SCIENTISTS have revealed the exercise ‘sweet spot’ you need to hit to live longer.
It’s no secret that working out is a key part of staying healthy for longer – but you don’t need to spend hours at the gym each week to reap the benefits, scientists from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland said.
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Moderate exercise is enough to lower your risk of death in the long-term, Finnish researchers saidCredit: Getty
In fact, moderate levels of activity could be enough to lower your risk of death, they suggested.
Finnish researchers studied the exercise habits of 22,750 twins, following up with them after 15 and 30 years to assess their biological age and risk of mortality.
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They split participants up into four groups:
Sedentary
Moderately active
Active
Highly active
Moderate-movers seemed to reap the most benefits from exercise, with a seven per cent lower risk of death compared to people who didn’t work out.
Though higher levels of exercise were found to lower the risk of mortality in the short-term, it actually brought no additional benefit in the long-term, researchers said.
They found that highly active participants didn’t get any more benefit to their mortality risk – essentially, more is not necessarily better.
Associate professor Elina Sillanpää from the Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences suggested that the idea that ‘being sedentary increases the risk of death’ is incorrect.
Instead, he says: “An underlying pre-disease state can limit physical activity and ultimately lead to death, not the lack of exercise itself.
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“This can bias the association between physical activity and mortality in the short term.”
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The twins participating in the study were all born before 1958 and their physical activity was assessed through questionnaires in 1975, 1981 and 1990.
Over a third (38.8 per cent) of the participants from the sedentary class died during the 30-year follow-up period, compared to 30.8 per cent of the moderately active group, 29 per cent of the active group and 25.4 per cent of the highly active group.
Moderately active and sporty participants had a 16 and 24 per cent lower risk of death compared to the sedentary group.
But after researchers factored in lifestyle-related factors and participants’ body mass index, their risk was only reduced by seven and nine per cent.
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“But the moderately active and active classes exhibited lower risks of all-cause mortality compared to the sedentary class and highly active class within all pairs,” researchers wrote in the study published to Nature.
How researchers worked out activity levels
Participants’ levels of physical activity were measured using questionnaires, which looked at how much they moved or worked out each week, how long for and how intense the bouts were.
Each answer was assigned a score, after which participants were divided into their four groups.
The questionnaires differed slightly between 1975 and 1981, and 1990.
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Here’s what the one used in 1990 looked like:
The following questions are about your physical activity during leisure time or during your daily journey to work during last 12 months.
How many hours in week you engage in physical activity corresponding to each intensity level?
Intensity levels:
Walking
Alternatively walking and jogging
Jogging
Running
Duration:
Not at all
Less than 30 minutes a week
Between 30 minutes and less than an hour a week
Two to three hours a week
Four hours of more a week
The researchers also investigated whether following the World Health Organization’s physical activity guidelines affects mortality and genetic disease risk.
The guidelines advise adults to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity weekly.
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The study found that meeting these guidelines did not lower people’s risk of death or change their genetic risk.
Even for twins who met the recommended levels of exercise over a 15-year period, there wasn’t a difference in mortality rates compared to their less active twin pair.
Finally, researchers estimated the biological age of participants, looking at how it changed according to exercise levels.
They did this by taking blood samples from participants to get a sense of how fast the cells in their bodies were ageing.
Biological age – the age of our cells – measures how well your body functions and how much wear and tear it’s experienced.
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It may be a better indicator than chronological age of how long we’ll will live and be in good health for.
Prof Sillanpää said: “We found that the association between leisure-time physical activity and biological aging was U-shaped.
“Biological ageing was accelerated in those who exercised the least and the most.”
Highly active people were on average, 1.2 years biologically older than the moderately active group and 1.6 years biologically older than the active group.
What counts as moderate exercise?
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Moderate activity will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer.
One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing.
