New research finds surprising benefits from exercising even less than recommended amounts. Weekend warriors, who pack their workouts into one or two sessions a week, lower their risk of dying over roughly the next decade nearly as much as people who exercise more often.

Guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week, ideally spread out so you get some on most days. But the study found that exercising less than that amount, or less often, lowered the risk of premature death by about 30 per cent compared to people who get no physical activity.

The study involved nearly 64,000 people in England and Scotland. Results were published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press