What’s in style? The question doesn’t just relate to fashion. Indeed, even exercise styles go in and out of vogue, echoing trends fueled by social media and other cultural drivers.
Case in point: high-intensity bursts of exercise have grabbed headlines over the past couple of years, with scientists generating an array of studies examining the health benefits of short spurts of movement lasting from one to three minutes. That might consist of jumping jacks, lunges, running in place, jumping rope, air boxing, running up stairs, or any other high-intensity activity.
Meanwhile, plenty of research continues to focus on the health advantages of moderate-intensity, continuous movement. Mainstay choices for these sessions include brisk walking, cycling, jogging, and elliptical and treadmill use.
Given the swings in popularity between the differently paced alternatives, perhaps the most pressing question is which one is better for us. It might seem certain exercise patterns might prove superior to others, but we should resist the temptation to believe that, says Dr. Meagan Wasfy, a sports cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
“There are always trends, and each one claims to be the latest and best way to move your body,” Dr. Wasfy says.
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Breaking down the data
What health benefits does each approach offer? A sampling of recent studies and official health guidance weighs in.
Evidence supporting exercise bursts includes the following:
A 2022 analysis of data collected on more than 25,200 people who didn’t otherwise exercise (average age 62, 56% women) published in Nature Medicine found that those who routinely did brief bursts of vigorous activity — defined as three bouts, each lasting a minute or two — had significantly lower odds of dying or developing cardiovascular disease over the following seven years than participants who didn’t.
A 2023 analysis in JAMA Oncology of more than 22,000 people who didn’t exercise (average age 62, 55% women) suggested that even short, intermittent periods of intense movement — a minute at a time, three or four times a day — was linked with 18% lower cancer risk over the following 6.7 years, especially for cancers of the breast, uterus, or colon.
Evidence supporting longer, moderate-intensity exercise includes the following:
Adults who do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous exercise derive health benefits, including reducing their risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer, according to the CDC.
A 2022 analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine involving 78,000 people (average age 61, 55% women) found their risk of heart disease, cancer, and premature death dropped by 10% over the following seven years for every 2,000 steps they logged each day, with the benefit peaking at 10,000 steps.
Sense a theme from the findings? Regardless of intensity, it’s apparent that any movement is good for your health.
“No one comes out ahead with regards to the long-term outcomes,” Dr. Wasfy says. “What matters most is moving your body and doing more of it. The sum of movement, over the course of a year or decades of your life, is what matters.”
Exercise caveats
One clear advantage to exercise bursts — or its cousin, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) — is that any high-intensity activity enables you to fulfill recommended exercise guidelines in less time. Health organizations advise adults to get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (or some equivalent combination of the two) per week. For an HIIT workout, you alternate vigorous, short sprints with brief periods of rest or lower-intensity movement.
“It’s a time-efficient way to get your recommended exercise dose in less time,” Dr. Wasfy says.
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High-intensity exercise does pose a few drawbacks, however. These include a greater risk of injuries and inflammation to joints and muscles. Additionally, for people with heart disease or its risk factors, sudden bursts of exercise could be more likely to bring on new cardiac symptoms.
“If you’re writing an exercise prescription not knowing anything about someone’s health history, you’d write it for moderate-intensity, continuous exercise,” Dr. Wasfy says.
If you’d like to increase your exercise intensity but have existing heart disease — or symptoms such as chest pain with vigorous movement — talk to your doctor in advance. Older adults who’ve noticed their ability to exercise has declined should also speak up.
Ultimately, Dr. Wasfy says, you should choose a style of exercise you really like — and will do consistently — and disregard fitness trends. “If you’re healthy,” she says, “it’s really your choice.”
Sheridan Smith does not mess about when it comes to overhauling her body for acting roles. Back in 2019, she revealed she had lost two stone while performing in West End production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat and now, the 44-year-old is training for her part in ITV mystery thriller, Two Birds.
To help her achieve her goals, she recruited personal trainer and founder of 1st Class Bootcamp Tom Brown earlier this year. ‘The focus is on building her a strong, fit, healthy body that can perform under pressure,’ Tom tells Women’s Health UK. ‘It’s about improving strength, body composition (so, helping her burn fat and build muscle) and overall wellbeing – physically and mentally, rather than chasing extremes.’
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The pair strength train together four-five times a week, and there’s one key element to Sheridan’s programme: progressive overload. ‘Sheridan had trained before,’ Tom tells us. ‘But this approach to strength training is far more structured as we practice a clear, repeatable system which involves increasing the intensity week on week (a.k.a. progressive overload), usually by upping the weight she lifts in each exercise.
‘We also implement one strict rest day a week, as recovery is where your muscles have the time to grow back stronger and adapt, meaning she can lift heavier next time. It’s about doing the right exercises well – and doing them repeatedly. There are no quick fixes.’
