We often have discussions about finding the motivation to exercise, identifying common barriers that people face and crossing them. Barriers to cardio (or indeed any) training can include time, money, not knowing what to do or even being afraid to start. The good news is that while these are very real problems - they can be overcome. And when it comes to cardio exercise - not only running or cycling, but sports, dance, rowing, even strength training - just doing a little is enough to provide tangible health and longevity benefits.
What does the science say? Below are the key findings from multiple recent studies. For the sake of clarity, to avoid any misunderstanding, we have compiled a series of quotes taken from the studies themselves. And when it comes to real world application...
Find the exercise that you can consistently enjoy, and do it.
As ever, please talk to your doctor, or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle; especially if you are under treatment. We provide links to the quoted studies at bottom of page.
The Simplicity of Walking
"Compared with adults in the lowest steps per day quartile, adults in the highest steps per day quartile had a 40% to 53% lower risk of mortality. Taking more steps per day was associated with a progressively lower risk of all-cause mortality, up to a level that was similar by sex but varied by age.
There was progressively lower risk of mortality among adults aged 60 years and older until about 6000–8000 steps per day and among adults younger than 60 years until about 8000–10 000 steps per day. We found inconsistent evidence that step intensity was associated with risk of mortality beyond total volume of steps." Paluch et al, 2022
Just moving brings benefits; enjoy a walk if you cannot yet run.
Exercise, Chronic Illness and Mortality
Study 1, on the benefits of running "Our meta-analysis showed that running participation is associated with 27%, 30% and 23% lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, respectively, compared with no running.
Increased rates of participation in running, regardless of its dose, would probably lead to substantial improvements in population health and longevity. Any amount of running, even just once a week, is better than no running, but higher doses of running may not necessarily be associated with greater mortality benefits." Pedisic et al
Study 2, the health benefits of brisk walking (moderate physical activity or equivalent) are evident. Increasing to a jog / run gets you to the recommended 'dose' twice as fast. "The nearly maximal benefit on mortality reduction was observed among individuals who reported ≈150 to 300 min/week of long-term leisure-time vigorous physical activity, 300 to 600 min/week of long-term leisure-time moderate physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both." Lee et al
How to start running? Keep it slow and easy. Learn more here.
You don't have to be superman, or woman. Just moving consistently leads to health.
Study 3, on 'weekend only' exercise."When weekend warrior and regular activity were compared directly, there were no conditions for which effects differed significantly. Observations were similar when activity was thresholded at the sample median (≥230.4 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/week).
Achievement of measured physical activity volumes consistent with guideline recommendations is associated with lower risk for >200 diseases, with prominent effects on cardiometabolic conditions. Associations appear similar whether physical activity follows a weekend warrior pattern or is spread more evenly throughout the week." Shinwan Kany et al
No matter on the weekend or across the week, clocking up exercise delivers health results.
Need a running programme, from beginner to advancer? Read here.
A Younger Heart, by 20 Years
"The key finding is that 2 years of exercise training performed for at least 30 minutes, 4 to 5 days per week, and including at least 1 high-intensity interval session per week results in a significant reduction in left ventricle (LV) chamber and myocardial stiffness...This study also demonstrated that exercise training can be adhered to by middle-aged adults over a prolonged period, suggesting that this may be an effective strategy to mitigate the deleterious effects of sedentary aging on the heart and forestall the development of HFpEF (note: HFpEF: heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, a chronic condition where the heart pumps normally but doesn't fill well)
We used a mixture of continuous moderate-intensity exercise training combined with high-intensity training, which has been demonstrated to have superior cardiovascular benefit in comparison with moderate- intensity exercise alone...The high intensity interval training protocol used in this study required participants to exercise at 90% to 95% of heart rate maximum for 4 minutes, followed by a 3-minute active recovery period, repeated 4 times, termed the 4×4 by the Norwegian group." Howden et al
Higher intensity, when you are ready, delivers additional benefits.
Learn more about high intensity interval training.
Heart Health, Brain Health
"We observed that MRI measurements of the two organs were associated with each other, and this was independent of a wide variety of body measures, shared risk factors, and imaging confounders. We also uncovered genetic colocalizations and correlations between heart structure and function and brain clinical end points, suggesting that adverse heart metrics may have implications for brain abnormalities and the risk of brain diseases.
By understanding human health from a multiorgan perspective, we may be able to improve disease risk prediction and prevention and mitigate the negative effects of one organ disease on other organs that may be at risk." Zhao et al
Heart health positively affects affects multiple organs, whole systems, including the brain and cognitive health.
There are numerous studies relating to exercise, exercise intensity and cognitive health. Too many to share in this short article.
Final Thoughts
Male or female, young or old... wherever you are starting from, even from Zero, cardio training is a vital part of health. From beginner to advanced, we have dozens of articles on cardio (and running) here. Also consider strength exercise, mobility, sleep, diet, and work-life balance - these are other commons areas of health that can also be addressed.
A key problem we see with cardio exercise... Too much, too fast, too soon. Take it easy, enjoy the process; even it is hard at the beginning.
For most people, improving health is about finding motivation and prioritising self-care with an ultimate goal of taking action. If you want to take effective and targeted steps that fit into your unique lifestyle, The Whole Health Practice is here to help.
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Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Related Studies and Resources
Smart NA, Downes D, van der Touw T, Hada S, Dieberg G, Pearson MJ, Wolden M, King N, Goodman SPJ. The Effect of Exercise Training on Blood Lipids: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2024 Sep 27. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02115-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39331324.
Jung ME, Santos A, Ginis KAM. "But will they do it?" Challenging assumptions and incivility in the academic discourse on high-intensity interval training. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2024 Jul 29. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2024-0200. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39074385.
Kany, Shinwan & Al-Alusi, Mostafa & Rämö, Joel & Pirruccello, James & Churchill, Timothy & Lubitz, Steven & Maddah, Mahnaz & Guseh, J & Ellinor, Patrick & Khurshid, Shaan. (2024). Associations of "Weekend Warrior" Physical Activity With Incident Disease and Cardiometabolic Health. Circulation. 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.068669.
Oja P, Memon AR, Titze S, Jurakic D, Chen ST, Shrestha N, Em S, Matolic T, Vasankari T, Heinonen A, Grgic J, Koski P, Kokko S, Kelly P, Foster C, Podnar H, Pedisic Z. Health Benefits of Different Sports: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal and Intervention Studies Including 2.6 Million Adult Participants. Sports Med Open. 2024 Apr 24;10(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s40798-024-00692-x. PMID: 38658416; PMCID: PMC11043276.
Llanos-Lagos C, Ramirez-Campillo R, Moran J, Sáez de Villarreal E. The Effect of Strength Training Methods on Middle-Distance and Long-Distance Runners' Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2024 Jul;54(7):1801-1833. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02018-z. Epub 2024 Apr 17. PMID: 38627351; PMCID: PMC11258194.
Zhao B, Li T, Fan Z, Yang Y, Shu J, Yang X, Wang X, Luo T, Tang J, Xiong D, Wu Z, Li B, Chen J, Shan Y, Tomlinson C, Zhu Z, Li Y, Stein JL, Zhu H. Heart-brain connections: Phenotypic and genetic insights from magnetic resonance images. Science. 2023 Jun 2;380(6648):abn6598. doi: 10.1126/science.abn6598. Epub 2023 Jun 2. PMID: 37262162.
Pettee Gabriel K, Jaeger BC, Lewis CE, Sidney S, Dooley EE, Carnethon MR, Jacobs DR Jr, Hornikel B, Reis JP, Schreiner PJ, Shikany JM, Whitaker KM, Arynchyn A, Sternfeld B. Analysis of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Early Adulthood and Midlife With All-Cause Mortality and Fatal or Nonfatal Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Feb 1;6(2):e230842. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0842. PMID: 36853610; PMCID: PMC9975906.
Lee DH, Rezende LFM, Joh HK, Keum N, Ferrari G, Rey-Lopez JP, Rimm EB, Tabung FK, Giovannucci EL. Long-Term Leisure-Time Physical Activity Intensity and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Prospective Cohort of US Adults. Circulation. 2022 Aug 16;146(7):523-534. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.058162. Epub 2022 Jul 25. PMID: 35876019; PMCID: PMC9378548.
Paluch AE, Bajpai S, Bassett DR, Carnethon MR, Ekelund U, Evenson KR, Galuska DA, Jefferis BJ, Kraus WE, Lee IM, Matthews CE, Omura JD, Patel AV, Pieper CF, Rees-Punia E, Dallmeier D, Klenk J, Whincup PH, Dooley EE, Pettee Gabriel K, Palta P, Pompeii LA, Chernofsky A, Larson MG, Vasan RS, Spartano N, Ballin M, Nordström P, Nordström A, Anderssen SA, Hansen BH, Cochrane JA, Dwyer T, Wang J, Ferrucci L, Liu F, Schrack J, Urbanek J, Saint-Maurice PF, Yamamoto N, Yoshitake Y, Newton RL Jr, Yang S, Shiroma EJ, Fulton JE; Steps for Health Collaborative. Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. Lancet Public Health. 2022 Mar;7(3):e219-e228. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00302-9. PMID: 35247352; PMCID: PMC9289978.
Pedisic Z, Shrestha N, Kovalchik S, Stamatakis E, Liangruenrom N, Grgic J, Titze S, Biddle SJ, Bauman AE, Oja P. Is running associated with a lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, and is the more the better? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2020 Aug;54(15):898-905. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-100493. Epub 2019 Nov 4. PMID: 31685526.
Mandsager K, Harb S, Cremer P, Phelan D, Nissen SE, Jaber W. Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(6):e183605. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3605
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