How Much Exercise Do I Need?

How much exercise you need varies depending on your goals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) generally advises 150 minutes of moderate aerobic training per week, such as brisk walking or riding a bike on flat ground. That's about 30 minutes per day, five days per week. The CDC adds that you need at least two days of muscle-strengthening activities per week.

The type of exercise you need depends on your goals, such as improving your cardiovascular health or losing weight. Other factors like age and underlying health conditions might also impact your workouts. For example, you might opt for gentle aerobic training like biking or swimming if you have painful joints.

Any movement counts and adds up for overall health, from vacuuming to walking around the grocery store. Regular physical activity helps prevent and manage illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, might improve your mental health, boosts your energy, and affects the quality of your sleep. Read on to learn how much exercise you need based on your goals.

Current Physical Activity Recommendations 

The CDC recommends a mix of aerobic training and muscle-strengthening activities each week. Aerobic training involves movements that get your heart rate up, such as biking and running. Your heart must pump quicker than normal to deliver more oxygen-rich blood to your muscles. As a result, aerobic training helps strengthen your heart and lungs.

Aerobic training can be moderate or vigorous. Moderate-intensity exercises get your heart rate up, during which you can still hold a conversation. Vigorous-intensity exercises make you breathe hard and quickly, so you might not be able to say more than a few words at a time.

Muscle-strengthening activities support strong bones and muscles in your abdomen, arms, back, chest, hips, legs, and shoulders. Those workouts help preserve your muscle mass and strength, which is important as you age.

Here are some examples of each type of workout:

Weekly 

The CDC advises that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic training each week. In contrast, you can do vigorous aerobic training for 75 minutes. You might try mixing both moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercises for 150 minutes. Make sure that you also add two or more days of muscle-strengthening activities per week.

Daily 

You might split 150 minutes of moderate aerobic training into 30 minutes daily, five days per week. Try 15 minutes daily, five days per week, if you are doing vigorous aerobic training. For example, you might briskly walk for 30 minutes each day for five days. Then, you may do some body-weight exercises or lift weights on the remaining two days.

Do not worry if you miss a workout here and there. Just getting up and moving around, even for as little as five minutes at a time, is better for your health than not moving at all. You can also split your 75–150 minutes of aerobic training per week in whatever way that works best with your schedule.

For General Health 

Stick to the CDC's advice to maintain your body weight and support general health: That includes 150 minutes of aerobic training weekly, along with two days of muscle-strengthening activities. You might try 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercises as you build up your endurance.

Exercise has several general health benefits. Regular physical activity betters your sleep quality, improves your mental health, lowers the risk of chronic illnesses, and supports strong bones and muscles.

Exercises

Some types of workouts that help improve your general health include:

• Biking: Opt for activities that do not require bearing weight, such as biking. Biking is easy on the joints since the bike itself bears your weight, which is good if you have sore knees.
• Pilates and yoga: These gentle exercises involve a choreography of slow, precise movements or poses (called "asanas" in yoga) and breath control. Research has shown that Pilates and yoga improve balance and flexibility, build strength, and reduce stress.
• Running: Runners may wind up with improved knee cartilage. Some evidence suggests that running helps remodel your joints in ways that strengthen them. Still, keep in mind that exercises like running might be hard if you overdo it.
• Swimming: You might prefer swimming since water buoys your body, reducing stress on your joints.
• Walking: Some evidence suggests that people who walk regularly are less likely to develop arthritis, depression, diabetes, and heart disease than others. Walking might unlock creativity, too: Research has found that walking boosts memory and supports mood in older adults.
• Weight lifting: This might reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, in addition to building strong bones and muscles. Keep in mind: You'll need a good form to avoid injuries, especially to your back. You may require a trainer, at least at first, and, if you like weight machines, a gym membership can be beneficial.

For Cardiovascular Health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. You can lower your heart disease risk by improving your cardiovascular health. For example, exercise helps improve your cholesterol and reduces your blood pressure, two of the biggest risk factors for heart disease.

The American Heart Association (AHA) advises 150 minutes of moderate aerobic training per week to support your heart health. You might further lower your heart disease risk by doing one hour of aerobic training per day, five days a week, for a total of 300 minutes. Remember to add two days of muscle-strengthening activities per week.

Exercises

Any activity is better than none when it comes to your cardiovascular health. Replacing time spent sitting with light-intensity activities like chores helps lower heart disease risk.

Try slowly building up how many minutes you spend working out each day and the intensity of your exercises. For example, running is a vigorous exercise, so you do not need much of it per day. Research has shown that as little as five minutes of running per day boosts your heart health. Try adding time to your runs as you improve, slowly building up to 75 minutes per week.

For Weight Loss

Regular physical activity is an essential component of any weight-loss plan. You must burn more calories through exercise and everyday activities than you consume to lose weight.

Keep in mind that you may need more than 150 minutes of moderate aerobic training each week to lose weight. Exercise is unlikely to help you lose weight without other lifestyle changes, such as adjusting your eating patterns and managing your stress.

Exercises

You do not need a gym membership program or equipment to start exercising for weight loss. Walking is an easy, accessible way to lose weight that requires zero training or gear. For example, 30 minutes of brisk walking burns as much as 230 calories.

Research has found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) might regulate your appetite and speed up fat burn better than gentle exercises. HIIT workouts involve repeated quick spurts of strenuous exertion, or an interval, that may last as brief as 30 seconds. You'll intersperse intervals with easy two- to five-minute recoveries for a full workout that typically lasts about 30 minutes. You can do HIIT workouts on a bike, treadmill, or workout mat.

Make sure that your exercise regimen is fun to help keep you motivated to stick with it. You might take a dance, karate, or yoga class. Invite a friend to walk around a shopping mall or play tennis.

How To Get Enough Exercise 

Getting enough physical activity each week can be difficult, especially if you are new to exercise or have a busy schedule. There are several ways to add exercise throughout your day to meet your goals.

Here are some ways to get enough exercise daily:

• Change up your commute: Try biking, jogging, or walking to work if possible. You'll save money on gas, parking, and public transportation, in addition to getting your exercise.
• Do small bursts of exercise: Opt for three 10-minute workouts spread throughout your day if you do not have time for one 30-minute session.
• Invite your family and friends: Ask your loved ones to go bowling, hiking, or swimming. You might ask your family and friends to try an exercise class with you.
• Join a gym: Gyms and personal trainers provide equipment and can help with your form to improve your weight-lifting sessions.
• Make your workouts fun: You are likely to keep with a workout plan if you look forward to it. Try new exercises, and stick with the ones you enjoy.
• Schedule your workouts: Set calendar reminders for your daily workouts to ensure that you always have time.
• Take the steps: Climb the stairs, even on an escalator, whenever possible.
• Try club sports: Make exercise a hobby—and possibly meet new people—by joining a recreational basketball, soccer, or softball team. Look for running clubs in your area.
• Wake up early: Set your alarm 30 minutes earlier in the morning to add exercise to your morning routine.

A Quick Review

Your goals might impact how much exercise you need. The CDC advises 150 minutes of moderate aerobic training and two days of muscle-strengthening activities per week. That's a good starting point if your goal is weight loss. Still, weight loss requires a dietary change in addition to exercise.

The CDC's guidance also helps improve your cardiovascular health. The AHA recommends 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic training to lower your heart disease risk. 

Talk to a healthcare provider about your goals and how much and what kind of exercise works best for you. The type of exercise you do may depend on other factors, such as your age and underlying health conditions.