Examples of moderate intensity activities include:
Brisk walking
Water aerobics
Riding a bike
Dancing
Doubles tennis
Pushing a lawn mower
Hiking
Rollerblading
The NHS recommends that adults between 19 and 64 should aim to:
Do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week
Spread exercise evenly over four to five days a week, or every day
Reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity
Do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least two days a week
“Don’t be a lone wolf, that’s my number one life hack”—Peloton instructor and ultra runner Susie Chan shares her weekly fitness routine and tips to get started
In just 16 years, Susie Chan has accumulated more miles and conquered more feats of endurance than most of us achieve in a lifetime.
All seven major marathons? Check. The notoriously punishing 156-mile Marathon des Sables more times than any other British woman? Check. A 12-hour treadmill world record? Check. Check. Check.
Now 51, she’s just added the 81-mile Badwater Salton Sea ultra to her collection, featuring 9,000 feet of total elevation up Palomar Mountain in Southern California.
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All while holding down a physically and emotionally demanding job as a Peloton instructor, and raising her daughter.
What makes it all the more inspiring is that Chan had zero interest in sport or fitness until her brother signed her up to the Farnham Pilgrim Half Marathon in 2010.
“I didn’t even have trainers,” she tells Fit&Well. “I had gym shoes on. I had no clue.
“It really hurt—I’m not going to pretend it didn’t—but it showed me what I could actually do if I really wanted to.
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“That’s something I’ve maintained. That one little spark of what I can do if I really want to has propelled me to do all of the other long endurance races since.”
It has also propelled her into a new career as a running coach, to writing a book called Trails and Tribulations about the trials and tribulations she’s encountered along the way, and to inspiring others to lace up their running shoes—or gym shoes—for the first time.
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Recently returned from the Salton Sea ultra, I caught up with Chan to discuss what her weekly workout routine typically looks like when not scaling mountains or traversing deserts.
Susie Chan’s weekly workout routine
For the past decade, Chan has been clocking an average of 50 miles a week. When not hitting the road or trails with friends, she’s leading treadmill workouts in Peloton’s London studio or at fitness festivals around the country.
“If I haven’t got a race, I’ll typically run five times a week—minimum,” Chan says, casually.
“It’s my main source of exercise, but I’m also really enjoying my Peloton bike right now. I love it as an alternative. And I’m trying to dial down my mileage and build more strength.”
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Here’s how her week typically breaks down.
Monday 30min run or Peloton Bike class for recovery.
Tuesday Leading Peloton treadmill classes and full-body strength workout.
Wednesday Leading Peloton treadmill classes and easy eight-mile run with friends.
Thursday 30-60min interval or speed run, plus leg workout.
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Friday Leading Peloton treadmill classes and easy 60min run or ride with colleagues.
Saturday 45-90min long run.
Sunday 60min slow yoga class focusing on single-leg strength.
Susie Chan’s advice on how to get started with running
Start slow and steady
If you’re completely new to running, or you’re getting back into it, think tortoise, not hare.
“You’ve got to start off slow and steady,” Chan says. “In my very first run I just ran as fast as I could. It was awful. Don’t do that!”
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Instead, Chan recommends using run-walk intervals at a 1:1 ratio.
“If you’re brand new to running, alternating two minutes of running with two minutes of walking, or whatever it is that you can maintain, is a good place to start.”
After a couple weeks, you can increase the running intervals or reduce the recovery period to progress toward a 2:1 ratio.
Make it social
Chan says everything hard becomes easier when you share it with others. That’s especially true when trying to build momentum at the start of your running journey.
“I’m very much not a lone wolf,” says Chan, of the way she prefers to keep active.
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“If you have other people to work out with it just takes the edge off. They help drive you, encourage you, enable you. For me, that’s the number one life hack for training. It just makes everything feel easier.”
I was in my early 20s when I first experienced the power of strength training firsthand. I was working at Women’s Health magazine and was tasked with learning to deadlift for twelve weeks at a CrossFit-style gym with a personal trainer.
I’d always been into movement, but found the concept of weights pretty terrifying before that. Most of the gyms were male-dominated spaces, and the gym plans were male-specific, too; plus, I’d grown up in a generation terrified of weight training making you “bulky” and determined to typecast muscle mass as “non-feminine.”
Thankfully, most of the stigma has shifted in recent years: numerous and extensive studies have proven time and time again how pivotal strength training is not only for muscle mass, bone density and overall wellbeing, but healthy ageing, too. One large study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that people who participated in muscle-strengthening activities had a 10-17% lower risk of all-cause mortality, as well as a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
Speaking from personal experience, strength training has changed my life. After a twelve-week induction in my early twenties, strength training became a non-negotiable part of my weekly routine, and I’d head to the gym at least once a week to build strength, move my body and support my mental wellbeing.
That said, in recent years, I was definitely plateauing from a lack of structure. While I enjoyed heading to the gym and moving through whichever compound lifts or mobility exercises took my fancy, I knew it wasn’t the most productive approach. Plus, as a runner, I wasn’t targeting the muscle groups so essential to efficient, injury-resistant running; rather, maintaining a general baseline.
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So when Run Coach and Founder of female running collective PASSA, Lillie Bleasdale, offered me the chance to follow a three-month, female-specific strength training programme designed to complement my running, I jumped at the opportunity. A 2:54 marathoner herself, she founded the company with one simple aim: to support women through every stage of their running journey and to offer a holistic approach to performance.
I loved that Bleasdale had built a pretty game-changing female-only online coaching model, but also that her entire approach centres around balancing your training alongside the demands of being a woman. “We recognise that women aren’t simply smaller versions of men; factors such as menstrual cycles, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, perimenopause and menopause can all impact training, recovery and performance,” Bleasdale shares when we chat. “We also work with women navigating conditions such as endometriosis, PCOS/PMOS and adenomyosis, helping them train in a way that supports their bodies, rather than fights against them.”
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Bottom line? “We want training to enhance their lives, not become another source of stress.”
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So, could a more structured approach unlock performance gains that years of inconsistent gym sessions had left on the table? Over the course of three months, I worked with Bleasdale day in, day out. Below, I share my story and why I think trying your own female-focused strength training plan could be transformative for not only your running, but your general life. Don’t miss our guides to the best strength training moves for runners and the best Pilates moves for runners, plus our guides to running advice for beginners, how to run a mile without stopping and how to run faster, here.
My three-month strength training journey
Getting set up
I check in with Bleasdale for the first time on a video call to discuss my goals, timeframe, and lifestyle, alongside current training load and previous injuries. The chat was informal but detailed; Bleasdale wanted to paint a full and complete picture before cracking on with programming. “The first thing we always do is look beyond race goals and understand the athlete sitting in front of us,” she shares.
For me, my aim was simple: I wanted to get strong ahead of the Boston Marathon and to gain expert insight into the best workout plan and moves to injury-proof my body and support it over both the training block and distance. That said, I also have a demanding 9-5, and knew I needed a sustainable plan that I’d be able to stick to week on week.
Bleasdale was really reassuring on this front, and told me that for most marathon runners, particularly those balancing work and life commitments, one or two high-quality sessions deliver the best balance between adaptation and recovery. “It’s enough to build meaningful strength, resilience and running economy without creating excessive fatigue that compromises key run sessions,” she explains.
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At PASSA, they view strength training as part of the overall training load, rather than something that sits separately from their running – a common mistake that many runners fall for.
On the type of strength you’ll need to build for Boston specifically, Bleasdale had done her research. “The course is famous for its challenging downhills, which place huge demands on the quadriceps,” she explained to me. In training, that translated to significant amounts of quad-dominant work, progressing heavy strength-focused lifts into higher-volume, more marathon-specific endurance work as race day approached.
A typical strength session
Following our onboarding call, Bleasdale sent me some simple instructions to download and set up their dedicated strength training app, Everfit. Each week, following a weekend check-in and progress update, she’d upload my workouts: a Tuesday morning session and a Thursday morning session.
While the movements and phases varied over the course of the block, the basic structure was the same:
The mobility and dynamic movement: Five to ten minutes designed to improve movement quality and activate key muscle groups.
The main section of the workout: Which centred around one primary compound lift. “This was the ‘hero lift’ of the session and typically involved a squat, deadlift, leg press or another large movement pattern that allowed us to build meaningful strength,” shares Bleasdale. (She often paired these with core exercises to maximise efficiency, too).
The accessory work: Usually organised into supersets or tri sets. “This is where much of the running-specific work took place,” she explains. “We incorporated unilateral lower body exercises, calf strengthening, rotational and anti-rotation core work, balance exercises and plyometric drills.”
She explained to me that there isn’t one “magic” exercise for strength improvement or injury prevention; rather, it’s the benefit of a balanced programme. “For runners, we want to ensure six key movement patterns are consistently represented: a squat, a lunge, a hinge, a calf strengthening exercise, a core exercise and a balance-based exercise,” she shares. Throughout my programme, this looked like heavy squats and deadlifts for overall strength, split squats and Bulgarian split squats for unilateral control, calf raises for lower leg resilience, Pallof presses and side planks for core stability, and plyometric exercises such as pogo jumps, box jumps and broad jumps to improve force production and tissue resilience.
The overall goal was simple – every exercise needed a purpose, and every session needed to contribute towards making me a stronger, more resilient marathon runner.
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How does a female-specific strength training journey differ?
Good question. As Bleasdale explains, “Female-specific coaching isn’t about creating a completely different exercise list for women – rather, about understanding the individual woman in front of you and building a programme that reflects her physiology, circumstances and goals.”
At PASSA, every plan factors in a woman’s menstrual health, hormonal changes, previous pregnancies, medical conditions, injury history, lifestyle demands, stress levels and recovery capacity. For the first time in my life, a coach asked me about my menstrual health and health conditions – something simple, but often overlooked. Bleasdale then paid attention to how consistent strength training could support my PCOS/PMOS management and checked in on my symptoms over the course of the programme.
My strength training journey: Phase one
The training block had three distinct phases, with the first five weeks focused on building maximum strength through heavy compound lifts such as front squats, trap bar deadlifts and deadlift variations. Alongside that, a big focus was on getting me comfortable with the gym equipment. As Bleasdale put it, I had a solid strength-training background and the foundations were already there, but I did lack confidence and a structured strength training routine.
Each workout, I’d film my movements and send them to Bleasdale for review. She’d then send detailed feedback, gradually challenging some of the limits I was subconsciously holding. “Week after week, she realised she was capable of lifting significantly more than she thought,” Bleasdale shares.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the block, for both Bleasdale as a coach and me as a client, was seeing the confidence grow. By the third week, I was moving through more complex compound moves (front foot elevated split squats, I’m looking at you) with relative ease, and felt settled into my new routine.
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While the step up to two more workouts a week alongside my runs was definitely noticeable, Bleasdale was always on hand to help me organise my calendar and slot in my movement even when my week was busy, or I was travelling for work – a level of coaching that seriously encourages accountability and which I found incredibly motivating. My strength training workouts were no longer about whether I could fit them in, but when I’d be doing them.
Perhaps the biggest surprise during this first phase was how quickly the sessions stopped feeling intimidating. Walking into a weights area can feel overwhelming, particularly as a woman. But repetition builds familiarity and, in turn, confidence. My sessions felt purposeful, rather than daunting, and I noticed a shift in my mindset as much as my physical strength.
For month one, Ally’s main focus was on getting comfortable with the gym equipment and building her confidence.
(Image credit: Ally Head)
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Phase two:
Come week five, and we’d entered a new phase: a six-week maintenance and hypertrophy phase where the focus shifted slightly towards running-specific resilience, unilateral strength and managing fatigue. Mixing things up kept the programme interesting and meant I looked forward to my sessions; I was challenging my body in new ways again, rather than going through the motions.
