In the last decade the common notion about health and exercise has always been, more exercise equals better health. But as we understand more and more how the body recuperates and utilizes energy and stress to regulate, we see that intense workouts can equal a lot of long term damage.

Enter Peter Schnohr at the Copenhagen City Heart Study, a long-running survey of the habits and health of residents of the capital city. In a compelling 12 year ongoing study, researchers found something interesting: in terms of mortality, the strenuous joggers were no better off than the sedentary non joggers in the long run. The research suggests that strenuous workouts may prove to cause long term cardiovascular damage.

The optimal frequency of jogging was 2 to 3 times per week, or 1-2.5hrs of jogging, tops. The study suggests that more is not better regarding running and mortality. More can be actually worse, if you run too hard, too frequently. Light and moderate joggers have lower mortality than sedentary nonjoggers, but strenuous exercisers almost doubled their mortality risk.