Tuesday Tip: How Much Cardio Is Actually Enough? ❤️‍🔥

Cardio gets a bad rap, either it’s too much, or it’s too little, or it prevents muscle gain, or wrecks your hormones, or even wastes your time and it seems it’s trendy now to avoid cardio. But is it really bad? Nope!

1. Cardio Is Necessary (Not Optional)

Cardio isn’t punishment and it isn’t the enemy of strength. Your heart, lungs, muscles, mitochondria, and brain all need it. Regular cardio lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, and early death and improves performance both in and out of the gym.

2. The Guidelines are the minimum

For general health, the evidence-based minimum is 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity cardio, or

75 minutes/week of vigorous cardio, or A mix of both (1 min vigorous ≈ 2 min moderate).

These are minimums but being below them doesn’t make it pointless – every bit counts. Hitting them is great but going beyond them if you have the time and capacity can bring extra benefits.

3. More Can Help

Up to approx 300 minutes/week is associated with greater improvements in aerobic fitness, VO₂ max (a strong predictor of longevity), and mental health. Beyond that, benefits tend to plateau so you don’t need to go mental.

4. What Actually Counts as Cardio

Cardio is any activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it there. Moderate is roughly 50–70% of max HR, whilst vigorous is 70–85%.

Options include brisk walking, cycling, swimming, hiking, running, intervals, rowing, dancing—if your heart rate is up, it counts. Short bouts matter too and even 2–10 minute bits add up, especially across the day.

5. It’s About Fitness

Intensity matters – the goal isn’t just to ‘do cardio’ but to Iomprove aerobic capacity, build mitochondrial density and increase VO₂ max. Ultimately you want to be able to do more in life with less effort

Cardio isn’t punishment and just because it’s not trendy on social media doesn’t make it pointless . Aim for consistency first, and do something, progress when you can, and train in ways you actually enjoy. Your future heart will thank you!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Does Exercise Variety Matter? 🏃‍♀️🏋️‍♂️

We often hear that more exercise is better. More steps, more minutes, more sweat. But a new study published in BMJ Medicine (2026) suggests that it’s a little more nuanced. It’s not just how much you move, but how many different ways you move that may matter for long-term health and longevity.

So what did the researchers actually find?

# 1 Variety Was Linked to Lower Mortality.

People who engaged in the widest range of physical activities had a 19% lower risk of death from all causes, and a 13–41% lower risk of dying from major causes such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory illness. That’s a meaningful difference, linked not to extreme training, but to diversity of movement.

# 2 More Isn’t Always Better.

Interestingly, the relationship wasn’t perfectly linear. Benefits didn’t increase endlessly with more activity. Instead, there appeared to be a ‘sweet spot’ where gains levelled off. This challenges the idea that you always need to keep pushing harder to get health benefits.

# 3 Active People Had Fewer Risk Factors.

Those with higher overall activity levels were also less likely to smoke, and less likely to have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. While this doesn’t prove cause and effect, it highlights how movement often clusters with other healthy behaviours.

# 4 The Bigger Message

Being active in itself is beneficial. Long-term engagement in multiple types of physical activity may help extend lifespan.

So don’t just aim for MORE movement, aim for different movement. Think walking, cardio, strength, mobility, HIIT etc. Your body adapts best when it’s challenged in varied ways. No extremes required. Just consistency, variety, and movement you actually enjoy.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Snack triggers 🍪

Snacking can be a real issue when trying to lose fat. Being aware of the triggers can help to keep it in check.

# 1. Social Media

A recent study showed that socialising online with friends (via Facebook, Instagram etc) causes more snacking. It temporarily raises your self esteem, which lowers your self control, leading to increased snacking afterwards.

# 2 The News

Another study showed a link between watching/reading ‘bad’ news and high calorie snacking. The survey found that contemplating economic hardship and being subconsciously primed with messages to ‘live for today’ makes us seek out higher calorie foods.

# 3 Environment

The environment can trigger food cravings. A study showed that moviegoers would eat the same quantity of popcorn regardless of whether it was fresh or very stale, simply because they were ‘at the cinema’. In the same way sofa time after dinner can trigger snacking on chocolate or crisps etc.

# 4 3.23pm

3.23pm is the most likely time we are to snack, usually due to boredom, stress, and a dip in energy levels. To combat this have a balanced lunch (with protein and fats), plan in a healthy snack and save more enjoyable tasks for after lunch if you can.

# 5 Stress

Lower levels of serotonin when stressed also lead to carb cravings. Salt inhibits the body’s responses to stress. Craving salty food is the body’s way to cope with stress, so a salty, carby snack can help.

# 6 Lack of Sleep

Lack of sleep reduces your self control and willpower, and stimulates production of the hunger hormone ghrelin and lowers leptin levels (the satiety hormone). Studies found that those who are sleep-deprived eat 300 more calories per day.

# 7 Red

The colours red, yellow and orange are appetite stimulants, making you snack and eat more. Research shows that eating in a blue room reduced calorie consumption by 33 %. So try going for bluer hued lighting, blue crockery etc.

Being aware of the possible triggers can help you to not only recognise why you’re snacking more than you want to, but make changes to prevent it.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx