It isn’t necessarily how many miles you should be putting in a week, but rather the amount of time it takes to complete those miles. A recent NY Times article suggests you should run 2-3 miles 2 times a week, or complete 20-30 minutes of exercise 2 times a week.

While there are health benefits to this a program of this nature, the focus should be on how many minutes you complete in a week as well as intensity. Not so much on how many miles you should be completing.  All cardio exercise, if done safely and in moderation, will improve health and reduce risk factors.

Ideally, aiming for 30-60 minutes a week of cardio, with some variety in intensity levels, is ideal for weight loss and risk factor reduction. Maintaining this amount of cardio exercise a week helps reduce the number one risk factor for disease, which is physical inactivity.

Depending on your goals, your exercise program should be individually based on your current health condition, your past exercise and injury history, your risk factors, as well as training, fitness, or weight loss goals. Remember, exercise is not a pass or fail, but rather an experiment of what works best for you. 

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