Air date: October 23, 2011

Host: Barbara Lewis

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As you’ve probably heard, getting enough exercise is really important. But if you tried to follow all the guidelines and recommendations for cardio and building muscle and heart health and all the rest, you’d end up having to exercise several hours a day. Which is pretty much impossible for most people.

"So we’ve also made a recommendation that just doing some exercise, as much as you’re able to do, is helpful. So even if it’s only a few minutes each day, that can go a long way to improve your health and fitness."

That’s Carol Ewing-Garber, an associate professor of movement at Teachers College at Columbia University who wrote new exercise guidelines for the American College of Sports Medicine. Now, a few minutes of breaking a sweat may not sound like it would do much good. And it’s certainly better to get more exercise. But Ewing-Garber says that even just a little can go a long way.

"It’s pretty clear that some exercise is better than nothing. I think often people get discouraged because they don’t see any direct benefit immediately because so much happens inside of you that you don’t see the benefits. Very positive changes occur inside even after the first time you exercise, so the benefits are huge."

Benefits like lowering high blood pressure, improving heart health, and encouraging good mental health.

But unfortunately, Ewing-Garber says, many Americans don’t get even a minimal amount of exercise, let along the recommended 150 minutes a week.

Become a fan of Sound Medicine on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. I’m Jeremy Shere.

Additional Resources:

• Exercise guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine.