Why bother working out? Whose got time to walk? Find out what regular exercise can do for you.
By Peter Jaret

Terry Waters, a former college wrestler and baseball player, loved working out. He got real pleasure out of pushing himself hard at the gym, and he liked the feeling of tired but virtuous afterwards. He figured regular physical activity and its health benefits would always be a part of his life.
Then came marriage, three kids, a demanding job as a software engineer in Boston — and a thousand and one excuses not to make it to the gym. “For a little while, you convince yourself you’re still in pretty good shape,” Waters remembers. “Sure, you’re a few pounds heavier. Sure, your blood pressure’s a few points higher. But you’re still pretty healthy, right?”
Well, maybe not. By the time he hit 40, Waters was 20 pounds heavier than he’d been in college. His blood pressure was nudging up into the danger zone, and his cholesterol level was just on the borderline of worrisome. His father, who was 67, was on medication for both high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. Two years earlier, the old man had been rushed into surgery for a heart bypass operation after suddenly becoming short of breath one day while on a bike ride. “Believe me, I didn’t want to go there if I could avoid it,” says Waters.
It was time, he decided, to get back to the gym.
Moderate exercise even a couch potato can manage
A lot of middle-aged men like Terry Waters know the dilemma. As family and work life become more demanding, exercise begins to drop lower on the list of priorities. Sure, you know it’s supposed to be important. But when the lawn needs mowing and the kids want attention, it’s harder to justify lacing up your running shoes for a good workout. Eventually, it’s easy to think, “Why bother?”
Why? For one very good reason. Staying active throughout your life is the single most powerful way to remain healthy and live long enough to enjoy your family and all the things you’ve worked for. Following the recommendations from WebMD’s Exercise and Fitness Tips to Improve Your Health offers so many far-ranging health benefits that you may decide a gym membership might be the most important investment you can make for your health. If drug companies developed an anti-aging pill with even some of the benefits of regular physical activity, all of us would be taking it.
“It’s hardly news now that exercise keeps your heart and lungs working efficiently,” says Steven Blair, PhD, professor of exercise epidemiology at the University of South Carolina and one of the country’s leading exercise scientists. “But we’ve also come to understand that exercise can help prevent adult onset diabetes, improve bone health, and even lower the risk of some cancers. Physical activity also appears to help ease depression for some people.”
Still not convinced you should hoist yourself up off the couch? Consider the following 10 health benefits you can get from even a moderate regular workout.
Exercise Health Benefit 1: Lower cholesterol
As most men get older, cholesterol numbers begin to move in the wrong direction. Levels of so-called bad cholesterol — low-density lipoprotein (LDL) — gradually increase. Levels of good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), tend to fall. Unfortunately, that combination of high LDL and low HDL is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease. Excess cholesterol accumulates on the inner lining of blood vessels, leading to arthrosclerosis and heart attacks. The best way to keep LDL cholesterol levels down is to eat a diet low in saturated fat (the kind found in meat and high-fat dairy products.) The single best way to boost good HDL cholesterol? Exercise. A 2007 Danish study of 835 men found that regular physical activity was consistently associated with higher levels of HDL cholesterol. A meta-analysis of 52 exercise training trials, including 4700 subjects, found that HDL levels increased an average of 4.6 percent — enough to take a significant notch out of heart disease risk.
Exercise Health Benefit 2: Lower triglycerides
Triglycerides are a form of fat found in the blood. Rising triglyceride levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease. The same Danish study that found higher levels of HDL showed that the most active men also had the lowest triglyceride levels.
Exercise Health Benefit 3: Lower risk of high blood pressure
As blood pressure climbs, the risk of heart disease and stroke accelerates. Unfortunately, blood pressure levels typically climb as men get older. But they don’t have to. In a study published in 2007, University of Minnesota researchers followed men and women 18 to 30 years old for up to 15 years. The more physically active the volunteers were, the lower their risk of developing hypertension.
