We love intensity here, and we believe that short, intense sessions can be just as good as long bouts of regular exercise.
And another study agrees with us.
Researchers combed through data of nearly 5,000 Americans who had been given activity trackers for a week. They looked at what kind of physical activity people did, for how long and how intense. Then they called them up again almost seven years later and here is what they found, according to this article:
…those who got at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily were at one third or less risk of dying during the study period when compared to those who did not get any physical activity. Individuals who were more active with 60 to 99 minutes activity per day were half as likely to die compared to those who worked out less. Similarly the risk of death was around 75 percent lower among those who partook in at least 100 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous activity. The duration of exercise could be at a stretch or in short bursts.
Now, there are a couple caveats here. The researchers were not able to determine which people had unhealthy habits like smoking or porking out on pounds of bacon. The study also does not illustrate that intense exercise requires less time than going for a long jog, swim or bike.
And finally, this was only for a week. We would have liked these trackers to be on for a few weeks at least.
But despite all that, along with the other studies we have seen, this does show that if you hoof it up the stairs, do some in-office push-ups or take any quick break to get the heart pumping then you can consider those minutes valuable time spent to being healthier.
