The most common questions about exercise are about the duration, intensity and frequency of exercise. Read our article, the answer is surprising!
I'm sure you've heard a lot about exercise and how and how much you need to exercise to be healthy.
A recent meta-analysis clarifies these issues, looking more specifically at running.
Let's start with the benefits found:
- 27% reduction in risk of all-cause mortality
- 30% cardiovascular mortality risk reduction
- 23% cancer mortality risk reduction
Let's go to duration and quantity.
As you can see, there are no tragic differences in terms of duration and quantity with the risk ratio.
I quote translated, but otherwise verbatim, two parts of the study:
- "Even the smallest doses examined in the available studies (i.e., ≤1 time per week, <50 minutes per week, <6 miles/hour, and <500 MET-min/week) were found to yield significant all-cause mortality benefits. We found no evidence that mortality benefits increase with greater amounts of running"
- «…οι εθνικές συστάσεις για τη σωματική άσκηση σε πολλές χώρες προτείνουν ότι περισσότερη σωματική δραστηριότητα μπορεί να προσφέρει επιπρόσθετα οφέλη για την υγεία, συχνά αναφερόμενη σε ≥ 300min / εβδομάδα μέτριας έντασης ή ≥150min / εβδομάδα έντονης σωματικής δραστηριότητας. Σε όρους συμπεριφοράς τρεξίματος και κινδύνου θνησιμότητας, τα αποτελέσματα της ανάλυσης δόσης-απόκρισης δεν υποστηρίζουν αυτή τη σύσταση.»
All this means that we can reap the benefits of aerobic exercise for less than 150 minutes a week in total, without it being intense. Without a lot of effort and fatigue.
Also, since we know that the muscle strength is essential for longevity, it is optimal to give priority to anaerobic exercise and to schedule aerobic exercise in such a way that the progress of the former is not impeded.
-Suprastratum: The authority on health, fitness and nutrition
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