How much exercise do you need each week—and does walking even count? Here’s what experts say (FortuneWell.)

Posted: Aug 12, 2023 in In the News

This article originally appeared in FortuneWell. on August 12, 2023.

 

How much exercise do you need each week—and does walking even count? Here’s what experts say

By Erin Prater

Am I getting enough exercise each week? Is walking too leisurely to count? The questions lurk in the back of many of our minds—and here are the answers, according to two experts Fortune spoke to.

For adults 18-64 years old, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least 150 minutes each week of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75-minutes each week of vigorous-intensity activity, along with two days of muscle strengthening.

Some further tailored recommendations from the CDC:

 • Adults ages 65 and older should add to this routine activities to improve balance, such as standing on one foot. 

 • Adults with chronic health conditions and disabilities should get 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, with two days a week of muscle-strengthening work. 

 • Pregnant and postpartum women should get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, with no muscle-strengthening or balance work.

 

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Don’t be discouraged if your walking is more leisurely, Cedric Bryant, president and chief science officer of the nonprofit American Council on Exercise, tells Fortune. The activity “is oftentimes a person’s entry point into developing a regular, more robust” exercise routine. 

It’s “so accessible for everyone,” he says. “It doesn’t require any special instruction, and you don’t have to invest in a lot of expensive equipment.”

He encourages leisurely strollers wanting to step up their game to try “speed play,” which involves walking more briskly for short intervals, perhaps from one stop sign to the next. Walk at a leisurely pace for five to 10 minutes and then repeat, he recommends.

“That will serve a lot of people well,” he says.