An Exact Quantity of Exercise Is Necessary? We need more than just zero exercise. I think going for a stroll every day would be a good idea. And if you’re in the midst of marathon training, you should expect to spend at least two hours per week exerting yourself physically. However, how can one measure success when merely attempting to fit sufficient amounts of healthful exercise into their busy lives? Now, we can dissect it.
Simple:150 Minutes of cardio and two strength days per week
Thankfully, there is a unanimous consensus among the leading public health groups. This set of aerobic activity recommendations has the backing of three major health organizations: the WHO, the CDC, and the ASHA.
- At least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity (cardio) exercise like walking or easy jogging, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise like running or a combination. (If you can quickly meet that, more is better.)
- At least two days per week of muscle-strengthening activity, like lifting weights or doing other strength training like pushups, resistance band exercises, or even heavy manual labour like shovelling.
The current advice is to fit in cardio however you can, even if it involves some shorter bursts here and there, rather than the previous edition of the recommendations that stated you needed to perform it for at least 10 minutes at a time for it to count.
What does “Moderate” and “Vigorous” Cardio mean?
If you’re having trouble differentiating between the two, think of moderate cardio as the kind you can do nonstop without becoming fatigued. Intense cardiovascular exercise makes you think, “Oh my, I can’t keep this up for much longer,” you start to wish for a break. Alternately, for those accustomed to tracking their heart rates during exercise, moderate cardio is typically referred to as zone 2 cardio, while severe cardio is anything more strenuous.
Compared to while you’re at rest, you might noticeably perspire or breathe more heavily while exercising moderate cardio, but the effort is manageable. Imagine going for a leisurely jog with a friend while casually discussing your week; you’d have no trouble speaking in complete sentences.
Here are some examples of moderate cardio:
- A brisk walk (but if this feels too easy, you may need to jog to meet the same level of effort).
- Jogging, if you’re able to find a leisurely pace. Alternating between jogging and walking also counts.
- Commuting or doing errands by bike on relatively flat ground.
- Using a spin bike or other cardio machines like the elliptical, so long as you do it at a low intensity, steady pace.
By contrast, vigorous cardio includes activities where you work and breathe hard. You might not be able to keep it up very long. This could include:
- Running fast
- Bicycling uphill
- Pushing yourself to finish a Crossfit WOD with a good time
- Swimming laps
- Playing a game of soccer or basketball
Can I Combine Moderate and Vigorous Cardio?
You can mix and match these two intensities. The math is simple if you think about 150 minutes as your target and consider every minute of vigorous cardio counting double. Here are some examples:
- A 20-minute brisk walk every weekday morning (20 minutes x 5 days = 100 minutes moderate cardio) plus a 30-minute spin class that has you working pretty hard (30 minutes counted double is 60; add that to the 100, and you’re at 160 minutes).
- An hour of hiking, three days a week (60 minutes x 3 sessions = 180 minutes moderate cardio)
- Three 30-minute jogs (30 minutes x 3 = 90 minutes moderate cardio) plus a workout with 10 minutes of easy jogging for a warmup and then 20 minutes of hard running, followed by a cooldown of another 10 minutes easy. (20 minutes vigorous x 2 equals 40 minutes moderate cardio, plus we can add the warmup and cooldown for another 20 moderate minutes). That gives you 150 total.
- Go for a 30-minute easy bike ride on Monday. Try a 45-minute water aerobics class on Wednesday. Take a short hike on Saturday. Mow the lawn for an hour on Saturday. (30 + 45 + 30 + 60 = 165 moderate cardio)
If that’s too easy, Level up to 300 Minutes
The previous won’t mean much if you’re reasonably athletic. Excellent news! As a supplementary objective, the WHO has included you. Just twice the above; it’s that easy. That leaves you with two options: 300 minutes of moderate cardio each week or 150 minutes of strenuous activity. This is one possible representation of it:
- An intense, hour-long martial arts class three times a week (60 x 3 = 180, but this is vigorous cardio, so the minutes count double)
- Run 30 miles per week at a leisurely pace (if you’re fit enough to run your leisurely pace at about a 10-minute mile, that’s 300 minutes of moderate cardio)
- Commute to work, 20 minutes each way (40 minutes per day x 5 days per week = 200 minutes moderate cardio) and play rec league soccer for two matches per week (50 minutes each game, for some combination of moderate and vigorous cardio, definitely puts us over 300).
Can you Get too much Exercise?
How about a maximum amount of exercise that one can do? Looking at it through the public health lens, there isn’t one. Increase the amount. (Remember, any action is preferable to inaction, even if it falls short of the recommendations.) Still, you, as a person, have the potential to overextend yourself physically at any given time. If you only go for walks every so often, there’s no need to start training for a marathon suddenly. (If you’re feeling exhausted from your marathon training, stop now.)
Strength, Flexibility, and More
Aerobic exercise has been the focus so far; this type of workout involves maintaining a high heart rate through continuous movement (or short work/rest intervals). However, various kinds of physical activity are also important. Two days a week, you should engage in “high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity,” which encompasses any exercise that requires you to think in terms of sets and reps, according to the World Health Organization and other groups. A decent starting point is three sets of eight to ten repetitions.
That can be anything from lifting weights or resistance bands to workouts that use only your body weight, such as push-ups, as long as it tests your muscles and the difficulty of each repetition increases significantly from the first to the tenth. If you run three days a week but could use more time, try lifting weights for two days instead.
Strength training is recommended for each muscle group twice a week. That works out to two days dedicated to working the upper body and two days devoted to the lower body, assuming you like to train them individually. You need to do full-body exercises twice a week, at the very least, if that is your preference.
