Current exercise guidelines are too low, suggest researchers Less fit individuals need to do more exercise to get the same benefits Adults should aim to do between 560 and 610 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity to achieve a substantial reduction in the risk of heart attacks and stroke, suggest the findings
It’s not really that surprising. Why would a living thing want to exert itself for no real reward? I think biologically we want to conserve as much energy as possible.
It’s only with modern medicine that we can analyze cause/effect and say “work out X hours to receive Y benefit in your later years.” There are short term rewards to exercising, ie endorphins or “runner’s high” but I am guessing those are just hardwired rewards our brain gave us when we had to chase our food down for miles.
2 hours a day is a lot. Most of us do not live in a world where thats possible; between working, cooking, cleaning, sleeping, hobbies, down time, there’s just not enough time to do it all. I can empathize with the researcher’s quest to prove a “one-size fits-all” doesn’t really work but who is actually surprised by that? All this article does is depress people that already feel hopeless. Keep doing whatever exercise you can, listen to your body, and just try to find some happiness in this world. Physical activity is a great way to do it, but if I have some set expectation that I have to meet it becomes a lot less fun and more like any other chore.
my point is that we’ve just internalized this as normal. that it seems like such an insurmountable chore to even go on a bike ride or hike or maintain a garden or building project is sad to me as well. i grew up in a culture that absolutely hated any form of exercise, and i watched a lot of people live absolutely miserable, short lives because of it. i’ve put a ton of effort into rejecting that lifestyle, and i recognize that as a privilege.
i don’t think it’s so natural for beings to optimize their effort to zero. dogs will chew through cages or self harm. and i’ve seen humans who, without stimulus, will act similarly.
It’s not really that surprising. Why would a living thing want to exert itself for no real reward? I think biologically we want to conserve as much energy as possible.
It’s only with modern medicine that we can analyze cause/effect and say “work out X hours to receive Y benefit in your later years.” There are short term rewards to exercising, ie endorphins or “runner’s high” but I am guessing those are just hardwired rewards our brain gave us when we had to chase our food down for miles.
2 hours a day is a lot. Most of us do not live in a world where thats possible; between working, cooking, cleaning, sleeping, hobbies, down time, there’s just not enough time to do it all. I can empathize with the researcher’s quest to prove a “one-size fits-all” doesn’t really work but who is actually surprised by that? All this article does is depress people that already feel hopeless. Keep doing whatever exercise you can, listen to your body, and just try to find some happiness in this world. Physical activity is a great way to do it, but if I have some set expectation that I have to meet it becomes a lot less fun and more like any other chore.
my point is that we’ve just internalized this as normal. that it seems like such an insurmountable chore to even go on a bike ride or hike or maintain a garden or building project is sad to me as well. i grew up in a culture that absolutely hated any form of exercise, and i watched a lot of people live absolutely miserable, short lives because of it. i’ve put a ton of effort into rejecting that lifestyle, and i recognize that as a privilege.
i don’t think it’s so natural for beings to optimize their effort to zero. dogs will chew through cages or self harm. and i’ve seen humans who, without stimulus, will act similarly.