The Exercise You Need
to Live Longer Is Easier
Than You Think

With the explosion of activity trackers and technical athletic gear coupled with the boom in boutique spin classes and CrossFit gyms, it makes sense that most of us think exercise needs to be both extreme and a tad expensive. I do my best to close out the activity rings on my Apple Watch each day and often measure a workout's effectiveness by how much sweat has drenched my T-shirt. But researchers have found that we don't need to go overboard to reap substantial health rewards.

In one of the largest global studies ever published on the heart health benefits of physical activity, researchers found that people who spent just two and a half hours per week exercising were far less likely to suffer heart attacks or strokes, less likely to develop cardiovascular disease and in general, were less likely to die prematurely. You actually cut your risk by about 30 percent. The study, which was published in the Lancet journal, followed 130,000 people in 17 different countries over an average of seven years.

Perhaps even more importantly, though, was that the doctors concluded that your exercise didn't need to be CrossFit-level high intensity training or a grueling cardio session to be effective. The paper suggested that simply walking or doing household chores for those 150 minutes each week was equally effective as hitting the gym in producing much healthier participants.

Dr. Scott Lear, the study's lead author, says that this is good news for most people who feel crunched for time. You don't have to spend money on a gym to be active, he says. Simply cleaning your house or walking on your lunch hour will do the trick. Because when you break it down, the suggested two and half hours per week is equal to about 20 minutes of moving your body per day. It's hard to say that you don't have the time or energy for that.

It's an easy commitment to keep. And we should keep it. Everyone is sitting more and walking less these days. On the whole, our jobs have become more sedentary and at home, we're sitting in front of screens more than ever—all of which is resulting in an increase in such lifestyle-related ailments as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

We often complain that we just "don't have the time" to work out. While I certainly want to gain some strength and tone up my arms and chest, ultimately why I exercise is to ensure that I'm healthy (and stay that way). This study proves that getting off your butt and moving for 20 minutes a day will ensure you don't put yourself in harm's way. The more you do beyond those 20 minutes, the healthier you'll be. So if you're aiming to look good with your shirt off, it'll require regular reps with a dumbbell. If you're simply looking to stay healthy and alive, a mere 150 minutes a week will do you just fine.