Hearty Truth.

One of the best attributes of most great athletes is having a solid cardiovascular system. It bleeds into nearly every facet of sport and competition.
One of the best attributes of most who live longer and healthier lives…?
Same thing.

Cardiovascular disease affects about 48.6% of US adults. Then you have coronary heart disease, which impacts roughly 7.1% (about 20.5 million) of adults.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, responsible for 1 in 5 (about 22%) of all deaths.

So an American Heart Association Circulation study tracked over 116,000 adults across 30 years and found that doing two to four times the recommended aerobic minimums lowered mortality risk substantially. People hitting 300 to 599 minutes of moderate activity a week saw 26 to 31% lower all-cause mortality and 28 to 38% lower cardiovascular mortality. Same story on the vigorous side: 150 to 299 minutes a week dropped all-cause mortality 21 to 23% and cardiovascular mortality 27 to 33%.

The nice part is that combining both levels of intensity will give you close to the same results. Meaning you don’t have to be hitting 600 minutes of steady state carido work every week. Any mix of medium to high moderate (150 to 600 minutes) and vigorous (75 to 300 minutes) activity delivered close to the max reduction of all-cause mortality, around 35 to 42%.
However, per the study if you're already hitting the 600 minutes plus of moderate work, stacking on more vigorous activity doesn't add much more. But again, if your moderate volume is low, vigorous work can help pick up the slack. Especially for those with busier schedules, or just aren’t as fond of aerobic training. And if you're currently inactive, even modest increases (75 to 150 minutes vigorous, or 150 to 300 moderate) will still push you towards these benefits.

Other than heart disease, in a JAMA Oncology study they found that even short bursts of vigorous activity (one to two minutes of fast walking or stair climbing) worked into your day regularly, were linked to lower cancer risk.
So don’t count out that one co-worker who insist on taking the stairs for the benefits… it doesn't always need to be structured training to make a difference.

The point I’m trying to get across:
The physical activity guidelines are not a ceiling... they are the floor.
This is if you are an athlete, weight lifter, or someone trying to figure out where to start. Get moving.

Get moving. Daily. Even if it’s for 20 minutes.