Thinking about exercising? It could be that the intensity of your workout is as important, if not more so, than its duration. At least, that’s what a new study has concluded. Published online in JAMA Internal Medicine, the study looked at data on 204,542 adults aged 45 to 75. After adjusting for total activity (moderate to vigourous), as well as other lifestyle factors, researchers found that vigourous activity (such as jogging, aerobics, or competitive tennis) was associated with a lower risk of death. In particular, people who reported some vigourous activity had a 9% lower risk compared to people who reported no vigourous activity at all. People who reported that more than 30% of their activity was vigourous had a 13% lower risk of death. The findings, which are consistent with other research showing the benefits of high-intensity, short duration workouts, suggest that you can get the benefits of exercise without worrying (as much) about blocking out huge chunks of your time for the gym.

Source: JAMA Internal Medicine