Whether it’s a passion or a nightmare for you, exercise is, regardless, highly recommended to stay in shape.
Engaging in regular physical activity brings many benefits to both your body and your mind. A winning combo that you really have to consider adopting!
But how many hours of exercise should you do per week to reap real benefits? We’ll explain it all to you!
Why exercise: the benefits of physical activity
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical activity is defined as "any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure."
While some people are hooked on sports and work out every day, others find it more difficult and can easily go without. And yet, it's well known that exercise is good for your health!
Besides, it doesn't take much to incorporate a little physical activity into your daily routine: walking, cycling, active relaxation, games, or more intense sports; everyone can do it in their own way, at their own pace, and according to their level.
Engaging in moderate or vigorous physical activity has numerous positive health effects and specifically helps to:
- ⚡ maintain good physical condition: there's no secret—the more you get moving, the more dynamic and fit you'll be!
- 🍪 fight against a sedentary lifestyle and reduce the risk of obesity and being overweight: when you exercise, you burn calories. This promotes weight loss or, at the very least, helps prevent weight gain.
- 💪 aid in muscle strengthening: thanks to exercise, your muscles become stronger and more toned. As a result, you firm up certain areas of your body while gaining muscle tone.
- 🫀 prevent cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes: physical exertion improves and regulates cardiac system function, thereby reducing cardiovascular risks. It also helps better regulate blood sugar levels, thus limiting the onset of type 2 diabetes.
- 🧠 boost the brain: physical exertion allows the brain to get oxygenated and relax. It is believed to greatly improve memory performance and strengthen learning capacities. If you want to know more about how to optimize your brain, we provide a few tips in our article.
- 😴 improve sleep: physical exercise plays a role in the quality and depth of sleep. The deep sleep phase is indeed more significant when the body has been active during the day, thanks to the feel-good hormones released during exercise.
- 😢 fight stress and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety: exercise is a natural antidepressant and plays a major role in promoting mental health. During physical activity, the body releases endorphins which provide a feeling of well-being.
Despite everything, it seems we have more and more trouble motivating ourselves to go for a quick jog early in the morning before heading to work, and the reality is rather grim: according to ANSES, the global trend is toward a decrease in daily physical activity in favor of a sedentary lifestyle, and the majority of the French population does not get enough physical exercise.
What is a sedentary lifestyle?
It refers to low energy expenditure associated with sitting or lying down. It therefore corresponds to the time spent sitting or lying down during a day.
To estimate it, the main criterion is time in front of screens, even though that only represents a part of the actual sedentary time. Given the generation of hyper-connected people we are, we'll let you imagine the damage 😱. Incidentally, if you're interested in knowing the amount of screen time recommended by age, we've written a practical guide that you can read at this address.
A sedentary lifestyle is different from physical inactivity, which refers to a lack of regular exercise, falling below the threshold recommended to stay healthy.
Both are among the biggest health concerns in Western societies.
How many hours of exercise per week
To compensate for a sedentary desk job, to slim down, gain muscle, stay in shape, and maintain top-tier health, the number of exercise hours recommended depends on your goals, your age, your fitness, and your level.
For well-being and general good health
According to WHO recommendations, for adults aged 18 to 64, at least 150 to 300 minutes (2.5 to 5 hours) of moderate-intensity endurance activity are necessary to stay healthy. This duration can be replaced by 75 to 150 minutes (1.25 to 2.5 hours) of vigorous-intensity endurance activity. It is also advised to practice muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice a week.
For even more benefits, it is recommended to increase moderate exercise to over 300 minutes per week (or over 150 minutes of intense physical activity).
These recommendations are essentially the same for seniors aged 65 and over, although the intensity of the physical activity must of course be adapted.
As for children and teenagers aged 5 to 17, they should be active for an average of 60 minutes per day according to the WHO. Obviously, the more exercise they get, the better, provided they can step away from screens for a bit (for the record, doing TikTok dances doesn't count as exercise)! Do you want more details on the impact of screens on the lives of our little ones? We’ve written a guide on that very subject here!
Physical activity is defined by different levels of intensity:
- 🧹 light exercise which includes daily movements like walking at a slow or normal pace, household chores...
- 🏃 moderate exercise which includes brisk walking, jogging, cycling at 15 km/h
- 🚴 intense exercise which refers to running, swimming, gym sessions, competitive cycling...
Exercising every day: good or bad idea?
These 2.5 to 5 hours of physical exercise can be spread over a frequency of 5 sessions per week (i.e., 5 days a week) or more. The more regular the physical activity, the more you will observe its effects.
It is advised to practice at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, unless contraindicated, and to walk at least 4,000 to 8,000 steps. Indeed, daily physical exertion helps the whole body stay in shape.
However, you should not do intense physical activity every day. Two intense exercise sessions per week are recommended; the rest can be done more leisurely, at a moderate intensity.
This is because it is imperative to give your body time to recover, otherwise your efforts become counterproductive.
Too much exercise = danger?
Exercising is therefore essential for health and general well-being, but be careful that it doesn't turn into an obsession!
Like everything else, you must practice in moderation so as not to fall into what is called bigorexia, an addiction to exercise that can be compared to a drug or alcohol dependency. It affects top-level athletes just as much as amateurs.
People who suffer from it feel a constant need to exercise, every day, or even several times a day. They are generally obsessed with their performance or their weight and often develop associated eating disorders. Sports activity is no longer a pleasure but becomes an obligation.
When they don't exercise, these people can feel withdrawal symptoms such as sadness, anxiety, irritability, and even social isolation. This dependency can also cause physical symptoms such as general exhaustion, fractures, or muscle tears.
Bigorexia can therefore have serious physical and psychological consequences. It has even been recognized by the World Health Organization as a disease since 2011. To recover, it must be addressed by healthcare professionals capable of implementing the appropriate treatment (most often therapy).
Granted, that is an extreme case: 4% of the French population is said to be affected.
But the dangers of overdoing it are real. The Montreal Heart Institute, for example, cites the risks of musculoskeletal injuries and cardiovascular stress. There are reasons why professional athletes often end their careers on their last legs...
Final word: how many hours of physical activity per week
Exercise is an excellent way to stay in shape, fight against a sedentary lifestyle, lose weight, prevent certain diseases, and keep your spirits up.
To enjoy the benefits of exercise, it is recommended each week to:
- practice 1 hour 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes of vigorous-intensity endurance activity (running, swimming, gym sessions, brisk cycling...)
- practice 2 hours 30 minutes to 5 hours of moderate-intensity endurance activity (brisk walking, jogging, cycling at 15 km/h...)
Physical activity is not a magic wand, and it must be paired with a healthy lifestyle (balanced diet, good hydration, deep and restorative sleep: for sleep tips, it's this way).
Also, be careful not to fall into excess: doing too much exercise and thinking only about that is a disease, bigorexia, which can have serious physical and psychological consequences. Engaging in physical activity should remain a pleasure and not an obligation or an obsession!
By the way, why not put down your screen for a bit now and go for a quick jog? Let's go! 🏃
Comments
Pertinent réponses très claires notamment sur la durée et la fréquence merci