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How much work do you need to do to build a fit and healthy body? Not as much as you think, according to experts
A little can go a long way if you box smart, says Harry Bullmore, who investigates the ‘minimum effective dose’ – or the least amount of work you need to do to achieve a good healthy outcome
Chances are, you’re incredibly busy. Most people are always on their smartphones, providing an ever-present tether to work. Add this to all your other commitments and it’s no wonder fitness is falling down the pecking order.
As a result, the blanket prescriptions of 10,000 steps a day, eight hours of sleep each night, home-cooked meals where possible and hour-long gym sessions read like a pipe dream for most. So, how much time and effort do you really need to commit if you want to maintain a fit and functional body for decades to come?
According to experts, it could be less than you think. More is generally better (sleep, exercise, daily steps etc.), but most people can achieve impressive results by adopting just a few sustainable healthy behaviours.
Walking
Walking 10,000 steps a day is seen as a holy grail of health by some. And while moving this much is going to do your health plenty of favours, the number itself has “no scientific basis”, according to a 2023 study led by the University of Granada.
This research instead concludes that 8,000 is “the optimal number of [daily] steps at which most people obtain the greatest benefits”, and “the pace at which you walk provides additional benefits” – walking faster can deliver more health perks.
Further research, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, identified “a significant inverse association between daily step count and all-cause mortality... with the more the better over the cut-off point of 3,867 steps per day for all-cause mortality and only 2,337 steps for cardiovascular mortality [death related to diseases of the heart or blood vessels]”. These totals are some way short of 10,000 steps per day, but still have plenty to offer.
The research also showed that “a 1,000-step increment [or increase in your number of daily steps] correlated with a significant reduction of all-cause mortality of 15 per cent, and similarly, a 500-step increment correlated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality of 7 per cent”.
This suggests that even a small increase in the amount you move each day can have significant health benefits. Rather than aiming for 10,000 steps per day, try looking at your average daily step count on your phone and then increasing this by 10 per cent, slowly building over time towards the 8,000 steps per day sweet spot.
Actionable takeaways:
- As few as 2,337 steps per day have been linked to significant health benefits. “Every move counts towards better health,” as the World Health Organisation has previously stated
- Small increases in the amount you walk or move each day can have a positive impact. Try looking at your average daily step count on your phone, then attempting to increase this by 10 per cent month on month to encourage a more active lifestyle
- A more active lifestyle can be achieved through subtle changes like choosing a parking space slightly further from the supermarket or swapping the elevator for the stairs
- When walking, try to maintain a higher cadence (>100 steps per minute) where possible for maximum benefits
Read more: Why you get headaches when you exercise, despite drinking water
Strength training
According to Dr Richard Blagrove, a senior lecturer in physiology at Loughborough University, strength training offers more bang for your buck than any other exercise modality. If you want to make a difference to your health and have limited time to exercise, this should be your priority.
“The evidence suggests that lifting weights regularly [a couple of times per week] has the most benefits because it improves body composition, muscle mass, cognitive function, metabolic processes, mobility and glucose homeostasis, which is linked to risk of type two diabetes,” Dr Blagrove says.
“The only parameter of fitness that tends not to change is cardiorespiratory function, which aerobic-based exercise is needed for.”
He adds that strength and muscle size can be “maintained on one resistance training session per week, and one set per exercise, if intensity of exercise is high for up to 32 weeks”.
These sessions don’t have to be particularly long either, but intensity needs to be high for maximum results. In practice, this means you should be performing a strength training exercise, like a press-up or squat, with good form until your muscles fatigue to the point that you are involuntarily forced to slow down.
But if you only have 10-20 minutes to exercise, twice per week, what strength training workout should you choose?
Esteemed strength coach Dan John works on the foundational principle that “the body is one piece”, and prescribes full-body workouts as a time-savvy way to train. This way, each major muscle group will still be worked fairly frequently.
John adds that you can start with just three exercises – the kettlebell swing, goblet squat and press-up – which can easily be done at home with just one kettlebell.
“To me, 75 swings, 15 goblet squats and 15 press-ups per session circles that perfect volume load for a new person who’s in some kind of shape,” he tells me. “The humane burpee is the best single-kettlebell workout. You do 15 swings, five goblet squats and five push-ups, then 15 swings, four goblet squats and four push-ups, and so on until you reach zero.
“You get sweaty. You’re getting stronger. You’re going to become a little more mobile. Every quality you want to chase is going to be in there somehow.”
Actionable takeaways:
- Just one strength training session per week, and one high-effort set per exercise, is believed to maintain strength and muscle size
- Two sessions per week can trigger improvements in body composition, glucose homeostasis, cognitive function, metabolic processes and mobility
- Sessions don’t have to be long, but intensity (effort) needs to be high
- Focus on full-body workouts for maximum efficiency
Read more: Protein is being added to yoghurt, bread and coffee. We might have gone too far
Cardiovascular exercise
According to Dr Blagrove, cardiorespiratory function is one of the only factors that lifting weights is unlikely to have much impact on. For this reason, some form of cardiovascular exercise each week is recommended.
This can be walking, or something at a faster pace like running, cycling or swimming if you have the capacity. And again, especially for someone who lives a fairly sedentary lifestyle, sessions don’t have to be particularly long to have an impact.
