A balanced training week: Evidence-Based Supplement Guide

The WHO 2020 guidelines advise adults to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity (PMID 33239350). US guidelines add muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week, and say that moving more and sitting less benefits nearly everyone (PMID 30418471). Older adults are advised to do varied activity that includes balance training as well as aerobic and muscle-strengthening work (PMID 30418471). A Cochrane review of 108 trials found that exercise programmes, mainly balance and functional exercises, reduced the rate of falls in older people living in the community (PMID 30703272). Flexibility can come from lifting as well as from stretching. A meta-analysis of 11 trials found that strength training and stretching improved range of motion to a similar degree (PMID 33917036). In competitive endurance athletes, about 80 percent of sessions are at low intensity (PMID 20861519). A training load review concludes that excessive and rapid increases in load are likely behind a large share of non-contact soft-tissue injuries in athletes (PMID 26758673).

1. **Spread aerobic work across the week**, building toward the WHO weekly amount (PMID 33239350). 2. **Do muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week** (PMID 30418471). 3. **Keep most aerobic sessions easy**, with a smaller share of hard sessions (PMID 20861519). 4. **If you are older, include balance and functional exercises**, the kind that reduced falls in the Cochrane review (PMID 30703272). 5. **Use full ranges of motion when you lift** if you want flexibility as well as strength (PMID 33917036). 6. **Change one thing at a time and avoid big jumps in load** (PMID 26758673). 7. **Use effort ratings to steer intensity.** A perceived exertion scale is an established way to rate how hard a session feels (PMID 7154893).

The guideline amounts are weekly and ongoing (PMID 33239350, 30418471). The falls review expressed its results over a year of follow-up (PMID 30703272). Training load is best judged over weeks and months rather than a single session (PMID 26758673).

- **The falls review covered people aged 60 and over living in the community**, and it excluded trials focused on particular medical conditions (PMID 30703272). - **The range of motion trials varied widely** in design, protocols and populations (PMID 33917036). - **The 80 percent pattern describes competitive athletes** training 10 to 13 times a week (PMID 20861519). - **The training load paper proposes a model from team sports** rather than reporting one new trial (PMID 26758673). - **This guide has not been reviewed by a clinician.** `reviewStatus` above says so.

- **Avoid big jumps in training load.** Excessive and rapid increases are likely behind many non-contact soft-tissue injuries (PMID 26758673). - **If you have a long-term health condition or disability, plan changes in training with a clinician.** WHO gives separate recommendations for these groups (PMID 33239350). - **Some activity is better than none.** If you are starting from little exercise, build up gradually (PMID 33239350).

No ingredient is linked from this guide. It covers how to combine kinds of exercise across a week, and it does not point to a product.

| PMID | Title | | --- | --- | | 33239350 | "World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour" | | 30418471 | "The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans" | | 30703272 | "Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community" | | 33917036 | "Strength Training versus Stretching for Improving Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" | | 20861519 | "What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes?" | | 26758673 | "The training-injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder?" | | 7154893 | "Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion" |