If you are in your office feeling guilty for missing again your favorite aerobics this week, we have good news: the latest UK Biobank study revealed that total amount of physical activity you get is more important than how frequently you workout. Scientists followed 90,000 people’s health since 2015 and monitored their exercise patterns.
Any forms of exercise that increase your heart rate and make your lungs work harder to supply oxygen to your muscles are essential for maintaining cardiovascular health, improving overall physical and mental well-being.
Aerobic exercises are defined by their sustained, rhythmic nature, which engages large muscle groups and can be performed over extended periods. If you don’t like running, swimming, rowing or dancing, you could choose brisk walking, cycling, jumping rope, or hiking.
The NHS guidelines for physical activity emphasize the importance of regular exercise to maintain good health. Specifically, they recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. This amount of activity, even when condensed into one or two sessions, has been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and a host of other chronic conditions.
The 150-minute recommendation is grounded in extensive research that shows regular physical activity improves cardiovascular health, strengthens muscles, and boosts mental well-being.
Moderate exercise—such as brisk walking, cycling, or even mowing the lawn—raises your heart rate and breathing but still allows for conversation.
This level of activity is manageable for most people, regardless of fitness level, and contributes significantly to overall health. Alternatively, 75 minutes of vigorous exercise—activities like running, cycling, or playing sports—produces similar health benefits in less time due to the higher intensity.
Vigorous exercise pushes the heart and lungs to work harder, delivering a more powerful cardiovascular workout in a shorter period.
As reported by the Guardian, the UK Biobank study confirms that weekend warriors who meet these exercise targets, even within one or two intense sessions, still enjoy a substantial reduction in the risk of heart disease and stroke compared to inactive individuals. Cardiovascular diseases, which include heart disease and stroke, remain leading causes of death globally. However, physical activity directly combats these conditions by:
Improving heart function: Exercise strengthens the heart muscle, allowing it to pump blood more efficiently, which in turn reduces the strain on the heart.
Lowering blood pressure: Physical activity helps reduce hypertension, a key risk factor for both heart disease and stroke.
Increasing circulation: Exercise improves blood flow, ensuring that more oxygen and nutrients reach tissues and organs, which is essential for overall health and recovery.
Reducing bad cholesterol: Moderate to vigorous exercise helps lower levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol), which protects against plaque buildup in the arteries—a major contributor to heart attacks and strokes.
One of the most appealing aspects of the NHS recommendations is their flexibility. Whether you opt for short bursts of daily exercise or marathon sessions on the weekend, meeting the target for physical activity can significantly lower your risk of cardiovascular problems. This flexibility makes it easier for individuals to fit exercise into their lives, regardless of their schedules.
Even breaking exercise into shorter sessions—such as three 10-minute bouts of moderate activity—offers health benefits. For weekend warriors, the key takeaway is that condensed exercise sessions still count, provided the total time meets the recommended weekly threshold.
While reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke is a crucial benefit, regular exercise offers a wide range of additional health advantages:
1. Improved Mental Health: Exercise is known to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety by releasing endorphins, which improve mood and reduce stress.
2. Stronger Muscles and Bones: Resistance training and weight-bearing exercises, such as running or hiking, improve muscle strength and bone density, helping to prevent osteoporosis.
3. Enhanced Immune Function: Moderate exercise boosts the immune system, making the body more efficient at fighting infections and reducing inflammation.
4. Better Sleep: Physical activity can help regulate sleep patterns, making it easier to fall asleep and achieve deeper, more restful sleep.
5. Weight Management: Regular exercise helps burn calories and can aid in maintaining a healthy weight, which in turn reduces the risk of metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes.
For those with packed schedules or limited time during the week, the NHS’s exercise guidelines are both achievable and beneficial. By focusing on total activity, rather than the frequency of workouts, the NHS reinforces that maintaining good health doesn’t require daily trips to the gym. Instead, fitting in the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, even in just one or two sessions a week, is enough to reap significant health rewards.
The NHS guidance—and the supporting scientific research—suggests that weekend warriors habits are well-positioned to maintain your health, protect against disease and enhance your overall well-being, all by simply staying committed to your exercise goals. The key is consistency, not frequency, giving yourself the opportunity to stay healthy, no matter how busy your schedule.
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