Is Fifteen Minutes of Exercise a Day Enough?

ColoradoRobin

A study about the health benefits of exercise was recently published in the prestigious medical journal the Lancet. As usual, the media grabbed ahold of it and is now shouting from the rooftops that fifteen minutes of exercise a day will extend your life by three years, implying that is all you need to do. The study showed that some exercise is better than none, but that more had further health benefits up to 90 minutes a day.

Here's a blog article about it that I found interesting.

http://lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/2011/8/28/exercise-is-15-minutes-a-day-enough.html

trailriderdee

Off the top of my head, my first thought was "15 minutes is better than Zero!". I think if someone is just starting to get into the groove, 15 minutes would be fine, but I would bet it would eventually increase, just because it would get easier, and more enjoyable as the results began to show!

AimingHighWeighingLow

Yes!

If it is intense cardio is can make significant difference. Look at JM30DS. It is 20minutes, but the results are amazing!

vettle

Off the top of my head, my first thought was "15 minutes is better than Zero!". I think if someone is just starting to get into the groove, 15 minutes would be fine, but I would bet it would eventually increase, just because it would get easier, and more enjoyable as the results began to show!

this is what i was thinking too

McKayMachina

Here's the thing. Anyone who works out more than that isn't likely to go, "Oh great! I only need 15!" and cut down. But anyone NOT already working out might think, "Hey, I can do 15 minutes." So I suppose the appeal to most people is worth the sensationalism over the 15-minute gimmick.

Good link. Thx!

IamEric

I read a book where they said to start with 12 minutes and work yourself up. Granted, you won't lose 5 pounds your first week - not that you should anyway - but it's definitely better than sitting on the couch. Besides, you don't want to overdo it at first, otherwise you won't continue.

RMinVA

Of course everyone will run with the "15 minutes a day" and not read the rest of the article. I WISH just 15 minutes was enough - LOL!! Great link though, and it reinforces that all of my hard work is worth it!! I liked this paragraph...

Exercising 15 minutes per day is a good start, especially if someone is getting no exercise, but exercising more provides more benefit. According to the study, health benefits increased as exercise duration increased, up to a point of 90 minutes per day — where the benefits plateau. Once people began exercising more than an hour and a half each day, the health benefits were not any greater than those who stopped at 90 minutes. However, the health benefits from 60-90 minutes per day were far greater than 15 minutes per day. While it’s possible to get a healthy dose of exercise in a 15- to 20-minute workout, it requires an individual to produce a significant amount of intensity. If your workouts are usually at a moderate level of intensity, they should be at least 30 to 60 minutes in duration.

CrystalFlury

In my Gerontology class I attended last semester I read about a study done where a group of people were observed over a period of time to see how much exercise improved overall health. It turned out that the sedentary group had more health issues (ok, obvious). The next group were people who did exercise, but only so for about 30 minutes and their exercise was intense. Yes, their health was better than the sedentary group because they we actually active, but long-term they were less likely to continue the exercise through life. The last group were those who exercised closer to an hour every day, but only did moderate exercise (walking, slow jog, low impact). The group who did the moderate activity every day had the best overall health because they kept up with the moderate exercise throughout life.

Moral of the story (or study) if you plan to make a difference in your overall health and make a lifestyle change (like what most people on here say they're doing) you have to consider what it is you're doing to your body now. If you're looking to put little effort in and only do 15-30 minutes of exercise, but make that little exercise intense, think about it, are you really improving your health in the long run? Are you really going to continue those outrageous workout routines when you're well into your 60s?

MuffinMan25

Off the top of my head, my first thought was "15 minutes is better than Zero!". I think if someone is just starting to get into the groove, 15 minutes would be fine, but I would bet it would eventually increase, just because it would get easier, and more enjoyable as the results began to show!

I agree!

ColoradoRobin

I agree that some is better than none, which the journal proved. The article I linked is a good analysis of it, better than I could do. It's worth a look.

jjs22

A month or so ago, when I just started toying with the idea of eating better and getting a little exercise, I was pretty clear with myself that I did not want it to be just a passing thing. Even though my goals were timid, I wanted to make a lasting change in my lifestyle. I've been very sedentary for a long time. So I decided to just start walking to work (1.2 miles, each way). At a slow, leisurely pace, this was maybe 20-25 minutes.

Previously, I never would have considered this much exercise to be worth it. What surprised me was how quickly I could feel a difference. My pace picked up on its own, my heartbeat went down, and I felt better throughout the day.

So, whether its "news" or not, I think it helps to repeat this kind of thing for people like me (a month ago) who still haven't gotten it yet.

Okay, so I guess I was doing more like 40-50 minutes a day. Still, the results were much much more tangible than I thought they would be.

alantin

It's a good warm-up.