Fitness
Does Medicare Help Pay for Gym Memberships?
Almost all Medicare Advantage members (98 percent) were in plans that covered some fitness benefits in 2022, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study. These benefits take several forms, including membership in the popular SilverSneakers program for people 65 and older or its competitors Renew Active and Silver&Fit.
SilverSneakers provides access to more than 15,000 fitness locations across the country; online dance, exercise, meditation, stretch and yoga classes; and an on-demand video library of prerecorded workouts. A free SilverSneakers GO fitness app for Apple and Android phones is also available. Other Medicare Advantage plans also offer free gym memberships with access to a nationwide network of health clubs and exercise locations, personalized fitness plans and on-demand workout videos.
In addition to gym access, many plans provide incentives to stay active, such as a free fitness tracker every two years, discounts on a smartwatch or exercise equipment if you meet activity goals, or gift cards if you take certain healthy actions, such as exercising or getting a flu shot.
How do I find Advantage plans with fitness benefits?
To find Medicare Advantage plans with fitness benefits in your area, go to the Medicare Plan Finder, type in your zip code and choose Medicare Advantage Plan for the search. It will prompt you to put in your medications, but you can bypass that.
Next, you’ll see a list of Medicare Advantage plans available in your area. The Plan Benefits summary for each option will have a green check mark if the plan has vision, dental, hearing, transportation to and from a medical appointment, or fitness benefits. Click on the Plan Details button and scroll down to Extra Benefits for a summary of fitness benefits available. To learn more details beyond “Not covered” or “Some coverage,” you can contact the plan at the phone number at the top of the Plan Details web page or read plan documents on the insurer’s website, linked at the top of the page.
Do Medigap plans offer fitness benefits?
Even though Medicare supplemental plans, also known as Medigap, don’t include fitness benefits as part of their standard coverage, you may find they include gym membership as well as discounts for dental, hearing, and vision services at no additional cost. Some plans offer low-cost packages to add these benefits.
Here, too, you can use Medicare’s Plan Finder tool to learn more about Medigap plans in your area.
Fitness
At 55, Zoe Ball relies on NEAT exercise to stay fit without the gym – here’s how to make it work
If the thought of gruelling gym sessions leaves you cold, you’re in good company. Almost eight years on from her Sport Relief cycling challenge, where she cycled over 350 miles from Blackpool to Brighton, beloved radio broadcaster Zoe Ball has turned to a more sustainable, low-intensity form of movement: NEAT exercise.
Standing for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, NEAT exercise refers to any movement you do that isn’t planned exercise, like walking or doing chores. For Zoe, it means gardening. ‘We cannot underestimate the power of gardening and how good it is for your health,’ she said on a recent episode of Dig It, the podcast she co-hosts alongside radio presenter Jo Whiley. ‘What I love about it the most is it doesn’t matter if I’m out there for two, three minutes, half an hour. The world is quite overwhelming at the moment, and when the kids drive me mad or anything like that I just get out there – whether that’s to tidy up, sweep up or just sit on a bench with a cup of coffee and watch the birds and all the insects.’
Back in lockdown, she even referred to gardening as ‘life-changing’ in an interview with the Radio Times, explaining that 15 minutes every evening had provided some much-needed solace.
While Zoe waxes lyrical about the mental benefits, the physical pros are unparalleled. Non-intentional exercise makes up significantly more of your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure – how many calories you burn across each day), compared to the time you spend exercising in a gym or doing a planned workout. NEAT makes up around 50%, while a planned workout typically counts for roughly 10%. The more you fit movement into your day, the more energy you expend.
‘NEAT exercise is a great way to control and maintain a healthy weight,’ explains GP and trainer Dr Folusha Oluwajana. ‘Increasing your NEAT increases your metabolic rate as you will burn more calories throughout the day. People with higher NEAT levels are often more successful at achieving and maintaining weight loss.’
As for gardening in particular, research published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health found that tasks such as digging, raking and weeding meet the criteria for moderate-intensity exercise and count toward weekly physical activity recommendations. Other research has linked regular gardening to lower BMI, improved wellbeing, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
Need some inspo? Check out Zoe’s recent garden transformation.