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While Sheridan’s programme involves a mix of strength training, cardio and mobility, strength is the priority. ‘This is how Sheridan can build muscle as the stress that weight training places on your muscles forces them to adapt and grow back stronger,’ Tom explains.
Below, Tom shares the exact 45-minute lower-body strength workout Sheridan does every Monday.
A quick caveat: transforming your body composition isn’t driven by exercise or nutrition alone. To build muscle and burn fat, Tom says Sheridan also follows a high-protein diet, drinks 2-3L water daily, prioritises sleep and recovery, and limits toxins through alcohol, sugar and highly processed food.
Sheridan Smith’s 45-minute lower-body workout
Warm-up and activation (8–10 minutes)
This is designed to activate the glutes and posterior chain (the muscles on the back of your body) before adding weight.
Do: 2-3 rounds with minimal rest between exercises and rounds
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Glute bridges: 15 x reps
Single-leg glute bridges: 10 reps x each side
Dorsal raises: 12–15 x reps
Clamshells: 12–15 reps x each side
Main strength workout (40 minutes)
Barbell back squat: take 3 seconds to lower, pause for 1 second, then extend to stand in 1 second. Do: 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps, resting for 90 seconds between sets. Home workout alternative: dumbbell front-rack squats
Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat. Do: 3 sets of 12-14 reps per leg, resting for 75-90 seconds between sets
Dumbbell straight-leg deadlifts. Do: 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps per leg, resting for 90 seconds between sets
Hamstring curl machine. Do: 3 sets of 12-15 reps, resting for 45-75 seconds between sets. Home workout alternative: Stability ball hamstring curl/dumbbell glute bridge
Seated leg curl (single leg). Do: 3 sets of 12-15 reps, resting for 60 seconds between sets. Home workout alternative: Dumbbell glute bridge (heels close to glutes)
Dumbbell weighted step-ups. Do: 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps, resting for 60-90 seconds between sets. Home workout tip: Use a sturdy chair or stairs if no access to a bench
Cool down:
Forward fold into half lift: 4-5 breaths
Low lunge hip flexor stretch: 30 secs x each side
Transition to hamstring stretch: 30 secs x each side
Downward dog: 4-5 breaths, gently pedalling the heels
Pigeon pose: 30-45 secs x each side
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Sheridan Smith’s weekly workout routine
Monday: 45-60 mins strength training (lower-body focus)
Tuesday: 30-45 mins low-impact cardio + core work + mobility
Wednesday: 45-60 mins strength training (upper-body push/pull focus)
Thursday: Active recovery (walking, mobility, light movement)
Friday: 45-60 mins full-body strength + conditioning
Saturday: Outdoor movement (long walk, hike or steady cardio)
Sunday: Full rest and recovery
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
Short, no-equipment workouts are racking up billions of views as consumers ditch traditional gym routines for fast, accessible fitness that fits into everyday life
Gym membership might be at an all-time high, but there’s a whole population of people going after their workout goals without a a traditional location or routine.
Just as people are drawn to short-form content on social media, they’re also gravitating toward short-form fitness — also known as “exercise snacks.”
Data from AI-powered analytics platform Virlo scoured more than 1,000 online videos with more than 2.2 billion views, finding that 5–15 minute routines on social media are outperforming traditional gym content, achieving higher engagement as they lower friction and make fitness feel immediately achievable.
Over three-quarters (76%) of trending fitness content across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube was no-equipment workouts that catered to audiences short on time, the report found.
Within that content, videos pushing specific body part targeting and transformation — especially abs, glutes and arms — had three to five times more engagement, while phrases like “no equipment,” “home workout” and “do anywhere” amplified shares. Videos that promised results within a certain number of days or expressed urgency (“lose fat fast” or “10 days to abs”) also saw higher views, especially repeat visits.
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The trend reflects a broader shift online toward low-commitment, accessible and quick-results fitness that can seamlessly fit into the confines of everyday life. The videos are typically being posted by “micro-creators” without huge followings who post relatively simple routines.
These mini workouts appeal to the ubiquitous desire for instant gratification, while reducing the intimidation of structured gym routines, potentially increasing the chance of people who might not work out at all engaging in some form of exercise.
While the credibility of these creators’ claims to transform body composition in short windows with these movements is up unknown, there is science backing the effectiveness of exercise snacks.
A meta-analysis from last year found that short, structured bouts of movement — about five minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise — significantly improved cardiovascular fitness in adults, and slightly improved endurance among older adults, supporting the idea that any movement is better than none, especially if it lowers the barrier to entry to exercise.
Elaine LaLanne is spending the days since her 100th birthday with the same healthy habits she’s been cultivating for decades: exercising every day and eating a nutritious diet.
She starts each morning with abdominal exercises, leg lifts and and pushups, noting she’s “very strong in the core.”
The widow of famed fitness guru Jack LaLanne credits her husband for turning her life around. He hosted the first TV exercise show starting in the 1950s and has been called the “father of the modern fitness movement.”
