How many times a week should you exercise? Check out this pyramid of physical activity!

Maybe you've heard some people wonder, what kind of good physical activity is it to make the body healthy and in shape? What kind of exercise should be and how long should it take?

Now, to answer these questions, there is basically no one type of exercise that provides all the health benefits. There are several types of physical activity that you need to achieve an overall healthy and fit body. Don't be confused, the physical activity pyramid can explain what kind of physical activity you really need.

What is the pyramid of physical activity?

Like food that has a food pyramid, physical activity is no different. Physical activity also has a pyramid image to explain the actual activity needs of each person.

The physical activity pyramid is a picture that classifies physical activity based on the four types and their benefits.

Each level of this pyramid includes one or two types of activity. Not only the types of activities, the guide of this pyramid explains about:

• How often should one type of activity be done per week.
• How hard (intensity) the exercise should be.
• How long the exercise is carried out in one session.

Source: Corbin et al, 2008

What are the parts of the physical activity pyramid?

This activity pyramid describes several types of physical activity at each level. In general, there are three types of physical activity, namely:

• Physical activity for endurance or endurance at level 2
• Physical activity for flexibility at level 3
• Physical activity for strength at level 3

Whereas at level 1 or the basic part, there is a sedentary lifestyle (less mobile or less active) that many modern people living in big cities live. Increasingly tapered up, the need for this type of physical activity is getting less.

Physical activity level 1

This level 1 physical activity is the most basic physical activity and should be done every day, as often as possible. This activity is a daily physical activity in your life habits.

Examples of physical activity at level 1 are:

• Walk fast
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator
• Gardening
• Play with children
• Mop or sweep floors

This activity is of moderate intensity. This means that when you do this activity you will feel a slight increase in your heart rate and your breathing will be a little faster than before. The duration required to perform level 1 activities is a minimum of 30 minutes per day.

However, that doesn't mean that for 30 minutes you have to walk briskly without stopping. You can pay it in installments. For example, suppose you walked briskly catching the bus for 5 minutes, then added up at home for 20 minutes, and took the stairs for 5 minutes.

Physical activity level 2

This level 2 physical activity runs the exercise for a longer time (without stopping) for at least 20 minutes. Then this activity can increase your heart rate faster than level 1 physical activity, make breathing faster, and make you sweat. Activities at level 2 are more intense than walking fast. You will also feel even more breathless.

This level 2 physical activity can be done 3-6 times per week. If you do regular physical activity, this level 2 activity at least 3 times a week, you can feel the benefits too.

The benefits of physical activity at level 2 are to improve heart and lung fitness more optimally, and help control fat in the body.

There are two kinds of physical activity at level 2 of the physical activity pyramid, namely doing aerobic activity and doing sports activities.

Examples of aerobic activities include jogging, cycling and swimming. Whereas examples of game sports activities that you can do are playing basketball, badminton, volleyball, and so on.

Physical activity level 3

Moving on to level 3 physical activity, the required frequency will be less than level 2 physical activity.There are two types of physical activity at this level:

Exercises to train flexibility

The benefit of flexibility training is that it helps relax muscles and maintain joint function. The more you have good flexibility, the easier and freer body movements will be.

Examples of physical activity for flexibility include stretching, floor exercises, and yoga. Do this 3-7 times per week with a duration of about 60 minutes. You can insert this flexibility exercise before and after doing other exercises.

Strength training exercises

The benefits of strength training are:

• Helps maintain muscle strength
• Strengthens bones
• Maintain body shape

You can do strength training only 2-3 times per week to reap the benefits. Examples of activities that you can do are lifting weights, push ups, sit ups, and other physical exercises that provide weight. You can do this activity for 8-12 repetitions in 1-3 sets.

For example, if you want to do 2 sets of push ups with 8 repetitions. That means, you will push up 8 times, then stop for a moment. Then continue the second set of push ups 8 times.

Although it is useful for muscle strength, it does not mean that this exercise is only for building muscles to be strong. Both men and women need to train their muscle strength. Suppose you want to play badminton and give your opponent a strong smash. Now, without you training muscle strength it will be difficult to do that extra strong movement.

Physical activity level 4

The activity of this level is one that should be greatly reduced. For example watching movies or television while sitting around, playing cellphones while lying down, and other activities that have very little movement.

This activity is also known as sedentary activity. The high level of sedentary activity that you do will affect your health. Many studies have shown that sedentary activity that is too high can lead to obesity. Doing this type of activity is fine, but limit the duration and frequency.

Make a physical activity plan for the next week

You can use this pyramid of physical activity to guide your physical activity for the next week. However, that doesn't mean that if you don't do the exact same you can't benefit from all the physical activity you've put in. All physical activity can be tailored to your goals and how you take the time to stay active.

Make a plan for your physical activity for the next week to be more mature. Good planning will make you more likely to carry out all levels of physical activity in the right amount and time.

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