Exercise Health Benefit 4: Reduced inflammation
Regular exercise has been shown to reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation. That matters because cholesterol-laden plaques on the lining of arteries are most likely to break off and cause heart attacks when they become inflamed. A 2006 study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota found that men with high levels of aerobic fitness, measured as VO2max, had lower levels of C-reactive protein, along with other markers of inflammation.
Exercise Health Benefit 5: Better blood vessels
To respond to changing demands for oxygen, blood vessels must be flexible enough to widen and narrow. Smoking, cholesterol build-up, and just plain aging tend to stiffen vessels, increasing heart attack risk. A growing number of studies show that exercise training helps maintain the ability of blood vessels to open and constrict in response to changing physical demands.
Exercise Health Benefit 6: Lower risk of diabetes
Adult onset diabetes — fueled mostly by too much body fat — is one of the biggest health worries on the horizon. Staying active can help you keep the weight off. But research shows that even for people who are overweight or obese, exercise reduces the risk of diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program found that an exercise and weight loss program lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by a whopping 58% over a three-year period. And the volunteers in that program weren’t running marathons. In fact, the exercise they were doing was the equivalent of burning only an additional 593 calories of energy — about the equivalent of walking around six miles a week for most men.
Exercise Health Benefit 7: A hedge against colon cancer
Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in men. Approximately 80% of cases of this grim disease could be prevented, experts say. A healthier diet (with more fiber and whole grains) is part of the prescription. But exercise turns out to be just as important as diet. Studies have shown that physical activity may reduce colon cancer risk by as much as 30 to 40%.
Exercise Health Benefit 8: Strong bones
Another unwelcome effect of aging is thinning bones, which can lead to a greater risk of fractures. In a study that followed 3,262 men from their 40s to their 60s, strenuous physical activity dramatically lowered the risk of hip fractures.
Exercise Health Benefit 9: Weight loss
If vanity is enough to nudge you to the gym, consider this: A lifetime of regular physical activity — even activities as simple as walking half an hour most days — can help keep that belly from bulging over your belt. In findings from the National Weight Control Registry, experts looked at the habits of 3,000 people who lost more than 10% of their body weight and managed to keep it off for at least a year. Eight out of 10 of them, it turned out, reported increasing their physical exercise regimen. The men in the group cranked up their activities — walking, cycling, weight lifting, aerobics, running, and stair climbing — enough to burn an additional 3298 calories a week.
Several recent studies have shown that men who report doing more physical activity also have slimmer waistlines. In a 2006 study at Ball State University, a group of 58 volunteers started a program of walking 10,000 steps a day. After 36 weeks, the volunteers had trimmed almost an inch from their waists and a similar amount from their hips.
Exercise Health Benefit 10: A longer life
Add it all up and an active life also means a longer and healthier life. In a 2004 study at Finland’s University of Kuopio, researchers followed 15,853 men aged 30 to 59. Over a 20 year period, men who engaged in physically active leisure activities — jogging, skiing, swimming, playing ball, or doing serious gardening — were up to 21% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease or to die of any cause during the study period.
How much exercise do you need to reap these health benefits?
The answer to how much exercise you need depends partly on what you’re after. Burning about 1,000 extra calories a week in activities is likely to extend your life. Walking half an hour most days of the week is all you need to significantly lower your risk of colon cancer and diabetes. But the more physical activities you can weave into your daily life, the healthier you’ll be. “Most studies of physical activity show a strong dose-response rate,” says exercise expert Steven Blair. “The more you do, the more you benefit.”

