Physical activity is integral to a woman's overall health and well-being in all stages of her life. Staying active can be challenging in our busy lives, but staying active is essential for your health and to help reduce cancer risk.
DID YOU KNOW? Keeping fit can help you in many ways including: - Helping you maintain healthy weight
- Preventing the development of chronic diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes
- Improving the quality of your sleep
- Keeping you independent to cope with daily activities and being able to do the things you enjoy
- Maintaining positive mental well-being and mood.
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Getting started and maintaining an exercise routine can be easy. First, understand your current level of physical activity. Knowing what activities are too hard or easy for you can help you to determine your fitness ability and identify suitable ones to do. Then, incorporate bouts of activities within your daily living routines, such as taking the longer walking route to work or home, climbing the stairs instead of taking the lift, participating in physical activity with a friend or family member. Lastly, immerse yourself in activities you like or do not mind doing.
If you have not been participating in any physical activity, or intend to increase the intensity of your exercise, always start slow and low. Then, gradually increase the repetitions, duration or intensity level. If in doubt, please consult your doctor or physiotherapist.
Young Adults (18 to 24 years old)
It is recommended for females within this age range to engage in:
- 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise a week, including weight-bearing activities. Or at least 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise a week.
- At least twice a week of muscle strengthening (resistance) exercises, with 8 to 12 repetitions for each set, up to 3 sets each time or as many as you can perform.
- Limit recreational screen time by replacing them with any form of movement or activity.
- Exercises should start with a warm-up and end with a cool-down.
See below for a video on aerobic exercises recommended generally for younger age group.
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What is moderate and vigorous intensity exercise? Moderate intensity aerobic exercise increases your heart rate, up to 50-60% higher than when you are resting. When performing the exercise, you will notice that you are able to talk, but not able to sing. Whereas, when performing a vigorous exercise, you can only speak a few words at a time. |
What are weight bearing exercises? Weight bearing aerobic exercises are those that involve you being on your feet, with your bones supporting your body weight. They can include activities such as brisk walking, dancing and low impact aerobics. |
What is muscle strengthening (resistance) exercise? Resistance exercise targets major muscle groups of your body. They help strengthen muscles and can be introduced gradually, starting with low weights or resistance. Exercise can be performed using equipment such as weights, resistance bands or body weight.
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Benefits of exercise in this age group
From a young female's perspective, exercise gives specific benefits, leading to a healthier status and better health outcomes in later years. Specific benefits include:
- Maintain a healthy weight and prevent the development of metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Reduce the risk of major cancers such as breast and gynaecological cancers
- Maintain bone health to prevent osteoporosis
- Reduce the risk of fertility-related issues.
- Gain a positive self-concept and keep healthy social interactions
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Young Adults (18-24 years old) - 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise a week, including weight-bearing activities. Or at least 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise a week.
- At least twice a week of muscle strengthening (resistance) exercises, with 8 to 12 repetitions, up to 3 sets each time or as many as you can perform.
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The Middle Years (25 to 49 years old)
Generally, recommendations from the physical activity guideline stay the same as for the
young adult group when a female enters her middle years (1,2).
Pelvic floor muscle training should start in this age group to reap the benefits of preventing incontinence (involuntary leakage of urine or bowel) and pelvic organ prolapse.
Physical fitness and function may start declining at this stage, which is also why being physically active is essential in maintaining physical function and improving quality of life. Specific benefits of physical activity in this age group include:
- Prevent urinary incontinence
- Better sexual health
- Manage mood swings
- Improve sleep
- Prevent osteoporosis
- Enhance fertility
- Maintain weight
- Reduce risk of major cancers
What is pelvic floor muscle exercise? The pelvic floor muscles are a sling of muscles attaching from the pubic bone in front to the tailbone at the back (see figure). Its function includes supporting your pelvic organs, control of the bladder and bowel as well as sexual function. Weak pelvic floor muscles can lead to urinary or faecal incontinence, or pelvic organ prolapse. Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when one or more of the pelvic organs slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina. This can cause pain and discomfort. To reduce the risk of having weak pelvic floor muscle, pelvic floor muscle exercises can be done daily. When performing pelvic floor exercises, do not hold your breath or use/tighten other muscles such as your tummy, buttock or thigh muscles. - While sitting or lying down, squeeze the ring of muscles around your back passage (anus) as though you are trying to stop the passing of wind. Then relax. Repeat this a few times. Alternatively, you can imagine you are trying to stop your urine mid-stream. You should feel a sense of lift when you squeeze your pelvic floor muscles.
- Tighten and hold for 3-5 seconds and then, relax.
- Repeat 8-12 times/set, 3 sets daily.
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The Middle Years (25-49 years old) - Besides the recommended physical activity in the young adult group, start pelvic floor muscle training in this age group to reap the benefits of preventing incontinence (involuntary leakage of urine or bowel) and pelvic organ prolapse.
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The Later Years (50 years old and above)
As a female enters her later years, more emphasis is placed on bone health, muscle strengthening and balance training. As part of the exercise regimen, you should include
- 150 - 300 minutes of
moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week, including
weight-bearing activities. Or at least 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise a week. In view of the older age and possible comorbidities, the aerobic exercises in this video may be more suitable – View it
HERE
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Muscle-strengthening (resistance) activity for two or more days a week at moderate or higher intensity, as tolerated, is also recommended.
- Your weekly exercise regime should include a combination of the above exercises (aerobic, muscle-strengthening), as well as balance, flexibility and postural exercises.
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Pelvic floor muscle training remains important to reduce the risk of incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
- Weight bearing exercises in this age group are particularly important for
bone health.
- Incorporate 3 sessions of balance activities each week, to reduce the risk of falls. For each session, do as much and at your own pace as tolerated. Practice, practice, practice. As you practise, your muscles strengthens and your coordination improves. These will enable you to maintain your balance better. If you have a risk of falls, please do this activity under supervision or consult a physiotherapist. See video for examples of balance exercises.
Keep activities at pain free range, modify activities if experiencing pain (reduce duration/repetitions/weight/speed of the activity/type of activity)
To include different components in your exercise regime, refer to the below video of '7 Easy Exercises To An Active Lifestyle' which incorporates simple muscle strengthening (resistance) and balance exercises.
Benefits of exercise in this age group
The purpose of physical activity in this age range is to improve strength and endurance, maintain mobility and reduce fall risks. It can:
- Slow down muscle and bone loss
- Reduce the risk of falling and fractures
- Manage joint pains and swelling
- Help you stay independent longer
- Manage mental well-being by reducing anxiety and depression symptoms
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The Later Years (50 years old and above) - Continue the aerobic and muscle strengthening (resistance) exercises as per the middle years group. In this group, you may want to tailor your exercise regime accordingly to your comorbidities, if any.
- Continue pelvic floor exercises
- Do more weight bearing exercises
- Include multicomponent exercises such as balance, flexibility exercises etc in your exercise regimen
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