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 EXERCISING FOR OPTIMAL HEART PROTECTION





You’ve probably heard the advice: get at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each week to keep your heart healthy. But what if that bar is actually set too low? A large new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests you might need far more movement to make a real dent in your risk for heart attack and stroke [BMJ, 2026].

Aiming Higher: Is 150 Minutes Enough?

The research, based on data from over 17,000 adults in the UK Biobank, found that the standard 150 minutes offers only a modest 8–9% reduction in cardiovascular risk. To see a more dramatic drop—a risk reduction of over 30%—participants needed to rack up 560 to 610 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous activity, such as brisk walking, running, or cycling. That’s nearly 9 to 10 hours every week, or about an hour and 20 minutes a day.

Only about 12% of people in the study met this higher target, meaning the vast majority aren’t getting the full protective effect that exercise can offer.

Fitness Level Matters

The study also found that personal fitness affects how much exercise you need. People with the lowest fitness levels had to do 30–50 minutes more exercise per week than the fittest folks to get the same cardiovascular benefit. For example, lower-fit individuals needed about 370 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity weekly for a 20% risk reduction, while the most fit achieved the same benefit with 340 minutes.

This finding, the authors note, highlights a steeper challenge for those starting from a lower baseline. Cardiorespiratory fitness, often measured by VO2 max, is a strong predictor of heart health—lower values have been linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and early death [BMJ, 2026].

How the Study Worked

Researchers tracked participants’ activity using wrist devices for a week and assessed fitness using a cycling test to estimate VO2 max. They also accounted for factors like smoking, alcohol use, diet, BMI, resting heart rate, and blood pressure.

Over almost eight years of follow-up, there were 1,233 cardiovascular events recorded, including atrial fibrillation, heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes.

What Does This Mean for You?

The takeaway: 150 minutes a week is a good start, but if you want the strongest protection for your heart, you may need to aim much higher. And if you’re not very fit, adding even more activity could help close the gap.

The study can’t prove that more exercise directly causes lower risk—after all, fitter people might have other healthy habits. The researchers also caution that their participants were mostly healthier and more active than the general population, and they didn’t measure the effects of lighter activities or time spent sitting.

Still, the results suggest that exercise guidelines could become more personalized, with higher targets for those looking for optimal heart protection—and different recommendations based on your fitness level [BMJ, 2026].

As the authors put it, “Future guidelines may need to differentiate between the minimal moderate-to-vigorous exercise volume required for a basic safety margin and the substantially higher volumes necessary for optimal cardiovascular risk reduction.”

References

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