How to get started with an exercise program.

 

By Dulce Zamora
WebMD Feature

 

You've decided it's time to start exercising. Congratulations! You've taken the first step on your way to a new and improved body and mind

"Exercise is the magic pill," says Michael R. Bracko, EdD, FACSM, chairman of the American College of Sports Medicine's Consumer Information Committee. "Exercise can literally cure diseases like some forms of heart disease. Exercise has been implicated in helping people prevent or recover from some forms of cancer. Exercise helps people with arthritis. Exercise helps people prevent and reverse depression."

And there's no arguing that exercise can help most people lose weight, as well as look more toned and trim.

Of course, there's a catch. You need to get -- and keep -- moving if you want to cash in on the benefits. This doesn't necessarily mean following a strict, time-consuming regimen at the gym -- although that can certainly reap benefits. The truth is you can get rewards from many different types and levels of exercise.

"Any little increment of physical activity is going to be a great boost to weight loss and feeling better," says Rita Redberg, MSc, chairwoman of the American Heart Association's Scientific Advisory Board for the Choose to Move program.

Your exercise options are numerous, including walking, dancing, gardening, biking -- even doing household chores, says Redberg. The important thing is to choose activities you enjoy, she says. That will increase your chances of making it a habit.

And how much exercise should you do? For heart health, the AHA recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, on most days of the week.

Yet "if you're getting less than that, you're still going to see benefits," says Redberg. "It's not like if you can't do 30 minutes, you shouldn't do anything, because you're definitely going to see benefits even at 5 or 10 minutes of moving around."

Ready to get started? Health and fitness experts helped WebMD compile this beginner's guide to exercise, including definitions of some common exercise terms, sample workouts, and recommendations on home exercise equipment.

A way to measure the intensity of your exercise is to check you heart rate or pulse during physical activity. These should be within a target range during different levels of intensity.

For example, according to the CDC, for moderate-intensity physical activity, a person's target heart rate should be 50% to 70% of his or her maximum heart rate.

Get Ready

The first step to any workout routine is to evaluate how fit you are for your chosen physical activity. Whenever you begin an exercise program, it's wise to consult a doctor. Anyone with major health risks, males aged 45 and older, and women aged 55 and older should get medical clearance, says Cedric Bryant, PhD, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise.

But no matter what your medical condition, you can usually work out in some way.

"I can't think of any medical issue that would get worse from the right kind of exercise," says Stephanie Siegrist, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Rochester, N.Y.

After assessing your fitness, it helps to set workout goals. For example, do you want to prepare to run a 5K? Hit the gym five times a week? Or just walk around the block without getting winded?

"Make sure the goals are clear, realistic, and concise," says Sal Fichera, an exercise physiologist and owner of New York-based Forza Fitness.

Whatever your goals and medical condition, approach any new exercise regimen with caution.

"Start low and go slow," advises Bryant. Many beginners make the mistake of starting out too aggressively, only to give up when they end up tired, sore, or injured, he says. Some get discouraged because they think an aggressive workout will produce instant results.

"Generally speaking, when people go about it too aggressively early in the program, they tend not to stick with it over the long haul," says Bryant. "What you really want to do is to develop some new habits that you can stick with for a lifetime."

Fitness Definitions

Even long-term exercisers may have misconceptions about exactly what some fitness terms mean. Here are some definition of words and phrases you're likely to encounter:

·         Aerobic/cardiovascular activity. These are exercises that are strenuous enough to temporarily speed up your breathing and heart rate. Running, cycling, walking, swimming, and dancing fall in this category.

·         Maximum Heart Rate is based on the person's age. An estimate of a person's maximum age-related heart rate can be obtained by subtracting the person's age from 220.

·         Flexibility training or stretching. This type of workout enhances the range of motion of joints. Age and inactivity tend to cause muscles, tendons, and ligaments to shorten over time. Contrary to popular belief, however, stretching and warming up are not synonymous. In fact, stretching cold muscles and joints can make them prone to injury.

·         Strength, weight, or resistance training. This type of exercise is aimed at improving the strength and function of muscles. Specific exercises are done to strengthen each muscle group. Weight lifting and exercising with stretchy resistance bands are examples of resistance training activities, as are exercises like pushups in which you work against the weight of your own body.

·         Set. Usually used in discussing strength training exercises, this term refers to repeating the same exercise a certain number of times. For instance, a weight lifter may do 10 biceps curls, rest for a few moments, then perform another "set" of 10 more biceps curls.

·         Repetition or "rep." This refers to the number of times you perform an exercise during a set. For example, the weight lifter mentioned above performed 10 reps of the bicep curl exercise in each set.

·         Warm up. This is the act of preparing your body for the stress of exercise. The body can be warmed up with light intensity aerobic movements like walking slowly. These movements increase blood flow, which in turn heats up muscles and joints. "Think of it as a lube job for the body," Bryant explains. At the end of your warm-up, it's a good idea to do a little light stretching.

·         Cooldown. This is the less-strenuous exercise you do to cool your body down after the more intense part of your workout. For example, after a walk on a treadmill, you might walk at a reduced speed and incline for several minutes until your breathing and heart rate slow down. Stretching is often part of a cooldown.

