“You can do literally unlimited amounts of moderate-intensity exercise, and you won’t hurt your body,” she explains. So daily walking, daily yoga, or daily moderate weight training is A-OK. “ But when it comes to the high-intensity stuff, that’s when people start to break,” she explains.
More specifically, “If you go over 150 minutes of high-intensity interval training a week, you’ll damage your mitochondria,” she explains. She references a 2021 study, in which researchers found mitochondrial impairment and even increased glucose intolerance1 in those who spent more than five hours a week doing HIIT exercise. (150 minutes is only about 2.5 hours, but Maloof would consider it the potential point of diminishing returns. Think of five hours the absolute limit.)
Of course, everyone has different tolerance levels when it comes to working out. So when analyzing what is too much, remember that it’s very personal; your limit could be slightly under or over these guidelines, and that’s totally OK. As always, it’s important to listen to your body.
