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An hour per week isn’t going to cut it. More regular physical activity is needed to keep the body and mind in good shape. In speaking with cardiologists, minimu

An hour per week isn’t going to cut it. More regular physical activity is needed to keep the body and mind in good shape. In speaking with cardiologists, minimum 30 minutes a day. Obviously if you’re strength training and lifting heavy you’re going above and beyond, so this is a loose recommendation for people who don’t. The body acclimatizes to “moderate intensity” quickly when you put it to the test. Let’s not toss the baby out with the bathwater. Awhile back on HN there was an article with a doctor who “prescribes” deadlifting, and I’ll butcher the quote but he says: “I would rather prescribe them an increase in deadlifting weight than an increased dose of blood pressure pills”. Leisure is good. Finding a breath of fresh air in physical activity is better.

dirtyid 7y ago
I think an hour a week is sufficient. For me the guideline for general population should be basically intermediate strength standards like the prescriptions by NASA, which are hilariously low but calibrated to maximize muscle retention, mission capability and most significantly reduce injury. Mission capability for gen pop is just to have enough muscle so you don't shatter your hips during a bad fall or injure yourself on rudimentary tasks (carrying your kids) that lead to expensive long term care. The NASA standard was something like bodyweight squats for 6-10s that most people should be able to cultivate quickly and maintain with minimal effort. The difference in space is they have to exercise for 2 hours a day to maintain muscle mass, but on earth you can crack out BW or 1.5xBW squats/deadlift and insipidly low bench/ohp for homework 3x10s in 30m sessions twice a week to maintain. The bar is exceedingly low. Of course that varies depending on genetics, but it's one of those situations where pareto principle comes into play. Cardio vascular health is different, but mostly it's a balance between NEAT, actual cardio and maintaining a healthy BMI, while strength training maintains an useful amount of muscle mass. Barbell Medicine podcast has a lot of good info on strength training + rehabilitation. It's geared towards the powerlifting crowd, but along your point, one of the broader prescriptions is that frequently movement and exercise is better at healing than pills or other medical interventions, but movement is very infrequently prescribed.
- eru 7y ago
  The minimum of 30 minutes is for lower intensity exercise. Like taking a walk. You can get pretty fit on two to three hours of barbell exercises a week like you describe. But it still helps to add a walk about every day to stay sane. And lowering the amount of time spent sitting on your butt seems to have a separate and independent effect from exercise.
  - dirtyid 7y ago
    I'm suggesting 2x30m of fullbody compound exercises twice a week for general population. Push/Pull/Legs using the least stressful lift variations per individual anthropometry for 3x10,8,6 reps with 2-3 minute rest is enough for most people to get 80% of where they need to be be if done consistently over time. Some sort of cardio for heart health. Low intensity (NEAT) activity + diet to manage weight to healthy BMI range. It's not training where you maximize personal potential, more exercise / going through the motions of the minimal routine for maximum benefit. It's not even designed to get people "fit" but just healthy enough to be preventative against diseases of affluence or common trauma like hip fractures that burdens health care and have disproportionate impact on quality of life. Also pour research into steroids, any low effort magic pill that enables people to retain lean mass later in life with minimal side affects.
    - eru 7y ago
      Yes. Lots of exercise regimes work to produce that kind of minimal level of fitness. At this level for the general population the challenge is to get people to stick to it, not so much exactly which exercise regime they are doing. VR games like Beat Saber might offer a reasonable chance to get people moving. Even the original Wii Sports had people get off their couch for a while.
eru 7y ago
Keep in mind that exercise seems to have a different and separate effect from eg cutting down the number of hours spend sitting around each week.
User23 7y ago
An hour a week of heavy (for the lifter’s current capability) deadlifting or squatting in three 20 minute sessions will definitely get serious results with good programming. One will see increases in muscle mass, bone density, and improved cardiovascular health from just that. Granted it would be beneficial to do more, but point is even an hour a week can be an effective training stimulus.

dirtyid 7y ago

I think an hour a week is sufficient. For me the guideline for general population should be basically intermediate strength standards like the prescriptions by NASA, which are hilariously low but calibrated to maximize muscle retention, mission capability and most significantly reduce injury. Mission capability for gen pop is just to have enough muscle so you don't shatter your hips during a bad fall or injure yourself on rudimentary tasks (carrying your kids) that lead to expensive long term care. The NASA standard was something like bodyweight squats for 6-10s that most people should be able to cultivate quickly and maintain with minimal effort. The difference in space is they have to exercise for 2 hours a day to maintain muscle mass, but on earth you can crack out BW or 1.5xBW squats/deadlift and insipidly low bench/ohp for homework 3x10s in 30m sessions twice a week to maintain. The bar is exceedingly low. Of course that varies depending on genetics, but it's one of those situations where pareto principle comes into play. Cardio vascular health is different, but mostly it's a balance between NEAT, actual cardio and maintaining a healthy BMI, while strength training maintains an useful amount of muscle mass. Barbell Medicine podcast has a lot of good info on strength training + rehabilitation. It's geared towards the powerlifting crowd, but along your point, one of the broader prescriptions is that frequently movement and exercise is better at healing than pills or other medical interventions, but movement is very infrequently prescribed.

eru 7y ago
The minimum of 30 minutes is for lower intensity exercise. Like taking a walk. You can get pretty fit on two to three hours of barbell exercises a week like you describe. But it still helps to add a walk about every day to stay sane. And lowering the amount of time spent sitting on your butt seems to have a separate and independent effect from exercise.
- dirtyid 7y ago
  I'm suggesting 2x30m of fullbody compound exercises twice a week for general population. Push/Pull/Legs using the least stressful lift variations per individual anthropometry for 3x10,8,6 reps with 2-3 minute rest is enough for most people to get 80% of where they need to be be if done consistently over time. Some sort of cardio for heart health. Low intensity (NEAT) activity + diet to manage weight to healthy BMI range. It's not training where you maximize personal potential, more exercise / going through the motions of the minimal routine for maximum benefit. It's not even designed to get people "fit" but just healthy enough to be preventative against diseases of affluence or common trauma like hip fractures that burdens health care and have disproportionate impact on quality of life. Also pour research into steroids, any low effort magic pill that enables people to retain lean mass later in life with minimal side affects.
  - eru 7y ago
    Yes. Lots of exercise regimes work to produce that kind of minimal level of fitness. At this level for the general population the challenge is to get people to stick to it, not so much exactly which exercise regime they are doing. VR games like Beat Saber might offer a reasonable chance to get people moving. Even the original Wii Sports had people get off their couch for a while.

eru 7y ago

Keep in mind that exercise seems to have a different and separate effect from eg cutting down the number of hours spend sitting around each week.

User23 7y ago

An hour a week of heavy (for the lifter’s current capability) deadlifting or squatting in three 20 minute sessions will definitely get serious results with good programming. One will see increases in muscle mass, bone density, and improved cardiovascular health from just that. Granted it would be beneficial to do more, but point is even an hour a week can be an effective training stimulus.