Sample Workouts for Beginners

Before beginning any fitness routine, it's important to warm up, then do some light stretching. Save the bulk of the stretching for after the workout.

Once you're warmed up, experts recommend three different types of exercise for overall physical fitness: cardiovascular activity, strength conditioning, and flexibility training. These don't all have to be done at once, but doing each on a regular basis will result in balanced fitness.

·         Cardiovascular activity. Start by doing an aerobic activity, like walking or running, for a sustained 20-30 minutes, four to five times a week, says Bryant. To ensure you're working at an optimum level, try the "talk test": Make sure you can carry on a basic level of conversation without being too winded. But if you can easily sing a song, you're not working hard enough.

·         Strength conditioning. Start by doing one set of exercises targeting each of the major muscle groups. Bryant suggests using a weight at which you can comfortably perform the exercise eight to 12 times in a set. When you think you can handle more, gradually increase either the weight, the number of repetitions, or number of sets. To maximize the benefits, do strength training at least twice a week. Never work the same body part two days in a row.

·         Flexibility training. The American College on Exercise recommends doing slow, sustained static stretches three to seven days per week. Each stretch should last 10-30 seconds.

To learn how to perform certain exercises, consider hiring a personal trainer for a session or two, or take advantage of free sessions offered when you join a gym.

Home Exercise Equipment

Exercise doesn't have to be done at the gym. You can work out in the comfort of your own home. And with calesthenic-type exercises such as squats, lunges, pushups, and sit-ups, you can use the resistance of your own weight to condition your body. To boost your strength and aerobic capacity, you may also want to invest in some home exercise equipment.

Experts offer their thoughts on some popular home exercise items:

·         Treadmill. This best-selling piece of equipment is great for cardiovascular exercise, says Bracko. He recommends starting out walking at a low intensity for 30 minutes and applying the talk test. Depending on how you do, adjust the intensity, incline, and/or time accordingly.

·         Free weights. Barbells and dumbbells make up this category of strength-training equipment. Dumbbells are recommended for beginners. Fichera suggests purchasing an 18 pound adjustable dumbbell set, which can be adjusted in 3 pound increments.

·         Other strength training equipment. This includes weight stacks (plates with cables and pulleys), flexible bands, and flexible rods. Fichera says flexible bands are good for beginners, especially since they come with instructions. But he doesn't recommend them for long-term use; your muscles will likely adapt to the resistance and need more of a challenge.

·         Exercise ball. Although instructions and/or a companion video can accompany this gadget, Bracko worries that beginners may use exercise balls improperly. "Some people fall off or can't keep the ball still," he says. But if you enjoy working out with an exercise ball, it can provide a good workout.

·         Exercise videos and DVDs. Before working out with a home exercise video or DVD, Siegrist recommends watching through it at least once to observe the structure and proper form of the workout. To further improve form, she suggests working out in front of a mirror, if possible, or having someone else watch you do the exercise.

Study Shows Middle Age Is Not Too Late to Start Exercising to Prolong Your Life

By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News

 

It ain't over till it's over, Yogi Berra would say. Scientists might put it this way, though: In terms of your life span, it really does matter that you start exercising, quit the couch-potato habit, and give up smoking.

But even if you don't get started until middle age or later, you can prolong your life, a new study shows. Of course, it's better to quit bad habits and start good ones early, but middle age is not too late, say researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden.

They gathered data from 2,205 men aged 50 in 1970-1973, all completing surveys about leisure-time physical activity; the men were categorized as low-, medium- or high-activity types.

The men were examined again at age 60, 70, 77, and 82; changes in physical activity were recorded. Researchers also jotted down data on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status, alcohol use, and body mass index (BMI) at each survey.

The researchers also looked into the effect of changed physical activity between the times they were checked at age 50 and 60.

At age 50, nearly half of the men claimed a high level of physical activity, that is, at least three hours of recreational sports or heavy gardening per week. Thirty-six percent reported medium activity, amounting to walking and cycling; 15% were categorized as sedentary.

In the long run, the mortality rates were highest among the sedentary men, and lowest among the most active.

After 10 years, however, the mortality rate in the men who'd increased their activity had fallen to the same level as the ones who'd maintained high levels of physical fitness the whole time, the researchers say.