Single-leg work became more prominent in my workouts, helping to address the imbalances and weaknesses that often creep into a runner’s training. I liked that these exercises felt more transferable to running itself, and demanded balance, coordination and stability with every session. Rather than simply lifting heavier weights, I was learning how to generate force efficiently and control my body under fatigue.
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly my body adjusted to the training load; I was tired, but I felt physically fitter and like my body was recovering more easily, too. Bleasdale observed this as well: “Sessions that initially created fatigue quickly became manageable, allowing us to progress load, complexity and challenge while maintaining overall freshness.”
During this point of my training block, I ran the Reading Half Marathon as a training race, coming away with a 1:28 personal best and, perhaps more importantly, feeling stronger than I ever have before over the half marathon distance. While it’s impossible to attribute this performance to any one factor, I noticed a distinct difference in how capable I was of maintaining form when fatigue set in, and I was able to kick in the later stages of the race when I’d previously faded.
My strength gains were becoming evident outside of the gym, too. Hills felt less taxing, fast sessions felt smoother, and I felt stronger even as my mileage increased. As a runner, that’s the ultimate goal: not dramatic overnight changes, but the gradual accumulation of resilience that makes training feel easier and more enjoyable.
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Ally was pleasantly surprised at how quickly her body adjusted to the training load; she felt physically fitter and like her body was recovering more easily, too.
(Image credit: Ally Head)
Phase three:
For the final few weeks of the training block, I entered a taper phase, prioritising mobility, movement quality, light strength work and low-level plyometrics. “This keeps the body feeling sharp while allowing fatigue to dissipate before race day,” Bleasdale explains.
Although the volume and intensity of the gym work reduced, the sessions still had a clear purpose. The focus shifted away from building fitness and towards arriving at race day feeling fresh, confident and ready to perform. Mobility drills, explosive movements and lighter strength exercises helped maintain the adaptations we’d built over the previous months without creating unnecessary fatigue.
What struck me most during this phase was how calm, confident, and excited I felt for race day. All of my hard work had led up to this point, and I felt like a different person; Bleasdale had helped me to get to race day not only feeling the physically strongest I’d ever felt, but the mentally fittest, too. The months of consistent strength work had given me tangible evidence of progress, not just in the numbers I was lifting, but in how I moved and carried myself as a runner.
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Come race day, I surprised even myself, running a 3:08 marathon and feeling by far the strongest I’ve ever felt during a marathon. Bleasdale is undoubtedly to thank: her unwavering support and belief in me made me a stronger runner, athlete, and woman, too.
On the fence about trying your own female-specific strength training plan? Trust me on this one – you won’t regret it.
Come April, Ally ran the 130th Boston Marathon in 3:08 – a five minute PB.
Books are getting Australians into the gym and keeping them there longer, and the benefits of this emerging health trend aren’t just physical – they’re mental too.
Listening to audiobooks and podcasts helped Yvonne Kong, 41, and her husband get back into fitness after becoming parents and lose a combined 50 kilos.
Yvonne Kong, 41, used podcasts to get back into exercise and stay motivated. Yvonne Kong
It also helped them broaden their minds and carve out a bit of “me time” in our busy modern world.
Audiobooks and podcasts have given Aussies the chance to turn exercise into a vehicle for learning, training their minds and bodies simultaneously. Some are even taking their e-readers and paperbacks to the gym (more on that later).
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“Listening to a story while working out actually helped me stay motivated and more consistent,” Kong told nine.com.au.
Like many Aussies, she used to dread hitting the treadmill and constantly found herself counting down the minutes until her session was over.
That changed when she hit play on a true-crime podcast during a workout.
Kong got so caught up in the story she forgot about the timer on her treadmill until her workout was over.
“I did an hour treadmill course and actually finished it without noticing,” she said.
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Have you got a story? Contactreporter Maddison Skipper atmleach@nine.com.au
Since then, she’s found herself looking forward to exercising because it gives her an hour of dedicated listening time.
Her husband does the same while running; he took up listening to audiobooks because it motivated him to run longer and more often so he could get through the story.
The benefits of reading/listening while exercising
About one in three Aussies now listen to audiobooks when they exercise, according to data from Audible.
