For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:
- Aerobic activity.
Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. Or get at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. You also can get an equal combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Aim to spread out this exercise over a few days or more in a week.
For even more health benefits, the guidelines suggest getting 300 minutes a week or more of moderate aerobic activity. Exercising this much may help with weight loss or keeping off lost weight. But even small amounts of physical activity can be helpful. Being active for short periods of time during the day can add up and have health benefits.
- Strength training.
Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. One set of each exercise is enough for health and fitness benefits. Use a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.
Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, biking, swimming and mowing the lawn.
Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running, swimming laps, heavy yard work and aerobic dancing.
You can do strength training by using weight machines or weights, your own body weight, heavy bags or resistance bands. You also can use resistance paddles in the water or do activities such as rock climbing.
As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight, keep off lost weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more.
Cutting down on sitting time is important, too. The more hours you sit each day, the higher your risk of metabolic problems. Sitting too much can negatively affect your health and longevity, even if you get the minimum suggested amount of daily physical activity. And some research has found that people who've lost weight may be more likely to keep off the lost weight by sitting less during the day.
Short on long chunks of time? Even brief bouts of activity offer benefits. For instance, if you can't fit in one 30-minute walk during the day, try a few five-minute walks instead. Any activity is better than none at all. What's most important is making regular physical activity part of your lifestyle.
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July 26, 2023
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/our-work/physical-activity/current-guidelines. Accessed June 15, 2021.
- AskMayoExpert. Physical activity (adult). Mayo Clinic; 2021.
- Tips for starting physical activity. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/tips-get-active/tips-starting-physical-activity. Accessed June 15, 2021.
- Roake J, et al. Sitting time, type, and context among long-term weight-loss maintainers. Obesity. 2021; doi:10.1002/oby.23148.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. June 16, 2021.
See more Expert Answers
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FAQs
Unless you're highly experienced and committed to working out, you'll get overwhelmed if you exceed a certain threshold. Keep it to around four exercises at once and two or three sets per muscle group, two to four times per week.
How many exercises do you really need to do? ›
Unless you're highly experienced and committed to working out, you'll get overwhelmed if you exceed a certain threshold. Keep it to around four exercises at once and two or three sets per muscle group, two to four times per week.
What is a sufficient amount of exercise? ›
Aim for at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity and at least 2 days of moderate to vigorous strength training per week. Weight management is just one health benefit of regular exercise. You'll be able to prevent heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions too.
How important is exercise really? ›
People who exercise regularly have a lower risk of developing many long-term (chronic) conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some cancers.
Do you think you exercise enough? ›
How many days a week should you exercise? "To reap the full health benefits of exercise, you'll need to reach an optimal quantity of it — which is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week for adults," says Rodriguez. "Split evenly throughout the week, this breaks down to about 30 minutes per day."
How much exercise do you really need to do? ›
As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day.
Is 5 exercises enough? ›
'The reality is for most people, whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced, between three and five,' says Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.
How much is too little exercise? ›
do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week. spread exercise evenly over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day. reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity.
Do humans really need to exercise? ›
Any amount of physical activity has been shown to improve health, even if it doesn't reach recommended levels, and exceeding the recommendations continues to provide additional health benefits. What can we do? The evidence is clear. We do need physical activity, but we don't have to call it exercise.
Is walking enough exercise? ›
“Walking is just as good as any other form of exercise,” says University Hospitals pediatric sports medicine specialist Laura Goldberg, MD. “The guidelines are 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week. It doesn't really matter how you get that. You can walk, you can swim, you can run.”
Summary. Walking for 30 minutes a day or more on most days of the week is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health. If you can't manage 30 minutes a day, remember even short walks more frequently can be beneficial. Walking with others can turn exercise into an enjoyable social occasion.
How do I know I am exercising enough? ›
"Along with burning calories faster, you also might notice an increase in appetite. Along with appetite, exercise also comes with an increase in the regularity of your bowel movements. Other clear physical signs of sufficient exercise include normal muscle soreness, swelling, and increased mass."
Is 4 exercises per workout enough? ›
To recap, most people can see great results performing 2-4 different exercise per muscle group per training day, and include 4-12 different exercises paper muscle group per week as long as they are getting enough training volume throughout the week (15-20 total work sets for most people would suffice)..
Is 6 exercises per workout enough? ›
How many exercises you should do per workout depends on your level of experience. Beginners may do 4-6 exercises, intermediates may do 1-3, and advanced clients may do 1-6. But we challenge you to think about movement patterns before you choose the exercise.
Is 8 exercises too much for leg day? ›
As a beginner looking to increase general fitness — and following the theme of keeping things simple — choose 3–5 exercises per leg workout. Then complete 3 sets of 8–12 reps of each exercise, ensuring that you're working your muscles to fatigue but not failure (1).
How many exercises is enough for each body part? ›
If muscle growth is your goal, then aim for doing around 6-12 different exercises per muscle group per week with the following structure: Intensity: 75-85% of your 1RM. Rest period between sets: 60-90 seconds.
