New Study Reveals The Optimal Amount Of Exercise Per Week

As athletes, we typically exercise more than the recommended 150-300 minutes of exercise a week.

Fitness for us goes beyond the point of just healthy living and becomes an integral part of our lives.

While we usually ignore it or assume we are doing the best for our bodies, some people argue that doing too much training over a long period of time can actually be bad for your health. They claim it can damage your joints and even your heart.

The problem is that there’s been very little research to tell us anything for certain as scientists have struggled to get data, partly because you need to follow people for many years and even decades.

But now, a new study has done just that, and it found you can improve your chances of living longer by doing up to 300-600 minutes of exercise a week.

The researchers followed 100,000 participants over a 30-year period and analysed mortality data.

Participants recorded their leisure time physical activity by completing a questionnaire every two years, as well as questions about health information, physician-diagnosed illnesses, family medical histories and personal habits such as cigarette and alcohol consumption.

The analysis found that those who did between two and four times the amount of recommended vigorous activity (including jogging, running, swimming, bicycling and other aerobic exercises) had a 21-23% lower risk of death from all causes.

Meanwhile, those who completed between two and four times the recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity (defined as walking, lower-intensity exercise, weightlifting and calisthenics) had a 26-31% lower risk of mortality from all causes.

No harmful cardiovascular health effects were found among those who did more than four times the recommended minimum amount of exercise per week.

Dong Hoon Lee, who worked on the study, said: "This finding may reduce the concerns around the potential harmful effect of engaging in high levels of physical activity observed in several previous studies.

"Our study provides evidence to guide individuals to choose the right amount and intensity of physical activity over their lifetime to maintain their overall health," Lee said. "Our findings support the current national physical activity guidelines and further suggest that the maximum benefits may be achieved by performing medium to high levels of either moderate or vigorous activity or a combination."