Aerobic exercise should last 30 minutes, excluding warm-up and cool-down.As people with diabetes know, you should do at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day, at least 5 days a week — that is, at least 150 minutes per week.
This 30-minute period does not count from the time you leave home to when you return.Instead, it refers to the effective time spent at moderate intensity with a target heart rate, after subtracting 5–10 minutes of warm-up and another 5–10 minutes of cool-down.
You can judge whether you have reached effective moderate intensity using these standards:
Your heart rate and breathing increase during exercise, but you are not short of breath.
You can sustain exercise for 10–30 minutes, sweat slightly, and feel moderately tired.
You feel no fatigue when getting up the next day.Meeting these three criteria means your exercise is effective.Exercise done in multiple short sessions also counts.
You may choose one of the following weekly plans:
At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, or
At least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise, or
A combination of moderate and vigorous intensity.The 150 minutes can be completed as 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week.If you cannot spare 30 continuous minutes daily, you may split it into shorter sessions — for example, three 10-minute sessions (each aerobic session should last at least 10 minutes), adding up to 30 minutes total.As long as the intensity is reached, the exercise will still be effective.