Your Exercise Routine - A Little can go a Long Way
Are you having trouble getting into an exercise routine?
Do you find yourself making excuses and/or skipping exercise because you feel like you don’t have time for an hour-long workout? 👇
Maybe you should start with “baby steps”, as a new study in the European Heart Journal found that even a little exercise can go a long way.
The study looked at data from fitness trackers worn by more than 71,000 people in the UK and followed their health status (tracking heart disease, cancer, and deaths) for about 6 years.
📋 That’s a lot of data 📋
Compared with no exercise, they began to see health benefits at just 15-20 minutes per week of vigorous exercise.
2 bouts per day of 2 minutes of vigorous exercise was associated with 35% lower deaths from heart disease.
👉 The optimal amount of vigorous exercise was 54 minutes per week (8 minutes per day) 👈
More than 8 minutes per day and the benefits plateaued.
If you’re wondering why this sounds a bit different than the typical recommendation to exercise 30 minutes at least 5 times per week, it’s because the 8 minutes we’re talking about is VIGOROUS rather than moderate exercise.
Vigorous exercise means:
✅ Heart rate above 77% of your max (if you’re wearing a fitness tracker)
✅ Breathing too hard to have a comfortable conversation
✅ It could be dancing, running, biking, lifting weights, or anything that gets you feeling breathless
I have nothing against a long walk or bike ride, and I still recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise for my patients each week, but if you’re crunched for time, this study is fabulous news.
And if you are struggling to get back into an exercise routine, this news reinforces the fact that even a small amount of exercise has benefits!
Are you ready to take your health and wellness a step further this New Year? We can help! We offer nutritional lab testing to determine if you are consuming/absorbing adequate amounts of protein and other nutrients, and a variety of hormone and thyroid testing to gauge how your hormones may be impacting your metabolism. We can customize your nutritional supplements and help you structure your daily diet routine to optimize energy and reduce hunger. Health Coaching packages are available to work through the steps of behavior change and help you to reach your goals. Contact us to learn more or schedule an appointment.