She recalls initially dismissing him as “this muscle man” when they first met in 1951 — LaLanne booked him to perform pushups during a TV program she was producing — but becoming intrigued by his healthy lifestyle.
At 100, Elaine LaLanne still works out every day. She was born on March 19, 1926.
“I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t met Jack LaLanne. I was always eating chocolate donuts and smoking cigarettes and eating candy bars for lunch,” the centenarian, who lives in California, tells TODAY.com.
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“He told me, ‘You should be eating apples and bananas and oranges.’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ Then I changed my tune, and I’ve been a convert ever since. I know that’s why I lived to be 100.”
She stopped smoking, started eating healthier and began exercising. The couple married in 1959. She says most women didn’t work out in those days, but the “The Jack LaLanne Show” got many female viewers interested in exercise.
Elaine LaLanne was a regular part of the program, and became an author and public speaker, touting the benefits of exercise and good nutrition and earning the nickname “The first lady of fitness.”
The LaLannes, aka “the father of modern fitness” and the “first lady of fitness.”
She was married to Jack LaLanne until his death at 96 in 2011.
The Health & Fitness Association inducted the couple into its Hall of Fame in March.
Here are Elaine LaLanne’s simple tips for living a long and healthy life:
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Exercise Every Day
The centenarian has been exercising daily for most of her life.
At 100, before LaLanne gets out of bed, she still does 20 “jackknife” ab exercises every day, a routine she’s followed for years. The core workout involves starting in a lying position, then lifting the torso and legs at the same time, ending up in a V-shaped position.
She also does leg lifts and other leg exercises while lying down, then gets up to do pushups against a wall or sink.
When LaLanne was younger, she used to be able to do 50 full-body pushups. She also worked out with weights and used a treadmill. Her workout sessions usually lasted 30 minutes.
Swimming was another favorite form of exercise. “Jack said swimming is probably one of the best all over exercises one can do,” she notes. Swimming is one of the best sports for a long healthy life, studies confirm.
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Elaine LaLanne in 2016.
Eat a Healthy Diet
LaLanne doesn’t follow any particular eating plan, like the Mediterranean diet or a low-carb diet. She calls her approach “just plain old watching what you want to put in your mouth.”
When you eat, ask yourself: “What is this going to do for me?” she advises.
Her typical breakfast might be yogurt mixed with protein powder and topped with blueberries, strawberries and other fruit. She’s never been a coffee drinker, so she prefers to have a cup of cocoa. Cocoa has antioxidant properties, enhances cognition and boosts positive mood, studies have found.
For dinner, she loves to eat salmon or chicken, but otherwise doesn’t consume a lot of meat. The rest of her plate is filled with a lot of vegetables, plus rice or potatoes.
“I love potatoes. I grew up in the Midwest, and I’m still a potato lover,” she says. “It’s just simple, simple things. I eat like most people.”
She eats just enough so that her stomach is full without overindulging.
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Live Life in Moderation
Her husband was extremely disciplined and didn’t eat dessert, opting for fruit and figs to satisfy any sugar cravings.
She followed suit and didn’t have any cake or ice cream for decades, but then rebelled.
Elaine and Jack LaLanne.
“I said, ‘Jack, I’m 80 years old, and if I want a piece of cake, I want to have a piece of cake,’” she recalled.
“One candy bar is not going to kill you. … When you overindulge, that’s the downfall. And if you just have a little of this, a little of that, it’s not going to kill you. That’s what I believe.”
She has the same approach to alcohol, enjoying an occasional glass of wine.
Be Consistent
Jack LaLanne said, “It’s not what you do some of the time that counts. It’s what you do most of the time,” his wife points out.
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She sums up her own philosophy as the acronym ARCH.
A for attitude.
R for resistance — “If you resist that muscle, it’s going to work for you. If you resist the food that’s undermining your health, you’re going to be healthier,” she says.
C for consistency.
H for harmony.
Mark Wahlberg has plans to make a documentary about the LaLannes.
Think Positive
“I’m a very positive person, and I don’t let anything bother me,” LaLanne says.
“If people could get rid of negativity, they would be a lot happier.”
Her husband encouraged that mindset, always reminding the family, “We do not talk negative in this house,” she recalls. He was also a believer in visualizing a positive outcome before it happened.
Accept and Persevere
When LaLanne’s 21-year-old daughter died in a car accident, she got through the tragedy by telling herself she couldn’t change things, so she had to accept what had happened.
“Just before I turned 100, I was thinking, how can I sum this whole thing up in all my life? I thought about my acceptance,” LaLanne says.
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“Through my life, I’ve accepted what I’m handed, and then I persevere. … Those two things are my mantra.”
She’s still applying that mantra today as she deals with macular degeneration that’s caused her to lose sight in one eye. LaLanne accepts her worsening vision but looks for ways to work around it. She can still see her computer screen and keep writing, so she perseveres.
