Not managing to achieve the recommended exercise guidelines every week ?
With current exercise guidelines for adults of at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of high intensity per week along with strength/resistance exercises that work all the major muscle groups at least 2 days a week, it is important to note that any amount of exercise is better than none.
Recently there have been some interesting studies on the impact of even small amounts of physical activity on health and wellbeing including:
Walking at a faster pace can lead to significant improvements in longevity and physical function, particularly among older adults and those at greater risk of chronic conditions. The American Journal of Preventative Medicine published a major study analysing data from almost 80,000 participants that found fast paced walking, even as little as 15 minutes per day was associated with a 20% reduction in total mortality, even after accounting for other lifestyle factors.
A study recently published in The Lancet from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that even small amounts of high intensity exercise has a neuroprotective effect on the brain with physical activity affecting inflammation, blood flow, immune function and brain plasticity.