The benefit for the late starters was on par with quitting smoking.

However, during the first five years of follow-up, the mortality rate was higher in men who had increased their level of physical activity than in men with unchanged high physical activity, but the number of such deaths was small.

"Given the small numbers of deaths we are reluctant to place a strong emphasis on this increased risk, especially as mortality was not higher than mortality in men who continued to be sedentary," the researchers write.

The researchers say that after adjusting for other risk factors, men who reported high levels of physical activity from age 50 on were expected to live 2.3 years longer than the sedentary individuals, and 1.1 years longer than the men who'd originally reported medium physical activity.

Increased physical activity prolongs life in middle-aged men after "an induction period" of up to 10 years, the study says.

Most new mothers are so busy with the new baby they don't have time to go to the gym and workout in order to lose those pounds they picked up during pregnacy. With the help of Fitness Magazine I have put together a video workout that doesn't require a trip to the gym or a lot of your time.

Lose the Baby Weight Workout

Why bother working out? Whose got time to walk? Find out what regular exercise can do for you.
By Peter Jaret

Terry Waters, a former college wrestler and baseball player, loved working out. He got real pleasure out of pushing himself hard at the gym, and he liked the feeling of tired but virtuous afterwards. He figured regular physical activity and its health benefits would always be a part of his life.

Then came marriage, three kids, a demanding job as a software engineer in Boston — and a thousand and one excuses not to make it to the gym. “For a little while, you convince yourself you’re still in pretty good shape,” Waters remembers. “Sure, you’re a few pounds heavier. Sure, your blood pressure’s a few points higher. But you’re still pretty healthy, right?”

Well, maybe not. By the time he hit 40, Waters was 20 pounds heavier than he’d been in college. His blood pressure was nudging up into the danger zone, and his cholesterol level was just on the borderline of worrisome. His father, who was 67, was on medication for both high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. Two years earlier, the old man had been rushed into surgery for a heart bypass operation after suddenly becoming short of breath one day while on a bike ride. “Believe me, I didn’t want to go there if I could avoid it,” says Waters.

It was time, he decided, to get back to the gym.

Moderate exercise even a couch potato can manage
A lot of middle-aged men like Terry Waters know the dilemma. As family and work life become more demanding, exercise begins to drop lower on the list of priorities. Sure, you know it’s supposed to be important. But when the lawn needs mowing and the kids want attention, it’s harder to justify lacing up your running shoes for a good workout. Eventually, it’s easy to think, “Why bother?”
Why? For one very good reason. Staying active throughout your life is the single most powerful way to remain healthy and live long enough to enjoy your family and all the things you’ve worked for. Following the recommendations from WebMD’s Exercise and Fitness Tips to Improve Your Health offers so many far-ranging health benefits that you may decide a gym membership might be the most important investment you can make for your health. If drug companies developed an anti-aging pill with even some of the benefits of regular physical activity, all of us would be taking it.

“It’s hardly news now that exercise keeps your heart and lungs working efficiently,” says Steven Blair, PhD, professor of exercise epidemiology at the University of South Carolina and one of the country’s leading exercise scientists. “But we’ve also come to understand that exercise can help prevent adult onset diabetes, improve bone health, and even lower the risk of some cancers. Physical activity also appears to help ease depression for some people.”

Still not convinced you should hoist yourself up off the couch? Consider the following 10 health benefits you can get from even a moderate regular workout.

Exercise Health Benefit 1: Lower cholesterol
As most men get older, cholesterol numbers begin to move in the wrong direction. Levels of so-called bad cholesterol — low-density lipoprotein (LDL) — gradually increase. Levels of good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), tend to fall. Unfortunately, that combination of high LDL and low HDL is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease. Excess cholesterol accumulates on the inner lining of blood vessels, leading to arthrosclerosis and heart attacks. The best way to keep LDL cholesterol levels down is to eat a diet low in saturated fat (the kind found in meat and high-fat dairy products.) The single best way to boost good HDL cholesterol? Exercise. A 2007 Danish study of 835 men found that regular physical activity was consistently associated with higher levels of HDL cholesterol. A meta-analysis of 52 exercise training trials, including 4700 subjects, found that HDL levels increased an average of 4.6 percent — enough to take a significant notch out of heart disease risk.

