Why Doing More Kinds of Exercise (Not More Exercise) May Help You Live Longer
I've always been someone who gets into workout ruts. A few years ago, it was all spinning classes. Then I went through a phase where I only wanted to lift weights. My running friends would invite me out, and I'd decline because, well, I was a "lifter" now.
Turns out, that kind of thinking might be limiting more than just my social calendar. New research published in BMJ Medicine tracked over 170,000 people for more than three decades and found something that challenges the "more is better" mentality we've built around exercise. The people who lived longest weren't necessarily the ones logging the most hours at the gym.
They were the ones mixing things up.
What three decades of data revealed about variety
The researchers looked at how people engaged with different types of exercise over time, including walking, running, cycling, swimming, tennis, stair climbing, rowing, and resistance training. They weren't just interested in whether people exercised, but also in how many different kinds of activities they regularly did.
They found that people who consistently engaged in a greater variety of physical activities had up to a 19% lower risk of death overall, compared to those who stuck to fewer types of movement. This held true even after accounting for how much total exercise they were doing.
Think about that for a second. Two people could be exercising the same total amount each week, but the person rotating through different activities had a significant advantage when it came to longevity. The benefits extended across the board, too, with up to 41% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and other causes.
There's a sweet spot, not an endless ladder
But the benefits weren't linear. The data showed that mortality risk reductions leveled off after about 20 MET-hours per week. That's roughly equivalent to 5 hours of moderate-intensity activity or 2.5 hours of vigorous activity.
This suggests there's an optimal threshold rather than a "more is always better" situation. You don't need to be training for an ultramarathon to max out the longevity benefits of exercise. You just need to be consistent and varied in your approach.
Why mixing it up might be the key
The research points to something the scientists call complementary physiological effects. Different types of exercise do different things for your body. Aerobic activities like running or cycling improve cardiovascular fitness and increase peak oxygen consumption. Resistance training builds strength and protects bone density and lean muscle mass. Flexibility work supports joint health and mobility.
When you only do one type of exercise, you're only getting one set of benefits. But when you rotate through different modalities, you're covering more bases. Your body gets stronger, more cardiovascularly fit, and more resilient in ways that single-sport training just can't deliver.
There's also an adherence factor here. People who engage in multiple sports during their younger years tend to stay more active as they age. Variety keeps things interesting, reduces injury risk from overuse, and gives different muscle groups time to recover while you're working others.
Building your own varied movement routine
So how do you actually put this into practice without ending up with a chaotic, unsustainable schedule?
Start by thinking about hitting different categories across your week. Aim for at least one cardiovascular activity (walking, running, cycling), one strength-based practice (resistance training, rowing), and something that challenges coordination or involves social play (tennis, pickleball, dance classes).
You don't need to do everything every week. The study looked at consistent engagement over time, not perfect variety in every seven-day period. Maybe you walk most days, lift weights twice a week, play tennis on weekends, and take the stairs whenever you can. That's five different types of movement right there.
Listen to your body and rotate based on how you feel. If your legs are tired from a long run, maybe that's a good day for upper body work or a recovery walk. The goal is sustainable variety, not exhausting yourself trying to check every box.
The takeaway
This research offers a refreshing approach. You don't have to become obsessed with one form of exercise or push yourself to ever-increasing volumes to get the longevity benefits. You just need to move regularly and mix things up.
When exercise becomes varied, it becomes something the body can adapt to, recover from, and benefit from over the long haul.
