Should Exercise Targets Differ by Sex for Heart Health?

New research suggests men and women may not get identical heart returns from the same workout habits. While the familiar target of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week remains a useful baseline, sex-specific biology appears to change how much benefit each minute of exercise delivers.

What the data are telling us

Studies show women who reach current activity guidelines often gain more cardiovascular benefit per minute of exercise than men do. That is good news for people who struggle to fit longer training sessions into busy schedules: one shorter, efficient workout session may deliver relatively larger heart-health returns for women.

Why this matters for men and women differently

For men, the pattern is different. Greater total minutes of activity continue to produce additional heart-protective effects, which means accumulating more exercise across the week typically leads to better outcomes. The message for men is not to double gym time overnight, but to consistently build activity in ways that fit daily life.

Biology, policy, and rehabilitation

Both sexes gain clear benefits from regular physical activity. What changes is the gradient of benefit: biological differences influence how exercise intensity, duration, and type translate into cardiac improvements. Current cardiac rehabilitation programs and exercise-referral schemes usually set identical targets for men and women. These new findings suggest there may be value in tailoring goals to an individual s starting point, physiology, and lifestyle.

Practical takeaways

• Aim for the baseline 150 minutes of moderate activity each week when possible.
• If time is limited, women may see disproportionately large benefits from shorter, efficient sessions.
• Men should focus on consistently increasing total weekly minutes and mixing activity types to boost heart health.
• Regardless of sex, reduce sedentary time: move more, sit less.

What researchers still want to know

Open questions include whether different exercise types or intensities might close the gap between sexes, and how personalised rehabilitation programs would perform in clinical settings. Future trials that test sex-specific targets could reshape guidelines for cardiac rehab and public health advice.

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