Exercise Health Benefit 2: Lower triglycerides
Triglycerides are a form of fat found in the blood. Rising triglyceride levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease. The same Danish study that found higher levels of HDL showed that the most active men also had the lowest triglyceride levels.
Exercise Health Benefit 3: Lower risk of high blood pressure

As blood pressure climbs, the risk of heart disease and stroke accelerates. Unfortunately, blood pressure levels typically climb as men get older. But they don’t have to. In a study published in 2007, University of Minnesota researchers followed men and women 18 to 30 years old for up to 15 years. The more physically active the volunteers were, the lower their risk of developing hypertension.

Exercise Health Benefit 4: Reduced inflammation
Regular exercise has been shown to reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation. That matters because cholesterol-laden plaques on the lining of arteries are most likely to break off and cause heart attacks when they become inflamed. A 2006 study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota found that men with high levels of aerobic fitness, measured as VO2max, had lower levels of C-reactive protein, along with other markers of inflammation.

Exercise Health Benefit 5: Better blood vessels
To respond to changing demands for oxygen, blood vessels must be flexible enough to widen and narrow. Smoking, cholesterol build-up, and just plain aging tend to stiffen vessels, increasing heart attack risk. A growing number of studies show that exercise training helps maintain the ability of blood vessels to open and constrict in response to changing physical demands.

Exercise Health Benefit 6: Lower risk of diabetes
Adult onset diabetes — fueled mostly by too much body fat — is one of the biggest health worries on the horizon. Staying active can help you keep the weight off. But research shows that even for people who are overweight or obese, exercise reduces the risk of diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program found that an exercise and weight loss program lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by a whopping 58% over a three-year period. And the volunteers in that program weren’t running marathons. In fact, the exercise they were doing was the equivalent of burning only an additional 593 calories of energy — about the equivalent of walking around six miles a week for most men.

Exercise Health Benefit 7: A hedge against colon cancer
Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in men. Approximately 80% of cases of this grim disease could be prevented, experts say. A healthier diet (with more fiber and whole grains) is part of the prescription. But exercise turns out to be just as important as diet. Studies have shown that physical activity may reduce colon cancer risk by as much as 30 to 40%.

Exercise Health Benefit 8: Strong bones
Another unwelcome effect of aging is thinning bones, which can lead to a greater risk of fractures. In a study that followed 3,262 men from their 40s to their 60s, strenuous physical activity dramatically lowered the risk of hip fractures.

Exercise Health Benefit 9: Weight loss
If vanity is enough to nudge you to the gym, consider this: A lifetime of regular physical activity — even activities as simple as walking half an hour most days — can help keep that belly from bulging over your belt. In findings from the National Weight Control Registry, experts looked at the habits of 3,000 people who lost more than 10% of their body weight and managed to keep it off for at least a year. Eight out of 10 of them, it turned out, reported increasing their physical exercise regimen. The men in the group cranked up their activities — walking, cycling, weight lifting, aerobics, running, and stair climbing — enough to burn an additional 3298 calories a week.

Several recent studies have shown that men who report doing more physical activity also have slimmer waistlines. In a 2006 study at Ball State University, a group of 58 volunteers started a program of walking 10,000 steps a day. After 36 weeks, the volunteers had trimmed almost an inch from their waists and a similar amount from their hips.

Exercise Health Benefit 10: A longer life
Add it all up and an active life also means a longer and healthier life. In a 2004 study at Finland’s University of Kuopio, researchers followed 15,853 men aged 30 to 59. Over a 20 year period, men who engaged in physically active leisure activities — jogging, skiing, swimming, playing ball, or doing serious gardening — were up to 21% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease or to die of any cause during the study period.

How much exercise do you need to reap these health benefits?
The answer to how much exercise you need depends partly on what you’re after. Burning about 1,000 extra calories a week in activities is likely to extend your life. Walking half an hour most days of the week is all you need to significantly lower your risk of colon cancer and diabetes. But the more physical activities you can weave into your daily life, the healthier you’ll be. “Most studies of physical activity show a strong dose-response rate,” says exercise expert Steven Blair. “The more you do, the more you benefit.”