How Much Exercise Per Week Do You Actually Need?

Generally, there is no difference in how much exercise one needs based on gender. The only other thing to consider is if you’re someone with limited mobility or other medical conditions, you may need to consult with your physician on what types of physical activities work best.

What counts as vigorous exercise?

While not all exercises can easily be compared to one another, Dr. Colvin says vigorous exercise can generally be categorized as any workout where you breathe hard. In other words, if you can only say a few words without pausing for breath while doing your workout of choice, then you’re doing a vigorous exercise. Examples of this include hiking, running, cycling, swimming laps, jumping rope, any high-intensity interval training (HIIT), or sports like soccer, basketball, or singles tennis.

It is also possible to go overboard with an exercise. If you find yourself constantly feeling fatigued or experiencing any pain or soreness, frequent illness, or a decrease in your workout performance, it might be a sign that you’re overdoing it. Dr. Colvin says that you’ll want to focus on a holistic approach with exercises and try to incorporate cardio, strength training, flexibility, and balance work throughout the week. (As an added bonus, she says this will also help prevent injury and improve your overall conditioning.)

What counts as moderate exercise?

As you might guess, moderate exercise is one where you can breathe a little easier and speak full sentences during your workout. This includes brisk walking, water aerobics, and dancing. Cycling done at a slower pace (think 10 miles per hour) or doubles tennis are other exercises that she says can be considered less intense. Even hobbies such as gardening can count as moderate exercise if you’re moving your body and carrying significant weight around.

But just because something is moderate doesn’t mean it’s ineffective. What’s more important is finding something that suits your lifestyle and something that you’ll want to do regularly.

How to Get Started

Don’t be scared of starting from the ground up. Dr. Colvin says you’ll want to start small and build on that momentum. Try breaking up 30 minutes of exercise into intervals throughout your day, and then gradually work towards the full half hour. “If you can’t exercise for 30 minutes continuously, breaking exercise up into 10-minute blocks of activity will also benefit,” she says.