Most evidence points towards two sessions per week, each lasting roughly 13-26 minutes, which can maintain fitness in trained individuals for four months if intensity is appropriate, Dr Blagrove says. Logic dictates that the benefits of this for untrained individuals (those who don’t regularly exercise) are likely to be far greater.
Actionable takeaways:
- Short bouts of cardiovascular exercise, once or twice per week, can be used to maintain or improve your cardiorespiratory fitness (depending on your existing fitness level)
- Cardiovascular exercise can be any rhythmic activity that raises the heart rate. Walking is an excellent entry point, and for further fitness progress, more intense activities such as running, cycling and swimming should be considered
Sleep
But while a chorus of 6am alarms stops many from improving their sleep quantity, there are a few sleep tricks you can use to improve your sleep quality, with purported benefits including better appetite regulation, improvements in heart disease risk factors and a welcome boost for your immune system.
These tips, from The Sleep Scientist founder Dr Sophie Bostock, are listed below.
Actionable takeaways:
- Establish a regular sleep schedule if possible, or at least aim to stick to consistent sleep and/or wake times as much as you can
- Leave at least two hours between your last meal and bedtime, and avoid caffeine in the eight hours before sleep
- Leave your phone outside the bedroom at night if possible. If not, place it on do not disturb, don’t use screens after your set bedtime and swap social media for less engaging activities like TV in the hours before bed
- Keep lights low in your house in the evening. Dr Bostock recommends lighting a candle with dinner to signify the start of this
- Expose yourself to lots of natural light shortly after you wake up, and try to work in a well-lit area during the day
- Destress before bed using methods such as to-do lists, journaling, mindfulness, meditation and practising gratitude – use trial and error to find a relaxation technique that works for you
Read more: These are the 13 best men’s gym trainers you can buy, according to our expert tester
Diet
Adopting achievable healthy habits can be a more sustainable way to achieve long-term health.
“The majority of diets fail long term,” says Fat Loss Habits author Ben Carpenter. “Most people who go on a diet will stop following that diet within six to nine months. That’s very well backed up by research. The majority of people who lose weight will regain a lot of that weight over the course of the first few months or years.”
For this reason, he recommends swapping restrictive diets for a selection of sustainable habits to give yourself the best chance at long-term health and successful weight management.
These habits, listed below, are individualised – some will work for you, some won’t. The idea is to find those that do and stick with them, because any positive behavioural change performed consistently over time is bound to have an impact. However, of all the habits Carpenter suggests, one rules supreme.
“Focus on adding in nutritious foods because they have a habit of displacing other foods out of your diet,” he says. Appetite is finite, so by eating more nutritious foods, you are likely to consume fewer less nutritious, calorie-dense offerings. This can reduce your daily calorie intake without the need for a strict diet, tracking or calorie counting.
“When I say focus on more nutritious foods, these are often foods which tend to be slightly less processed,” Carpenter adds. “For example, fruits and vegetables, lean proteins [white fish, white meat, soy, tofu], beans, lentils and wholegrains. Even things like rice and oats as opposed to doughnuts, pancakes and waffles.”
Actionable takeaways:
- Prioritise nutritious, lower-energy density foods, including fruits and vegetables, adequate protein and fibre
- Prioritise lower-calorie drinks and lower your alcohol intake
- Eat without distractions and slow down your eating speed. A 2006 study found that “television viewing increases intake of high-density foods”, with participants eating 71 per cent more macaroni and cheese in a 30-minute window while sitting in front of a screen than they did while listening to a symphony
- Create a food environment conducive to positive choices. You’re more likely to eat foods that are easier to access, so fill your fridge, cupboards, workplace and even your work bag with nutritious options
Read more: You need much more protein than you think and here’s how to get it
Summary
- Try to include a small amount of resistance training a couple of times per week
- Attempt a couple of exercise or physical activity sessions that are more aerobic in nature a couple of times per week (walking, running, cycling, swimming or even sports). These do not need to be long for minimum benefits – only about 10 minutes
- Aim to increase your average daily step count by 10 per cent, maintaining a brisk pace where possible
- Establish a regular sleep routine if you can, keeping lights in your home low in the evening, avoiding caffeine in the eight hours before bed, eating dinner at least two hours before bed and getting plenty of natural light shortly after waking
- Focus on adding nutritious foods to your diet. These will often displace less nutritious foods without you even realising, as appetite is finite
But when considering the “minimum effective dose” – the minimum amount of work you need to do to achieve a certain outcome – for getting and staying in shape, Dr Blagrove says to be aware that the term is somewhat outdated.
Why? Because the latest research suggests that “even doing very small amounts of exercise or physical activity is beneficial for health, but more is better for us”.
“For example, even burning 500 kcal per week shows reductions in risk of mortality compared to being completely inactive [as shown in a study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine],” he says.
For this reason, his foundational message is to find a sport, exercise or physical activity you enjoy, then stick with it.
“Doing a small amount of something active most days, long term, is better than trying to do excessive amounts short term then quitting because it feels like a chore or is too difficult to achieve,” he adds.
The same applies to sleep and diet. Aim for positive long-term behaviours, rather than unsustainable changes in the short term, to see consistent results.
As Carpenter says: “Being consistently good for 12 months will be a lot better for your health than being perfect for one month, then stopping because you can’t maintain that level of perfection.”
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