---
title: Exercise for Longevity
description: Exercise may help you lengthen your life -- by more than 7 years!
---

[Gym Source Blog: Fitness Spotlight](https://blog.gymsource.com)

# [Exercise for Longevity](https://blog.gymsource.com/exercise-for-longevity)

 Written by [Michelle Willette](https://blog.gymsource.com/author/michelle-willette) | Jun 29, 2013 11:13:07 PM

<https://blog.gymsource.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/longevity.jpg>

Researchers have known for decades that regular exercise boosts longevity, but studies have never specified just how much. Now a Harvard professor has the answers. [Professor I-Min Lee](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/imin-lee/) led a comprehensive ten-year study involving 650,000 people aged 40 and up, focusing specifically on participants’ leisure activities and body mass index.

The results (published here in [Harvard Magazine](http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/03/cheating-the-reaper) were an eye-opener, showing that even a little exercise adds years to life. The researchers’ analysis showed that 150 minutes of moderately intense exercise a week resulted in people living more than seven years more than people who don’t exercise. The aim of exercising is to raise your heart rate sufficiently, and [brisk walking](http://www.gymsource.com/treadmills), riding a [bicycle](http://www.gymsource.com/exercise-bikes), even working in the yard achieves this result. And according to Lee’s study, while 150 minutes per week is the target, 75 minutes of walking briskly each week – only about 11 minutes a day – can extend your life by almost 2 years. So start walking!

[View full post](https://blog.gymsource.com/exercise-for-longevity)

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