Examples of NEAT
- Washing the car
- Using a standing desk
- Walking upstairs over using the lift or escalator
- Dog walking
- Carrying grocery shopping
- Playing with children or pets
- Walking instead of taking public or private transport
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.
Fitness
Scientists Say Most Adults Need 4 Times More Exercise Than Recommended for Major Heart Benefits
Substantial heart health benefits may require 560-610 minutes of weekly exercise, with lower fitness individuals needing even more activity to achieve similar protection.
Adults may need far more exercise than current public health guidelines recommend to significantly lower their risk of heart attack and stroke, according to an observational study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers found that adults needed between 560 and 610 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week for a substantial reduction in cardiovascular risk. That is roughly 3 to 4 times higher than the current recommendation of at least 150 minutes weekly of activities such as brisk walking, running, or cycling.
The findings also suggest that people with lower fitness levels need slightly more exercise than highly fit individuals to achieve the same cardiovascular benefits.
Researchers said current exercise recommendations may need to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and instead provide personalized goals based on a person’s fitness level.
VO2 Max and Cardiovascular Fitness Explained
Cardiorespiratory fitness differs widely between individuals and is considered a strong indicator of heart health. Researchers noted that low cardiorespiratory fitness is closely linked to a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and early death.
One common way to measure fitness is through VO2 max, which reflects the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during intense exercise. The measurement shows how efficiently the heart, lungs, and muscles work together to deliver and use oxygen.
Researchers from Macao Polytechnic University in China investigated how physical activity levels and cardiorespiratory fitness, measured through VO2 max, influenced cardiovascular disease risk.
UK Biobank Study Tracks Exercise and Heart Events
The study analyzed data from 17,088 participants in the UK Biobank study collected between 2013 and 2015. Participants had an average age of 57, while 56% were women and 96% were white.
Participants wore wrist devices for seven consecutive days to track their normal exercise levels. They also completed a cycling test to estimate VO2 max.
The researchers included additional information such as smoking habits, alcohol use, self reported health and diet, body mass index, resting heart rate, and blood pressure.
Over an average follow-up period of 7.8 years, researchers recorded 1,233 cardiovascular events. These included 874 cases of atrial fibrillation, 156 heart attacks, 111 cases of heart failure, and 92 strokes.
560–610 Minutes Weekly Linked to Stronger Risk Reduction
Adults who met the current guideline of 150 minutes of exercise per week saw a modest 8% to 9% reduction in cardiovascular risk, regardless of fitness level.
However, achieving a more substantial reduction of greater than 30% required between 560 and 610 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise weekly. Only 12% of participants reached that level of activity.
Lower Fitness Levels Require More Physical Activity
The analysis showed that participants with the lowest fitness levels needed about 30 to 50 additional minutes of exercise each week compared with highly fit individuals to gain similar benefits.
For example, a person with low fitness needed about 370 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week to reduce cardiovascular risk by 20%, compared with 340 minutes for someone with high fitness.
The researchers say, “This finding highlights the steeper challenge faced by deconditioned populations.”
Researchers Call for Personalized Exercise Guidelines
Because the study was observational, the researchers said it cannot prove cause and effect. They also acknowledged that participants may have been healthier and fitter than the general population. Additional limitations included estimating cardiorespiratory fitness rather than directly measuring it and not tracking sedentary behavior or lighter physical activity.
The team said the findings support current exercise guidelines as an effective minimum target for cardiovascular protection. However, they added that more personalized recommendations could help motivated individuals further reduce their heart disease risk.
“Future guidelines may need to differentiate between the minimal moderate to vigorous exercise volume required for a basic safety margin and the substantially higher volumes necessary for optimal cardiovascular risk reduction,” they conclude.
Reference: “Joint non-linear dose–response associations of device-measured physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with cardiovascular disease: a cohort and Mendelian randomisation study” by Zhide Liang, Senyao Du, Shiao Zhao, Xianfei Wang, Qiang Yan, Baichao Xu, Sanfan Ng and Ziheng Ning, 19 May 2026, British Journal of Sports Medicine.
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2025-111351
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