New Study Reveals 30 Minutes of Exercise a Day Is All You Need

If you?re worried exercising will cut too much into your daily Xbox routine, fear not lethargic dude. According to a study published in the American Journal of Physiology, you can stay fit by working out just 30 minutes a day. Just think. You can get in shape and still have time to blast Nazi zombies.

It doesn't take forever

A research team at the University of Copenhagen measured the effects of working out for a half hour versus working out for an hour on a group of 60 overweight men. 30 of the men worked out for half an hour a day, while the other 30 worked out for an hour a day. Surprisingly, the men who worked out just 30 minutes a day lost more weight and burned the same amount of fat as the men who worked out for an hour a day. The 30-minute group even burned more calories than researchers had expected.

How did the group of guys that worked out less lose more weight? Researchers believe that that, finding a 30-minute workout less daunting, this group of men was more apt to give their all. These men also had more time to rest and recuperate between workout sessions.

What does this mean for those of us not living in Denmark? Well, according to the researchers, working out for 30 minutes as opposed to 60 makes exercise more accessible.

How long do you usually work out for (if you even do)? 30 minutes? 60? 90? I, for one, hate working out for longer than an hour. Not does it only seem like a chore, but it?s super time-consuming. Knowing that I can work out 30 minutes a day for five days a week and stay healthy (per American Heart Association guidelines) makes working out seem less daunting, less annoying.

This really good news for those who haven?t yet found their fitness groove and/or those that don?t work out because it seems so damn demanding.

I know plenty of people who don?t work out because they think it?s too much to handle or takes up too much time. This includes people who have tried going to the gym, who?ve done workout DVD?s, etc.

Knowing that you can achieve a decent level of fitness by working out just 150 minutes a day is inspiring. It makes fitness seem doable for all. It also makes sitting on your ass all week watching TV seem totally uncalled for.

If you?re working out at least 150 minutes a week, congratulations. You?re doing great. If you spend those 150 minutes a week eating pork rinds and watching reruns of ?Perfect Strangers?, however, it?s time you put in a little more effort.

Physical fitness doesn?t take endless hours at the gym. All it takes is 150 minutes of your week. If you can afford to surf the Internet or play ?Call of Duty? for hours at a time, you can afford to work out for 30 minutes a day.

In addition, researchers said they believe the men in the 60-minute group ate more ? mistakenly counteracting the additional calories burned.