More than a third of them exercise for longer because of it, one quarter work out more often, and half experience better mood during exercise.
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Data released exclusively to nine.com.au revealed both men and women reported these positive experiences at an almost identical rate, despite often having different workout routines and attitudes towards exercise.
Audiobooks are particularly popular with runners, more than a third of whom say they feel more focused on their run while listening.
Personal trainer Ben Lucas is one of them; he started listening while running to make time pass quickly and train his mind as well as his body.
“You’re out there anyway, so you may as well be learning something valuable while you do it,” he told nine.com.au.
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What the experts think
Mindfulness expert Luke McLeod told nine.com.au there has even been some research into how exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which helps information retention.
Lucas devours business and personal development audiobooks like Atomic Habits by James Clear while working out, a trend which has become known as ‘personal development/PD stacking’.
The goal is to “double-up of some type of personal development like listening to an e-book, which works out the mind, while also working out the body,” McLeod said.
‘PD stacking’ is the new health optimisation trend, according to Luke McLeod. Luke McLeod
It’s all about optimising time in our busy world, which is particularly appealing to Aussies who are time-poor; like new parents trying to juggle work and a baby.
“When I’m with [my daughter], I’m trying to be present for her, so I’m not going to be listening to podcasts or anything,” Kong said.
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“When I exercise, that’s my time.”
Personal trainer Ben Lucas has been using audiobooks to stay on track with his running. Ben Lucas
McLeod agreed that reading or listening while working out can be a great form of self-care for some Aussies.
The only pitfall is that not every workout is suited to it.
It’s hard to keep up with an audiobook or podcast if you’re trying to count reps while strength training, and there’s no way to read an e-book on a rowing machine.
“I find podcasts and audiobooks work best during longer, slower cardio sessions,” Lucas said.
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“Whether it’s an easy run, walk, or long ride, you can relax into the session, tune out a little, and focus on what you’re listening to while still getting the work done.”
He also warned Aussies to stay aware of their surroundings and hazards like traffic, cyclists, other pedestrians, or uneven paths if they listen while exercising outdoors.
McLeod added that stacking habits like exercise and reading isn’t worth it if one interrupts the other.
Road testing reading at the gym
I’ve been in and out of the gym a lot over the last decade, jumping from strength training, to reformer Pilates, and other programs in between.
But my favourite way to exercise is to hop on a treadmill with my Kindle.
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I rest it on the console, set a slight incline and a moderate speed and lose myself for an hour. No workout has ever felt faster or easier.
My Kindle fits perfectly into the little divot on the treadmill console meant for a phone or tablet. Maddison Skipper
The pros: Focusing on what I’m reading takes my mind off the clock and get through an hour of cardio without getting bored or losing motivation.
Reading at the gym also helps me stay consistent because it’s one of the few places I can just switch off and focus on my book without interruptions, so I want to keep coming back.
That hour of dedicated reading time has also been great for my mental health because it forces me to slow down and focus on something completely removed from any stress in my own life.
The cons: It did take a few sessions to get used to reading while moving, but raising the brightness on my Kindle and setting it to a larger font really helped.
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Those who prefer to listen don’t have to worry about any of that though; just download an audiobook and you’re good to go.
I also invested in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones to muffle the dance music that plays over my gym’s loudspeakers, which made it much easier to focus.
Reading at the gym allows Aussies like me to work on my physical and mental fitness simultaneously. Maddison Skipper
Now the only downside to reading at the gym that I sometimes hit a slump after I finish a really good book because I don’t want to hit the gym again until I find something new to read.
The verdict: It’s not for everyone, but I have found that reading at the gym has been the best way for me to stay motivated and consistent.
I feel good about taking the time to work on both my body and my mind a few times a week, and I’ve been able to check some amazing books off my ‘to be read’ list while working out.
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Audiobooks make it even easier for Aussies who want to exercise without the hassle of a physical book or e-reader, or who have different accessibility needs.
