How to boost longevity in 4 minutes of exercise a day, no gym required

Dr. Christopher Sciamanna has built a career around making workouts less "soul-sucking" and finding the smallest dose of exercise that still delivers benefits. The minimal effective dose might be as little as four minutes a day to build strength and resilience for better longevity.

Sciamanna, a 59-year-old professor of medicine at Penn State, says, "From a health perspective, the real goal is taking people from zero to one, to a little bit." He tested that idea in people 65 and older, asking participants to do a daily series of simple at-home moves for 30 seconds each: push-ups, squats, stair-stepping, and resistance-band rows, with 30 seconds of rest between.

Modifications were allowed, and the total workout lasted four minutes. After 12 weeks those who had trouble walking improved their ability to stand up and to balance on one leg—measures that predict mobility and are linked to healthier aging and lower mortality.

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