It’s an organization that many students have not heard about, but it’s prevalent in almost all of their lives when it comes to physical health – the American College of Sports Medicine.  

According to their website, the American College of Sports Medicine is the “largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world.” Their goal is to utilize scientific research to help provide “educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.”

The overall recommendation for adults is to participate in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. The 150 minutes can be broken up into moderate-intensity sessions, or if you’re looking to do fewer sessions, shoot for vigorous-intensity workouts. The important thing to keep in mind is that some exercise is better than none.

Besides cardiorespiratory exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine also recommends that adults partake in resistance and flexibility exercises two to three days per week.

For resistance exercises, two to four sets of each exercise help improve strength and power. The higher the number of repetitions done during each set, the more one’s muscular endurance will improve.

“Muscular endurance is the ability of muscle to produce contractions over an extended period of time,” said Shannon Peel, associate director of ISU’s Athletic Training and head football athletic trainer. “[A] muscle responds, ‘learns’ and adapts by how it is used.  Doing repeated activity with a muscle will increase the muscle’s endurance.”  

As for flexibility, static and dynamic stretching are two common types that are effective in improving one’s range of motion. Each stretch should be held up to 30 seconds to the point of tightness or slight discomfort. Repeat each stretch two to four times, accumulating 60 seconds per stretch.

“Correct stretching techniques are essential if we are trying to improve range of motion,” said Mark Coberley, associate athletics director for Athletic Training. “Incorrect stretching will not address the areas which are limiting our ability to move.  There is evidence that performing exercises such as foam rolling or trigger point release prior to stretching will enhance the ability to get the particular muscle being stretched to be less inhibited and produce greater flexibility results.”   

Also, warming up the muscles with light aerobic activity beforehand can be done for a more effective stretch.

“Soft tissues such as muscle have greater extensibility when warm,” Coberley said. “By doing light aerobic activity prior to flexibility work, the body’s core temperature will rise, effectively increasing the temperature of the muscles and making it easier to obtain better flexibility results.”

Lastly, one final type of exercise that the American College of Sports Medicine recommends adults participate in two to three days a week is neuromotor exercise, otherwise known as functional fitness training. Functional fitness training involves exercises that involve motor skills such as balance and agility and multifaceted activities like yoga to improve physical function. Doing neuromotor exercises for 20 to 30 minutes per day is sufficient.

In light of the American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines for maintaining a healthy life, Iowa State’s Recreation Services also plays an important role in enhancing the health and wellness of the ISU community. Through its fitness and wellness services as well as the opportunity for students to become involved in the intramural sports and sports clubs, Recreation Services makes it simple for students to stay interested and involved in regular exercise.

“I think they are so many options of sports to play that anyone can find their favorite sport and have fun with people who share the same passion,” said Colin Boesch, sophomore in mechanical engineering and returnee to one of ISU’s flag football intramural teams. “I returned to intramurals because I think they are extremely fair, and we had a tough loss in the playoffs last year and wanted some revenge. Even though we lost again, it was still fun to play a sport again.”