Fitness writer, Gretchen Reynolds’ latest book, “The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer”, Hudson Street Press, offers insight into the science of fitness.

Reynolds explains that for those who are primarily sedentary, the first 20 minutes of moving offers the greatest benefit to health.

“Humans are born to stroll”, she writes.

The message is that moving is better than not moving.

While the subtitle alone makes bold promises about the potential of exercise to protect the human body, the most surprising message from Ms. Reynolds is not that we all need to exercise more — or at least not the way exercise is typically defined by the American public. Ms. Reynolds makes a clear distinction between the amount of exercise we do to improve sports performance and the amount of exercise that leads to better health. To achieve the latter, she explains, we don’t need to run marathons, sweat it out on exercise bikes or measure our peak oxygen uptake. We just need to do something.

This is a great book for the immoveable masses who feel that only a gym membership or daily marathons can get them into shape.

Knowing that simply moving for a relatively short period of time, a highly achievable goal, can put them on the road to health and longevity.