Do you ever skip exercise because you don’t have time? 👇

A new study in the European Heart Journal found that all you need is 8 minutes!!

How is that possible?

The study looked at data from fitness trackers worn by more than 71,000 people in the UK and followed their health status (tracking heart disease, cancer, and deaths) for about 6 years.

📋 That’s a lot of data 📋

Compared with no exercise, they began to see health benefits at just 15-20 minutes per week of vigorous exercise.

2 bouts per day of 2 minutes of vigorous exercise was associated with 35% lower deaths from heart disease.

👉 The optimal amount of vigorous exercise was 54 minutes per week (8 minutes per day) 👈

More than 8 minutes per day and the benefits plateaued.

If you’re wondering why this sounds a bit different than the typical recommendation to exercise 30 minutes at least 5 times per week, it’s because the 8 minutes we’re talking about is VIGOROUS rather than moderate exercise.

Vigorous Exercise Means:

✅ Heart rate above 77% your max (if you’re wearing a fitness tracker)

✅ Breathing too hard to have a comfortable conversation

✅ It could be dancing, running, biking, lifting weights, or anything that gets you feeling breathless

I have nothing against a long walk or bike ride, but if you’re crunched for time, this study is fabulous news.

Let me know in the comments—have you ever tried short bursts or exercise instead of long? 👇

REFERENCE:

Ahmadi MN, Clare PJ, Katzmarzyk PT, Del Pozo Cruz B, Lee IM, Stamatakis E. Vigorous physical activity, incident heart disease, and cancer: how little is enough? [published online ahead of print, 2022 Oct 27]. Eur Heart J. 2022. [link]