The short answer is less than you probably think. The human body is very responsive to physical stimuli and has evolved to move, the reason why it is advisable to be active on a daily basis. But, that does not mean you have to run miles every day to reap the physiological benefits of exercise.
So what does the research say is the minimum amount of exercise you need to do to achieve positive changes in your health from being active? Here are some examples:
* A 15-minute walk after eating helps to reduce blood sugar spikes and improves fasting blood glucose. Important for everyone, but especially for anyone overweight or pre-diabetic / diabetic.
* Doing 3 sets of five, 4-second sprints improves mitochondrial density – the energy-producing parts of your cells that are essential for good metabolic health. This could be done running as fast as you can on the spot (for 4 seconds at a time!) in your living room.
* A 7-minute full body work out, 3 times a week is enough to improve muscular strength and endurance along with increasing lung capacity.
Exercise can be daunting for some people to undertake. The examples above all highlight how little is necessary to get the health benefits associated with the movement. You may not feel you can do a “full body work out” but the point is you will be able to do some form of activity that will give your health a boost. A little goes a long way.
