How much aerobic exercise is enough

Muscle-strengthening activities should be done in addition to your aerobic activity. A repetition is one complete movement of an activity, like lifting a weight or doing a sit-up. Try to do repetitions per activity, which counts as 1 set. Try to do at least 1 set of muscle-strengthening activities. To gain even more benefits, do 2 or 3 sets. You can do activities that strengthen your muscles on the same or different days that you do aerobic activity—whatever works best for you.

You may want to try the following:. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Physical Activity. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. How much physical activity do adults need? Minus Related Pages. Some Activity is Better than None.

Stay active: It can make life better. Move More and Sit Less Adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. Recommended Levels For Health Benefits Adults should follow the exercises as specified in the following options. Example 1. Example 2. Example 3. Aerobic activity — what counts?

Intensity is how hard your body is working during a physical activity. For example, in one study published in January in the Journal of Diabetes Research , women who performed high-intensity interval exercise lost the same amount of weight and body fat compared with those who performed moderate-intensity cardio, but they did it while exercising for significantly less time. A study published in August in the Journal of Primary Prevention that analyzed data from 81 studies investigating the role of exercise in weight management found that one of the biggest ways exercise helps with weight management is by preventing weight gain perhaps even more than it helps you lose weight.

Though the ACSM recommends performing more than minutes of exercise per week to prevent weight regain, the HHS says it varies: Some need more physical activity than others to maintain a healthy body weight, to lose weight, or to keep weight off once it has been lost. Fortunately for anyone trying to improve their heart health, a little bit of exercise goes a long way.

For overall cardiovascular health, the American Heart Association AHA recommends performing at least minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week or at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week. The AHA recommends performing strengthening activities at least two days per week to help preserve and build lean muscle.

Oken says. And, again, remember that it's okay to work up to your target exercise levels. No matter what your goals are, some exercise is always going to be more beneficial than none. Small steps sometimes lead to the biggest gains. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Department of Health and Human Services. European Journal of Integrative Medicine. December August American College of Sports Medicine.

February Journal of Diabetes Research. January Journal of Primary Prevention. Sitting too much can negatively impact your health and longevity, even if you get the recommended amount of daily physical activity. And some research has found that people who've lost weight may be more likely to keep off the lost weight by sitting less during the day.

Short on long chunks of time? Even brief bouts of activity offer benefits. For instance, if you can't fit in one minute walk during the day, try a few five-minute walks instead. Any activity is better than none at all. What's most important is making regular physical activity part of your lifestyle.

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