who thought that a daily jog, walk, or swim was enough to stay in shape -- not so, says ACSM. They say it's clear that you've got to do strength training -- call it resistance training if you prefer. The older you get, the more important strength training is because, done right, it can help offset the natural decline in strength that starts in your 20's and 30's as well as perhaps reduce your chance of arthritis and prevent, slow or even reverse osteoporosis -- a risk for men as well as women.
Another tidbit: there's growing evidence that it makes a difference whether you train at a moderate level of exertion or a vigorous one. That extra huffin' and puffin' and sweat apparently makes a real difference in the results you get.
Apparently there is a separate ACSM position statement for people engaged in "more advanced" training regimens and I'm trying to find that one. Stay tuned.
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