How Much Physical Activity Is Enough?
Health and performance aren’t the same thing. Here’s a simple way to understand what “enough movement” really means—and why your goal shouldn’t be to train like a pro athlete.
How Much Physical Activity Is Enough?
Written by Johan Gongo
The link between health and performance is smaller than most people think. In other words, running 40 km doesn’t automatically mean you’re healthy. In fact, long-distance runners can develop heart-related issues later in life.
Professional athletes are constantly monitored—physically and psychologically—by specialists. That’s because they push the human body close to its limits. And when your body works at full capacity for years, the risk of injury and long-term wear can be higher than for someone who trains mainly for health.
So… how much activity is actually healthy for us?
That question is hard to answer because it’s different for every person. But I have a simple rule of thumb:
Healthy activity is the amount your genetics were “built” for.
What do I mean by that?
For millions of years, humans had to move to survive. We had to hunt, search for food, and stay active just to avoid starvation. That daily movement forced the body to maintain a certain level of fitness. Over time, we adapted and evolved around an “optimal” physical baseline.
But over the last 100 years, we’ve removed movement from daily life.
Food is at our doorstep—or one phone call away. And because of that, our bodies have become weaker. Many people today struggle to support their own body weight: a simple push-up, climbing stairs, or even pulling themselves up on a bar feels impossible.
A practical answer
So a good starting answer to “How much activity do we need?” might be this:
Enough to build the strength needed to control your own body weight.
When your muscles are strong enough to handle your body weight in everyday life, you become more capable, stable, and athletic. You avoid unnecessary struggle and reduce the chance of injuries from basic movements.
“But how do I get that strength?”
If your goal is to pull your own body weight on a bar, for example, I have a YouTube video that shows you exactly how to fix this. You can find the link HERE.
If you want help
Message us on WhatsApp or come to the gym. PLANET FITNESS KORÇË supports you with a girls-only spac