Have We Been Thinking About Exercise Wrong for Half a Century?
8 170"After a half-century asking us to exercise more, doctors and physiologists say we have been thinking about it wrong," writes Washington Post columnist Michael J. Coren.
"U.S. and World Health Organization guidelines no longer specify a minimum duration of moderate or vigorous aerobic activity." Movement-tracking studies show even tiny, regular bursts of effort — as short as 30 seconds — can capture many of the health benefits of the gym. Climbing two to three flights of stairs a few times per day could change your life. Experts call it VILPA, or vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity. "The message now is that all activity counts," said Martin Gibala, a professor and former chair of the kinesiology department at McMaster University in Canada... Just taking the stairs daily is associated with lower body weight and cutting the risk of stroke and heart disease — the leading (and largely preventable) cause of death globally. While it may not burn many calories (most exercise doesn't), it does appear to extend your health span. Leg power — a measure of explosive muscle strength — was a stronger predictor of brain aging than any lifestyle factors measured in a 2015 study in the journal Gerontology...
How little activity can you do? Four minutes daily. Essentially, a few flights of stairs at a vigorous pace. That's the effort [Emmanuel Stamatakis, a professor of physical activity and population health at the University of Sydney] found delivered significant health benefits in that 2022 study of British non-exercisers. "We saw benefits from the first minute," Stamatakis said. For Americans, the effect is even more dramatic: a 44 percent drop in deaths, according to a peer-reviewed paper recently accepted for publication. "We showed for the first time that vigorous intensity, even if it's done as part of the day-to-day routine, not in a planned and structured manner, works miracles," Stamatakis said. "The key principle here is start with one, two minutes a day. The focus should be on making sure that it's something that you can incorporate into your daily routine. Then you can start thinking about increasing the dose."
Intensity is the most important factor. You won't break a sweat in a brief burst, but you do need to feel it. A highly conditioned athlete might need to sprint to reach vigorous territory. But many people need only to take the stairs. Use your breathing as a guide, Stamatakis said: If you can sing, it's light intensity. If you can speak but not sing, you're entering moderate exertion. If you can't hold a conversation, it's vigorous. The biggest benefits come from moderate to vigorous movement. One minute of incidental vigorous activity prevents premature deaths, heart attacks or strokes as well as about three minutes of moderate activity or 35 to 49 minutes of light activity.
8 comments
Re:Cheesy Poof Workout (Score: 5, Funny)
by martin-boundary ( 547041 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @04:09AM (#65975730)
With my mom driving the golf cart, it's not that easy to pop them in the mouth! Not gonna lie, I think my reflexes are better than Bruce Lee's at this point.
Yes we have, but you won't fix it. (Score: 5, Insightful)
by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @03:59AM (#65975712)
About the worst thing you can do exercise wise is be car dependent.
If you're not, exercise becomes part of your day to day activities. You don't have to go to the gym just to keep a base level of fitness. Even if you then sit in a chair at work, you're still moving to get there.
Such a thing is almost impossible anywhere that puts the holy car in absolute prime position and relegates everything else to second place.
Re:Yes we have, but you won't fix it. (Score: 5, Interesting)
by sg_oneill ( 159032 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @05:14AM (#65975802)
BIkes are such a win exercise wise. When I got mine, I had in my mind I'd be doing all the 20km+ rides I used to do as a 20yo, and rapidly discovered that I was not nearly as fit as I was then and even a KM would wreck me. BUT short little burts every day of riding had such a noticable effect on my fitness. I still cant quite survive the 20km ride, but I can get 5-6km before the fatigue overtakes me, and that aint nothing.
Re:Yes we have, but you won't fix it. (Score: 5, Insightful)
by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @08:33AM (#65975932)
Just ride four-five intense minutes at home on an exercise bike, without the outside rain,
Or the usual 25 minutes to work, but wearing a coat and waterproof trousers if it's raining. Problem with the former is I need to buy an exercise bike, need somewhere inside to keep it, then I have to actually consistently motivate myself to do even that minimal amount when I'm hungry, tired, stressed, busy, etc etc. I can always drag my sorry carcass into work and I need to buy food to eat, which means that unless I'm off sick, I always get my exercise.
Re:Yes we have, but you won't fix it. (Score: 5, Insightful)
by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @05:31PM (#65976548)
You're talking about isolated micro-communities though
I'm talking about London! I live on the zone2/3 border, so not exactly the middle.
"Car dependence" is simply a matter of practical utility depending on where you live and how you live.
Yes, that makes it the only choice, but it doesn't make it good. Car dependence means travel is more or less unavailable to anyone who can't (or shouldn't drive), like kids, people with a variety of medical conditions and old people.
Thus my point that there are places and styles of living that are absolutely as healthy or healthier than many of the environments where you can avoid being "car dependent", but where having a motor vehicle is pretty much a requirement.
Contradiction: having a motor vehicle as a requirement IS car dependence. You require it. You are dependent on it.
Wrong? No. (Score: 5, Insightful)
by Petersko ( 564140 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @04:03AM (#65975716)
It's ludicrous to suggest we've been thinking about it wrong. The standard wisdom about exercise has been healthy and beneficial. Lots of exercise is great for you. A little is perhaps better than we thought, that's all.
Lazy writing. Just a hair better than "scientists baffled!".
Re:Wrong? No. (Score: 5, Informative)
by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @09:48AM (#65975990)
These days, it's hard to find a headline about science that doesn't read "Scientists got this point wrong for 40 years!"
Before that it was, "this will revolutionize X" and before that, everything had to have some practical effect. "The modern day importance of 13th century Italian smut literature." Things like that.
To me, it reads of recent years of deconstruction efforts. And this one is a doozy. I've been very active my whole life. Hard to imagine that 30 seconds a day is remotely the same as my daily running, weight lifting and multiple games of Ice Hockey a week.
I can't get my heart rate over 60 in 30 seconds.
So .... (Score: 5, Funny)
by PPH ( 736903 ) on Sunday February 08, 2026 @11:25AM (#65976112)
as short as 30 seconds
... sex?
I showed this article to the wife. She replied, "What? That's twice in a row."