A 45 year old woman wants to increase her physical activity to meet the general guidelines recommended by the United states department of agriculture and the American college of sports medicine. Which of the following routines would meet the recommendations?

Question

1 hour and 15 minutes a week of swimming
1 hour a week of tennis
1 hour a week of bicycling
1 hour and 15 minutes a week of golfing

Answer 1

The general physical activity guidelines recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggest that adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, along with muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week.

Let's analyze the routines provided:

1. Swimming: 1 hour and 15 minutes = 75 minutes (which can be considered moderate to vigorous, depending on effort).

2. Tennis: 1 hour = 60 minutes (usually considered vigorous activity).

3. Bicycling: 1 hour = 60 minutes (depending on intensity, this can also be moderate to vigorous).

4. Golfing: 1 hour and 15 minutes = 75 minutes (if walking and carrying clubs, can be moderate activity).

Now, adding these activities together:

• Swimming: 75 minutes
• Tennis: 60 minutes
• Bicycling: 60 minutes
• Golfing: 75 minutes

Total = 75 + 60 + 60 + 75 = 270 minutes of physical activity.

This total of 270 minutes meets and exceeds the recommended guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. Therefore, this routine would be adequate for the woman's goal to increase her physical activity.