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The Healf Source
Do You Really Only Need 9 Minutes Of Hard Exercise?
On Huberman Lab, biochemist Rhonda Patrick unpacked the purported benefits of just 540 seconds of exercise — but there’s more to it than a spike in heart rate.
Written by: Ed Cooper
Written on: April 3, 2026
Over the years, we’ve been conditioned to believe that physical transformation requires a significant time sacrifice—that unless you’re clocking 60 (or more) minutes of hard sweat, the metabolic benefits aren't really worth it.
Yet, as our understanding of longevity and human performance evolves, the "more is more" philosophy is being flipped on its head. Such was the discussion in a recent Huberman Lab episode between host Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist, and Rhonda Patrick, a biochemist, who discussed how just nine minutes of hard effort could be the ideal number to aim for when it comes to daily exercise goals.
Curious to know whether the science really stacks up? We're breaking down the science so you can see how Patrick's theories might work for you.
What does Rhonda Patrick say about this 9-minute workout?
While speaking to Huberman, Patrick explains that even though she enjoys exercising regularly, "not everyone has the time and motivation to spend an hour's block of time working out." That, she says, needn't be a problem — because there is "emerging data that's been coming out over the last decade on these short bursts of physical activity" that count just as meaningfully towards your health. Specifically, by breaking hard exercise into three sets of three-minute bursts per day (that’s a total of 540 seconds, to be precise), she says that you could reap substantial health benefits.
We're not talking about a thrice-weekly 5K or an hour in the weights room, but about deliberate, focused efforts, such as chasing and playing with children, or running to catch the bus — everyday moments that can accumulate "towards their physical activity requirements for the week." When you do this, Patrick claims the effects are remarkable.
On the data side, performing as few as three sets of three-minute bursts regularly produces what Patrick describes as "outsized effects on health outcomes,” including a "40% reduction of all-cause mortality, 40% reduction in cancer-related mortality and 50% in cardiovascular mortality."
Is there science to back this up?
Patrick's claims are rooted in some solid, peer-reviewed research. The landmark study underpinning her conversation with Huberman is a 2022 paper published in Nature Medicine, which analysed data from over 25,000 self-reported non-exercisers, all tracked with wrist-worn accelerometers. Over an average follow-up of nearly seven years, those who performed three short bouts of vigorous activity per day — each lasting one to two minutes — showed a 38 to 40% reduction in all-cause and cancer mortality risk, and a 48 to 49% reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality risk, compared with those who did none. PubMed Crucially, none of these participants was gym-goers or regular runners. The activity in question was simply life lived with a little more intensity.
As Patrick explains in the podcast, the term researchers use for this is Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity (VILPA), which involves brief, unplanned moments where your heart rate spikes. Sprinting for the bus, powering up a flight of stairs, or chasing a toddler round the garden all qualify, and interestingly, the evidence supporting the broader exercise snack model goes beyond epidemiology.
A McMaster University study published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism found that sedentary adults who vigorously climbed a three-flight stairwell three times per day, three days per week, measurably improved their peak oxygen uptake within just six weeks with no other changes to their routine.
What are the caveats?
As good as this all sounds, we know there's no such thing as a quick fix, especially when it comes to your health. “The biggest caveat here is that the intensity is extremely high and most people do not actually reach the effort required,” explains exercise scientist and functional medicine practitioner Pete Williams. “It also only targets a narrow set of outcomes, mainly VO2 max, rather than providing comprehensive benefits such as muscle mass, joint resilience, or long-duration metabolic health.”
So, should we be exercise snacking or not? “It’s useful,” he says, “but marketing often makes it seem like a shortcut to full fitness, which it is not.”
The expert verdict
If you’re tempted to put the membership contract to your gym in the shredder and start approaching your home staircase with the intensity of a CrossFit athlete, Williams offers an alternative perspective. “Nine minutes of total work can improve some important health markers, but it is not enough on its own to fully improve long-term health or lifespan,” he says. “It’s a useful tool, but it is not a replacement for a full strategy for health and lifespan.”
Williams also warns that the level of maximal effort required to truly feel these benefits is “generally too intense for beginners,” as “they require near-maximal effort, which carries a risk of injury and cardiovascular strain for people who are not already reasonably fit.”
So how does he constitute hard effort? “Hard effort means working at 85 to 95% of your maximum heart rate or giving near-maximal effort,” he explains. “If you are not pushing yourself close to that level, you will not get the benefits that the research demonstrates.”
Of course, any movement is always a win; these caveats are just helpful to keep in mind when considering what is (and isn't) possible here.
How to try this at home
Mercifully, the good news is that you can easily apply this exercise methodology to your life — no sprint-to-the-bus required.
Williams explains: “A safe and realistic version of the workout includes a 5-minute warm-up, two 20 to 30-second hard efforts on a treadmill, bike, or rower, with two to 3-minute recoveries between, followed by a cool-down,” he says. This turns the 9-minute block “into a fifteen to twenty-minute session, but still provides a time-efficient boost for people with limited time.”
And as ever, listening to your body is key. The best exercise is the one that helps you move intentionally, building strength, resilience, and overall wellbeing
This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of Healf
Ed is a freelance journalist and former Men’s Health digital editor, with bylines in Red Bull, BBC StoryWorks, Guardian Labs, Third Space, Natural Fitness Food and Form Nutrition, among others. Having run marathons, conducted sleep experiments on himself and worked with some of the world’s most in-demand experts — from sleep scientists and strength athletes to high-performance trainers and elite-level nutritionists — one thing remains clear for The Healf Source contributor: fitness trends come and go, but as long as you keep turning up for yourself, consistency will win every time.
