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A doctor named Karl Zarse shared some good news for those of us who aren’t a fan of going to the gym for hours at a time. Apparently, that isn’t necessary to achieve maximum health benefits.

Instead, it’s totally acceptable to put the work in for just a few minutes a few days per week. Zarse also shared that this can be ideal for people who are maybe new to working out and need some tricks and tips to get them started.

Dr. Zarse claimed that doing vigorous exercise can greatly reduce the risk of mortality.

“If you don’t exercise at all, I have some really phenomenal news to share with you,” Zarse began in his video. He explained that a variety of different studies and research have proven that going from doing no physical activity every day to partaking in at least 20 minutes of “vigorous exercise between three and five times per week” can help your overall health.

“You dramatically reduce your all-cause risk of mortality by anywhere between 30 to 70%,” he pointed out. “The low end of the benefit was around three times a week for 20 minutes, the best was 20 minutes five times a week.”

Zarse acknowledged that there isn’t any drug or procedure out there that can have this effect on our well-being and mortality compared to doing these vigorous exercises. “I would think about that and just tell yourself, ‘Can I give myself 20 minutes a day?'”

“Can I tell everyone in my life that I have to wait to get my 20 minutes of vigorous exercise in, and the reason I’m making them wait is to achieve a 50% reduction in all-cause mortality?” he asked. “I think that is an easy case to make to the people who care about you.”

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Some examples of vigorous exercise include anything that is considered ‘high-intensity.’

In another TikTok video, Dr. Sri, an integrative family and sports medicine doctor, explained that while doing vigorous exercise, you shouldn’t be able to have a “smooth conversation.”

“Vigorous intensity exercise based on talk test: not able to have a smooth conversation while exercising and not being able to sing,” Dr. Sri explained.

Using riding a stationary bike as an example of vigorous exercise, he pointed out that if someone were to raise the intensity of the bike for at least five minutes, it would be equivalent to “10 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.”

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As Zarse mentioned in his video, many studies have proven how beneficial these workouts are.

According to a study published in the journal Circulation, those who worked out two to four times beyond the minimum physical activity recommendations had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Those who worked out two to four times above the moderate physical activity recommendations, which is about 300 to 599 minutes each week, saw the most benefit. 

Adults who also worked out two to four times more than the vigorous physical activity recommendations, or about 150 to 299 minutes per week, were found to have 21% to 23% lower all-cause mortality, according to the study.

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Some examples of vigorous exercise that someone could do for at least 20 minutes a few times a week include running, jumping rope, hiking, jogging, and playing sports, including basketball, tennis, and soccer, per the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Zarse’s message is simple: You don’t need to be an exercise enthusiast to make a profound change in your life. Simply incorporating some of these workouts into your everyday routine for 20 minutes can have a huge impact on your overall health and well-being.

In a world where we often feel a loss of control over certain aspects of our lives, we do have the power to live a healthier and fuller life by making sure we are taking care of ourselves.

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.