Exercise Quantity

This is a point of great contention. Here in the Netherlands, there are several “exercise guidelines” (“beweegrichtlijnen”). Over the years, they’ve constantly been updated, as more research appeared and society changed.

Many people use this as a reason to say “they’re rubbish, they don’t know what they’re saying”. This is never an argument. Science always advances and develops, either proving ideas from the past or disproving them. In general, these guidelines are a great rule of thumb for 99% of the people.

When I explained to people that I try to exercise 30+ minutes every day, they’d call me crazy or insane. “That’s way too much, that’s terrible for your body!” I thought they were insane. I only felt benefits from this habit, even after 20+ years of doing it. While they were often tired, sick, unfocused, uncoordinated … I felt fine.

When I did the research—to prove they were wrong, obviously—all medical research supported me. In fact, what I did seemed like the bare minimum.

So, how often should you exercise?

Minimum guidelines

These are the guidelines of which I’m aware. These are minimums. Doing more is allowed and even advised, but this is the bare minimum.

Dutch Norm Healthy Fitness: at least 5 times a week, perform exercise of moderate intensity for 30 minutes

Fit norm: at least 3 times a week, perform exercise of high intensity for 20 minutes

Strength norm: at least twice a week, perform ~10 exercises for strength with ~10 repetitions.

Elderly norm: for the ages of 65+, regularly do balance training, also to reduce the risk of falling

Child fitness: children should just exercise as much as possible, preferably at least 1 hour every day.

You might have questions.

• What is “moderate intensity”? Your heart rate goes up and you might sweat a little. But it’s not exhausting, tiring, or asking everything of you.
• What is “high intensity”? High heart rate, quick breathing, sweating, and exercise that challenges you and will lead to exhaustion over time. (You cannot go from “passive” to “high intensity” immediately. This state can only be reached after some warm-up and real challenge.)

These norms target slightly different types of exercise: strength, cardio and coordination. Next chapter talks about this more in-depth.

But the general picture is clear: exercise 30+ minutes every day, and you should be just above the minimum.

This might shock you. As stated, many people think this is insane. There’s this general idea that “exercising is only for those that like it or need it”. The idea of “if you go to the gym once or twice a month, you’ll be fine”.

This is not true, and demonstrably so. At least try to hit the norms above. It will ensure you stay fit and healthy all your life. There’s no need to be bodybuilder or professional athlete—and these norms surely won’t make that happen. It’s the bare minimum for general fitness and optimal body behavior.

But how? I’m busy!

The short answer is: make time. I’ve explained many benefits of exercising, and downsides of not doing so (correctly), which should be quite convincing. Even then, I’ve only scratched the surface. Health and exercise is too important.

Yes, it’s even more important than something like “spending time with your kids”. Why? If you destroy your health, you won’t be able to spend time with your kids in a few years time. A harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless. Keep your health up, exercise enough, and everything else comes later.

But, alright, let’s be a bit more nuanced. I can understand the lack of time or energy. When I went to university, I’d have long days from 8 AM to 5 or 6 PM. At home, I needed to work and study even more. (It’s absolutely ridiculous and should really change, but that’s another story.)

How did I manage this?

Active lifestyle

This is why I mention this again and again!

Here in the Netherlands, we cycle to everything. Even if I’d spent all day sitting and studying, I would still cycle for ~60 minutes to get to and from university. When studying at home, I’d make sure to stand, to take walks, to do small exercises, to keep up the habit of exercising.

Design your lifestyle, around your schedule, to promote physical activity. This way, you will already exercise a lot during the day. Without even knowing it!

Health leads to performance

Health leads to performance. It all comes back to this.

Let’s say you have an hour of time in the evening. You could study (or work) for an hour. You could also exercise for an hour. You could to 30 minutes of each. Which one is most beneficial?

Research shows that cramming, or studying for longer periods when you’re already tired, has no use whatsoever. None. Studies show nog significant difference in performance between those who keep studying late into the night, and those that do not do so at all.

It also shows that exercise increases your memory, attention span, focus and mental stamina.

Clearly, the best thing is to quickly glance at your study material … and then just go outside or exercise.

This isn’t some theoretical knowledge. I did this.

I am officially a Mathematical Engineer. That is a tough, tough subject to study. I hated it and have no talent for it whatsoever. But I got my degree, with pretty decent grades.

I barely spent time sitting down and studying. I always made a quick summary of the subject, and then just exercised, walked around, took breaks to do some physical activity. When I could not do so, and had no choice but to study for longer, I always performed worse.

Conclusion

Try to get 30+ minutes of moderate-high intensity exercise per day. Next chapter will discuss the several different types you can use to vary this schedule. (So it doesn’t get boring or repetitive.)

This is a minimum guideline, backed by all the science we have. Do not think that you do not need it, or that it’s only for professional athletes. It’s a minimum for everyone. At least try to reach that.

And thatt doesn’t mean you have to do so right now. You can build up to it. Start exercising slightly more. Go to the gym one more day of the week. Take tiny steps to slowly build those habits.

And finally, school or work usually—sadly—leads to terrible habits for your health. Many children are taught that school should be number 1. It’s not. It’s really, really, really not.

Health is number one. Move everything else around to get your exercise. And yes, this will feel bad, or strange, or like a bad decision.

But within a short time, you will reap the rewards. You actually have more stamina, more energy, better results. And you can keep doing this for years and years, without destroying your health.

Any time I lost to exercising (instead of studying), I could recover because of the extra energy and motivation I regained.

Yes, exercise takes time, but it gives back even more time.