Buzz
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (and similar recommendations from other countries) suggest that healthy adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking, per week. For those engaging in vigorous activity, it counts as double, meaning runners only need 75 minutes to meet the minimum. But what if you have more time to exercise—does that improve your health? And where does strength training come into play?
The guidelines treat strength training separately from the recommended exercise duration. (In addition to meeting the minutes of aerobic exercise, you should also strength train twice a week.) However, a recent study looked into how much exercise is linked to a decrease in mortality, factoring in strength training as well.
According to the new findings, individuals who exercise four times more than the minimum—600 minutes of moderate exercise or 300 minutes of vigorous exercise—appear to be healthier than those who just meet the minimum (150/75). Furthermore, exercising beyond this amount also seems beneficial—there’s no indication from the study that there’s such a thing as 'too much' exercise. (Overtraining is a concern for elite athletes, but it’s unlikely to occur with casual or recreational exercise.)
What does this mean for my workout plan?
To clarify, this doesn’t change the current guidelines. I still believe it’s important to aim for the guidelines as a first step toward better health. As a weightlifter who once did no cardio, I intentionally added a daily 30-minute walk (30 minutes per day × seven days a week = 210 minutes). While it’s too early to know if this has increased my lifespan, I’ve already noticed some positive effects. The guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of vigorous, or a mix), and they suggest that if you can easily meet that, you should aim for 300 minutes of moderate (or 150 of vigorous).
It's important to remember that this study looked at the correlation between exercise duration and mortality. People who are in poor health often have reduced capacity to exercise. If grandma’s health deteriorated over the years and she couldn’t go on her regular walks, it’s likely not the absence of walking that caused her death.
However, this doesn’t mean the findings are irrelevant. Health and exercise are often interrelated. If you’re in good health to begin with and you increase your exercise, it can help you maintain that health. Cardio supports your heart health; strength training builds muscle mass, which can improve your quality of life as you age, and lower your risk of complications from any health challenges you may face.
Beyond motivating us to exercise more, if we have the time and resources, this study also provides a new way to evaluate whether we’re getting enough exercise to keep our health in check:
Check if you’re achieving the 150+ minutes of aerobic exercise, in addition to two strength training sessions every week.
Sum up all your physical activity (including strength training) to see where you stand in the 150 to 600 minute range.
What qualifies as exercise?
“Moderate” exercise, as per the physical activity guidelines, refers to activities with an intensity between 3 and 6 METs, or metabolic equivalents. (One MET is the energy expenditure when doing nothing.) Here are some examples:
Walking at a speed of 2.5 miles per hour or faster (the average person walks at about 3.0 miles per hour)
Cleaning a floor or sweeping with moderate effort
Organizing the garage
Cutting the grass
Casual cycling (slow pace, on flat terrain)
Golfing
Riding a horse
Playing with your child, involving walking or running around
The Physical Activity guidelines categorize any activity under 3 METs as “light” rather than “moderate.” This includes most activities where you’re simply standing or moving minimally, such as dusting or grocery shopping. The recent study, which was based on self-reports, placed all activities below 6 METs into the moderate activity category.
Vigorous exercise, which counts double for your minutes, includes any activity with an intensity of 6 METs or higher:
Running at a pace of 13 minutes per mile (4 mph) or faster
Aerobics dance classes
Hiking uphill or carrying a load
Cycling for transportation (10 mph or more, or uphill)
Rollerblading
Swimming laps
Shoveling snow
Jump rope
Most team sports (soccer, basketball, etc.)
You can check the MET values for over 800 activities here. Butchering a large animal? Dancing the polka? Both are considered vigorous intensity, just in case you were curious.
