The guidelines below can help protect you from exercise related injuries and also make being active more enjoyable.

• Consult a doctor before starting on a vigorous exercise programme.
• Begin slowly and gradually build up over several weeks as you get fitter:
  • Begin by alternating 2-3 minutes of exercise with 2-3 minutes of rest over 15 minutes.
  • Activity should be increased 2-3 minutes every week until total of 30 minutes is reached.
• Always warm-up to prevent aches and pains later.
• Always cool down by walking or doing stretches to avoid dizziness or feeling sick.
• Slow down if you are too breathless to talk during exercise. (More info go to exercise capacity)
• Stop immediately if you experience:
  • Discomfort
  • Pain
  • Dizziness
• Dress in light, loose clothing and use comfortable, well-cushioned shoes.
• Best time for exercise:
  • Early morning (before 9.30 a.m. in Malaysia)
  • Evening (after 6 p.m.)
• Environment for exercise:
  • Flat surface.
  • Controlled temperature and humidity.
  • Shaded area.
  • Well lit.
• Make sure you drink fluids before, during and after exercise to replace sweat loss.
• Always do deep breathing exercise in between exercises.
• If you are diabetic:
  • Carry some sweets in case of dizziness due to hypoglycemia which might happen.
  • Use comfortable, padded shoes and socks to protect your foot from injury.
  • Do not exercise with empty stomach or full stomach.
• If you are hypertensive:
  • Stop exercise if you have dizziness, chest pain and breathlessness.
• If you are obese:
  • Do not do exercise too aggressively and minimize high impact movements to avoid injury to your muscles and joints

Exercise Capacity

• Talk Test: Slow down if you are too breathless to talk during exercise.
• Calculating Target Heart Rate (THR):

• You should try to keep the heart rate between 90 and 135 beats per minute.
• Consult your doctor if:
  • Your Resting Heart Rate is near or above your Target Heart Rate.
  • You are on any medication which can slow down your Heart Rate.
• To feel for your heart rate, palpate the pulse at level of the wrist at the base of the thumb.
• To calculate your Heart Rate, palpate and count the pulse for 60 seconds (1 minute).

For more information on Exercise Workload

Exercise Workload

A metabolic equivalent (METS) is defined as multiples of resting metabolic rate . Exercises performed at 2 METS requires double the resting metabolism, 3 METS requires triple the resting metabolism and so forth, The resting metabolic rate is measured as amount of oxygen consumed in a minute per kilogram of body mass, a measurement of energy used per kg body weight per minute in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. One MET is the energy expenditure when a person is at rest. This is equivalent to 3.5 kilocalories /kg/hour.

1 MET = resting VO2 (volume of oxygen used) which is approximately 3.5ml (oxygen) per kilogram (body weight) per minute. Resting VO2 (One MET) = 3.5 ml x kg x minutes.

For the purpose of calculating your energy expenditure during physical activity, the formula is:

Below are examples of energy expenditure for various body weights and activities.

Estimated exercise energy (METs)/calorie (Kilocalorie/hour) expenditure: