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The new physical activity guidelines released last week by the federal government are aimed at keeping Americans healthy and fending off problems such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

But what if you not only want to be healthy but also buff? What if you are seeking to build endurance for a big race or boost your flexibility?

Slimming down
Unfortunately, there is no magic exercise formula here. The new guidelines state that “people vary a great deal in how much physical activity they need to achieve and maintain a healthy weight” and that “the optimal amount of physical activity needed to maintain weight is unclear.”

But experts say one thing is pretty clear: Most adults aren’t going to lose substantial weight and keep it off by following the guidelines’ minimum physical activity recommendation of 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity, such as brisk walking or water aerobics.

“Weight control is one area where these lower levels may not be sufficient for many individuals,” says fitness researcher Dr. I-Min Lee, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, who was on the guidelines committee that reviewed the scientific literature.

To lose significant weight and keep it off, many people will need more than 300 minutes a week of moderate activity, the guidelines note. Spread out over the course of a week, that amounts to at least an hour of exercise for five days, which is in line with other recommendations for weight control. If you’re sedentary, begin slowly and build up.

Of course, diet plays a big role, Lee says. To lose weight, you have to expend more calories than you consume. People who eat more will need to exercise more to work it off. People who closely control their calorie intake may be able to keep their weight in check with less exercise. Complicating matters, genetics also factors in, so some people will naturally have a harder time with weight control than others.

Bulking up
Strength-training a couple days a week, the minimum recommendation in the new guidelines, will yield strength gains, but it’s certainly not going to sculpt you into a bodybuilder, says Jay Dawes, education director of the National Strength and Conditioning Association in Colorado Springs, Colo., and a former personal trainer.

It’s a good place to start. Then, if you want to get more strength gains and bigger muscles, you’ll have to progressively build up the program. That means increasing the number of days spent training, and also varying the workout program to make it more challenging, with greater resistance and more sets, for instance.

Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise in San Diego, says people can significantly build muscle by performing two to four sets of an exercise for eight to 12 repetitions each time. Train all major muscle groups.

If your goal is to look good in a swimsuit (toned but not overly pumped up), aim to strength train (using any available approach to overload the muscles, including free weights, machines and resistance bands) three to four times a week for 45 minutes to an hour each time, working all major muscle groups, Dawes says. Allow each muscle group to recover for at least 48 hours. You’ll also need to watch your diet and burn calories through cardio. Looking toned requires both boosting muscle and minimizing body fat.

If your goal is to sport a rock-hard bodybuilder bod, you’re in for some serious time in the gym – about five days a week, Dawes says. This can put you at risk for overuse injuries, so it’s a good idea to consult a personal trainer for advice on devising a safe routine that gives your muscles adequate recovery time.

Getting ready for a race
Not surprisingly, building aerobic endurance for competition in a 10K, marathon or triathlon requires much more effort than exercising to stay healthy.

How much more? “It’s a continuum,” says James Pivarnik, president-elect of the American College of Sports Medicine and a professor of kinesiology and epidemiology at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

It all depends on where you start, Pivarnik explains. A hard workout for a mere mortal might actually decondition an elite athlete who’s accustomed to much more advanced training on most days of the week.

“If you want to get fitter today, you have to somehow overload where you are now,” he says, and then build on that program.

Comana recommends that people start off using the “talk test” to gauge how hard to push themselves. This means that you should be able to talk continuously for 30 seconds while exercising, he says. If you can’t, it’s too difficult. Build your program from three days a week to five, he recommends.

Loosening up
Last year, the American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association released physical activity guidelines for older adults. The guidelines advocated stretching each day that one performs aerobic or strengthening activities, targeting each major muscle group with a 10- to 30-second stretch and repeating that stretch three to four times. In total, a round of stretching should take an extra 10 minutes, the guidelines say.

Flexibility is particularly important for maintaining a range of motion as we grow older, but experts say people of all ages should stretch at least twice a week, preferably after a workout when the muscles are warm.

Instead of stretching before exercise, Comana says, do a light warm-up (such as easy walking on a treadmill or light cycling) to get your body ready for the more demanding activity to come.