How Much Exercise Do You Really Need?
Zero training is not enough. Going for a walk every day is probably beneficial. And if you’re training for a marathon, you’ll be on your feet for a couple of hours of hard training every week. But what is the test for a person who is simply trying to squeeze enough healthy exercise into their life ? Let’s figure it out.
The Basics: 150 minutes of cardio and two days of strength training each week.
Fortunately, all major public health organizations agree. The World Health Organization , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , and American Heart Association have the following recommendations for aerobic exercise:
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At least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity cardio exercise, such as walking or light jogging, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise, such as running, or a combination of both. (If it’s easy for you to handle, the more the better.)
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At least two days a week, engage in muscle strengthening activities , such as weight lifting or other strength training such as push-ups, exercises with resistance bands, or even heavy manual labor such as shoveling.
The previous edition of the guidelines said that you need to do cardio for at least 10 minutes at a time for it to count, but the current recommendation is to do it as much as you can, even if that includes a few shorter intervals here and there.
What do “moderate” and “vigorous” cardio mean?
If you need help distinguishing the two levels from each other, moderate cardio is an exercise you can do consistently without feeling too tired. Vigorous cardio is the kind where you hope you get a break soon because oh my god, I can’t go on like this for much longer. Or, if you’re used to training with a heart rate monitor, moderate cardio is often considered zone 2 cardio , and vigorous cardio is something harder.
When you do moderate cardio , you’ll sweat a little or breathe a little heavier than at rest, but the activity is steady: You can comfortably speak in full sentences—think of an easy jog. with a friend, telling them how your week was.
Here are some examples of moderate cardio:
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A brisk walk (but if you find this too easy, you may need to jog to achieve the same level of effort).
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Jog if you can find an easy pace. It is also important to alternate between running and walking.
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Cycling to work or running errands on relatively flat terrain.
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Using a stationary bike or other cardio equipment such as an elliptical machine, as long as you do it at a low intensity and at a steady pace.
In contrast, vigorous cardio involves activities in which you work hard and breathe heavily. You may not be able to last that long. This may include:
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Run fast
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Cycling uphill
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Push yourself to complete the Crossfit WOD to your advantage.
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Swimming rings
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Playing football or basketball
Can I mix moderate and vigorous cardio?
You can mix and match these two intensities. The math is simple if you set your goal to about 150 minutes and count every minute of vigorous cardio as double. Here are some examples:
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A 20-minute brisk walk every weekday morning (20 minutes x 5 days = 100 minutes of moderate cardio) plus a 30-minute spin class that will make you work really hard (30 minutes doubled equals 60; add that up to 100, and you are at 160 minutes).
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One hour of walking three days a week (60 minutes x 3 sessions = 180 minutes of moderate cardio)
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Three 30-minute runs (30 minutes x 3 = 90 minutes of moderate cardio) plus a workout with 10 minutes of easy running to warm up, followed by 20 minutes of intense running followed by an easy cool-down for another 10 minutes. (20 minutes of vigorous exercise x 2 is equivalent to 40 minutes of moderate cardio, plus we can add a warm-up and cool-down for another 20 minutes of moderate exercise). You will get 150 in total.
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On Monday, go for a 30-minute easy bike ride. Try a 45-minute water aerobics class on Wednesday. Take a short walk on Saturday. Mow the lawn for an hour on Saturday. (30 + 45 + 30 + 60 = 165 moderate cardio)
If it’s too easy, level up to 300 minutes.
If you’re fairly athletic, the above won’t seem like much to you. Good news! WHO has given people like you a secondary goal. It’s simple: just make twice as much as above. So you can aim for 300 minutes of moderate cardio or 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week. Here’s what it might look like:
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Intense one-hour martial arts classes three times a week (60 x 3 = 180, but this is vigorous cardio, so the minutes count double)
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Run 30 miles a week at an easy pace (if you’re fit enough to run at an easy pace for about 10 minutes, that’s 300 minutes of moderate cardio).
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Drive to work 20 minutes each way (40 minutes a day x 5 days a week = 200 minutes of moderate cardio) and play two soccer games a week (50 minutes per game, for some mix of moderate and vigorous cardio, Necessarily). puts us above 300).
Can you get too much exercise?
What about the upper limit on the number of workouts? From a public health perspective, there is none. The bigger, the better. (And even if you do less than recommended, anything is better than nothing .) However, you as an individual can always do more exercise than your body is ready for. Don’t go from occasional walks to a marathon training plan. (And if you ‘re doing a marathon training plan and feel exhausted, take a break .)
Strength, flexibility and more
So far we’ve talked about aerobic exercise, where you constantly move (or perhaps take short intervals between work and rest) and get your heart rate up. But there are other important forms of exercise. The WHO and other organizations recommend two days a week of “high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity,” which includes all you can think of in terms of sets and reps. (Three sets of eight to 10 reps is a good place to start.)
This can be any activity that challenges your muscles and where the 10th rep is much harder than the first: weight lifting , resistance band exercises , or bodyweight exercises such as push-ups. So if you run three days a week but have time for more, don’t settle for extra runs; instead, try adding two days at the gym.
Strength training recommendations are for two days per week for each muscle group . If you like to train your upper and lower body separately, this would mean two days for the upper body and two days for the lower body. If you prefer workouts that work all your muscles, you should do them at least twice a week.