Nearly 80 percent of adults don’t get enough exercise. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that only 24.2 percent of adults over 18 hit the recommended amount of both aerobic and strength training—about 150 minutes a week. Skip that activity and your body pays the price, from creeping weight gain and a stressed-out heart to weaker bones, insulin resistance, and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
The silver lining is you don’t have to live in the gym to turn things around. Dr. Peter Attia, one of the top voices in longevity medicine, says even small steps can make a huge difference. “If the average person who isn’t exercising could commit to 30 minutes a day, it would be life-changing,” he says.
A former surgeon trained at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Peter Attia has become a leading voice in the movement to optimize health and extend life. He’s the host of a popular podcast, The Peter Attia Drive, the author of the bestselling book Outlive, and now teaches a class on MasterClass called Science for a Longer, Better Life, where he shows members how to take control of their health. A big part of his approach is tailoring training and lifestyle choices to help you live stronger and longer, starting with simple steps anyone can take to improve their health.
“Going from zero to three and a half hours per week of exercise is a big deal, and if you could do that consistently, not just do it for a month, but do it for a year, you wouldn’t recognize that person at the end of that year,” he says. “It would have a bigger impact than almost anything else they could do.”
It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, either, Attia says. While most people on Instagram will try to tell you to start out with a four-mile run on day one or hit your first HIIT class to really feel the burn, “the goal is just to use those first workouts to build the habits around doing it,” he says.
The key is starting somewhere and progressing gradually. Moving your body in the right ways with a mix of zone 2 cardio, resistance training, and stability work will make you steadily fitter. As your body adapts, each session builds on the last, and over time, the momentum takes over. It might not be the flashy routines promising a six-pack in a month, but if you won’t trust us, trust Attia—this method works, and it works for the long game.
“I think people fail to appreciate the importance of regular, consistent exercise that is uninterrupted,” he says. “I [don’t] want the message to be, you need to be training 12 hours a week. I think the message should be, could you start doing 30 minutes three times a week? Could we get it up to 30 minutes a day? And like I said, that’s going to have an enormous impact on both your length and quality of life.”
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