Our transformation into coach potatoes happened in the blink of an eye. Only 100 years ago, most people relied on manual work to make their living. 

Today, things are different. Many of us live our lives in front of a screen. Online shopping and remote work mean some of us don’t need to leave the house at all. So how bad is this for us? 

The answer is now clear: Low levels of physical activity lead to an increased risk of disease and a lower quality of life in older age. However, when we come to the question of what sort of exercise you should be doing, how often, and how much it contributes to weight loss, the answers might surprise you.

In today’s episode, Jonathan speaks to a Human Physiologist to learn about the interactions between diet and exercise and their impact on human health:

• Dr. Javier Gonzalez is an associate professor of Human Physiology at the University of Bath and also a technical advisor to the athletes in the INEOS Tour de France cycling team.

Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide

Timecodes:

00:00 - Intro

02:00 - Episode start: quickfire round

03:45 - Why does exercise matter?

04:42 - How much exercise do you need to see health benefits? 

05:40 - Defining exercise

08:16 - How much walking to do to see health benefits?

09:03 - What is cardio training & strength training?

10:41 - Differences between cardio and strength training

12:18 - Importance of strength training

15:28 - Is exercise or nutrition more important for weight loss?

18:03 - Dr. Javier’s research on fasting & exercise

22:16 - Should we exercise in a fasted state?

25:26 - Fasting and bone health

26:35 - What can we learn from professional athletes?

28:03 - How does glycogen get produced?

31:55 - How does exercise relate to gut health?

33:09 - What we should eat to benefit from exercise

35:40 - How to think about protein intake

37:26 - How should non-athletes think about food to complement their exercise

40:51 - Personalization & differences between men & women

43:57 - How important is exercising for menopausal women?

45:56 - Summary

51:42 - Goodbyes

51:53 - Outro

Episode transcripts are available here.

Follow Javier: https://twitter.com/gonzalez_jt

Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/

This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.