Ask ten people how much exercise you need per week and you will get ten answers. The World Health Organization gives a clear one for the general population. Its targets are about health rather than performance, and they are easier to reach than most online plans suggest. Here is what they say, followed by what they look like in a real diary.
What the WHO recommends
In guidelines published in November 2020, the WHO recommends that all adults do at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week. Its age-group page spells out the equivalent: 150 minutes at moderate intensity, or 75 minutes at vigorous intensity, or a mix of both.
On top of that come muscle-strengthening activities for the major muscle groups on two or more days a week. Adults aged 65 and over have the same time targets. Those with poor mobility should add activity that improves balance and helps prevent falls on three or more days a week.
Two further messages matter as much as the numbers. Any amount of activity is better than none, even below these figures. And people who sit for long periods should move more to counter the effects of sedentary time. Managing 90 minutes means you are on your way, so do not count it as a failure.
Moderate or vigorous: how can you tell?
The talk test is the simplest guide. At moderate intensity you breathe harder but can still speak in full sentences: brisk walking, easy cycling, relaxed swimming. At vigorous intensity you only manage a few words before you need a breath: running, skipping rope, boxing rounds, hard circuits.
This is not a medical measure, and some medication changes how effort feels. It works well enough for planning an ordinary week. Strength work counts separately. It means lifting, pushing or pulling a load, including your own body weight, until the last repetitions get hard.
Three sample weeks
These follow the targets, though no plan suits everyone. Adjust them to your condition, and ask a doctor first if you have a health problem.
- The realistic minimum: 30 minutes of brisk walking five days a week, plus two 20-minute body-weight strength sessions. No gym needed.
- With a trainer twice a week: two one-hour coached sessions combining strength and cardio, plus three walks of 25 to 30 minutes. It is the rhythm we describe as the most common on our page about working one-to-one with a Marrakech coach.
- A more ambitious week: three strength sessions, two 30-minute vigorous sessions and one longer outing at the weekend. That volume calls for good sleep and at least one full rest day.
Our programme comparison by weekly rhythm and goal shows where each discipline fits. If you are still choosing where to train, we also wrote a guide to gym versus private coaching.
Fitting it around work and the Marrakech climate
Time and temperature tend to be the real obstacles. In summer, walk early in the morning or after sunset. A nearby park, a loop of your neighbourhood before work or a walk after dinner counts as much as an hour on a treadmill, as long as the intensity is right.
Splitting it up works too. The WHO talks in weekly totals, so three 10-minute walks on a busy workday all go towards the figure. If July wrecks your routine, our article on exercising in hot weather explains what to change.
Building up without getting injured
After a long break, treat the WHO figures as a destination rather than a week-one target. Start with whatever you can do without pain, then add a little time or load each week, changing one thing at a time. Fitness tends to return faster than tendons adapt, and many small comeback injuries happen in that gap.
See a doctor before you start if you have a long-term condition, a history of heart problems or unexplained chest pain, or if you are pregnant. The WHO says its guidance also covers people living with chronic conditions or disability, but how to apply it is an individual decision.
Over 65: balance matters as much as breath
Strength and balance are no luxury as you age, since the WHO links them to preventing falls. A few simple exercises make a start: standing up from a chair without your hands, balancing on one foot beside a wall, walking heel to toe. Mourad Taoufiq's work with older clients, as described on his profile, centres on functional strength and balance, with controlled ranges of motion and slow progression.
If you would like help building your week, have a look at the coaches listed on this site, their specialities and the areas they cover. Either way, keep the simplest idea in these guidelines in mind: some is better than none, and a bit more is usually better than a bit.
