Federal guidelines recommend 150 minutes of weekly exercise — but even mini workouts offer measurable health benefits. Here's the science behind short bursts of activity.
Federal guidelines suggest that an adult should get 150 minutes of low intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity weekly. The guidelines answer the question: "What's the least I can do to keep my muscular, skeletal, and vascular systems healthy for the long run?" So what's with the mini workout craze?
How Short Bursts of Activity Benefit Your Health
Stressing your body through exercise for even a short time triggers physiological changes by increasing blood flow and sharpening the body's blood sugar-regulating abilities. These reactions can help reduce your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. By replacing any amount of sedentary time with movement, you replace the sedentary cycle with a movement cycle.
Intensity and Duration Matter
All exercise is equal — in a relative way. A sprint to a sprinter is as challenging as a walk is to a walker. Even everyday chores have some level of benefit. Research shows that cardiorespiratory fitness is a better predictor of life span than body mass index, and movement is beneficial to one's mental well-being.
Two major predictors of exercise-related longevity — grip strength and aerobic capacity — improve proportionally to increased output. Building intensity over time is always the safe way to go. The takeaway is that some exercise is always better than none, and every additional bit adds up.
