How Much Exercise Is Enough?

If you believe everything you read on the internet, you’ll probably think that going hard or going home is the mantra of your local gym. If you aren’t racking up two or more hours a day, why even bother going? Well, according to new research, this approach to fitness can have a detrimental effect on your gut health.

New findings, published in the Australian sports journal, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, showed a proportional correlation between increased intensity and duration of exercise and increased risk of gut damage and weakened gut function. Exercising for two hours or more at 60% VO2max was found to be the threshold where the most damage was done.

The damage caused by overtraining in this way could result ‘Leaky Gut Syndrome’. This condition, which results in a passage of germs and toxins into the bloodstream, is believed to be a key cause of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Chronic Fatigue.

The current federal recommendation is 30 minutes of moderate-intensity per day, five days a week i.e. 150 minutes per week. Your fitness goals may be more physical than mental, but how many hours do we really need to be putting in to improve our overall health and is less more?

Improve heart health

A study in the American Journal of Hypertension found that 61-90 minutes of exercise a week was more effective at lowering systolic blood pressure (the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart beats) than those who participated in just 30-60 minutes a week. Any more than 90 minutes (below the recommended 150 hours per week), however, had no benefit to lowering blood pressure.

Live longer

Research says achieving 150 hours of exercise a week will extend your life by 3.4 years, but what about doing three times the recommended dose? A study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association found those who did 450 minutes of exercise per week lowered their risk of premature death by 39%. Those who only completed 150 minutes had a 31% lowered risk.

– RELATED: This Is Why Some Women Hate Exercise –

Improve mental health

Women, suffering with depression, who walk over 200 minutes a week have improved mental health over time, found one study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Exercise does wonders for our mental health and even a 10 minute walk can have similar effects to our mood as a 45 minute workout.

Achieve weight loss

You might believe that the more time spent doing HIIT exercises, the less inches around your waist, but that might not be the case. A 2015 study from the London School of Economics claimed that a 30 minute brisk walk may be more effective than doing the same amount of manual labor or sports such as rugby.

The conclusion

Finding the right balance of exercise for you is important for ensuring you make the most of your fitness. However sticking to an hour a day, five times a week schedule might be the best way to guarantee you’re getting the right amount of exercise without overtraining and risking your internal health.