The NHS Fitness Studio has 4 aerobic videos, each 45 minutes: aerobics for beginners, La Bomba dance, belly dancing for beginners and a wake-up workout. The NHS adults’ guidelines ask for 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, and in the guideline’s example lists “dancing” is moderate while “aerobics” is vigorous. We set out each video page and added a calculator for how many of these videos a week reach 150 minutes. The moves inside the videos are not written down, so we have not reproduced them.
1. 4 videos, all 45 minutes. Aerobics for beginners, belly dancing for beginners and the wake-up workout are for beginners; La Bomba suits people with a reasonable level of fitness.
2. 150 minutes moderate or 75 minutes vigorous a week (NHS adults’ guidelines). In the example lists, dancing is moderate and aerobics vigorous.
3. Counted as moderate, 4 of the 45-minute videos (180 minutes) is the first number past 150; counted as vigorous, 2 (90 minutes) pass 75 (our arithmetic). Strength on 2 days a week comes on top.
The four videos — as the NHS pages describe them
| Video | What the NHS says | Level · what you need |
|---|---|---|
| Aerobics for beginners | A 45-minute workout to improve general fitness and help you reach a healthy weight. “If you cannot follow all the steps at first, just keep moving” | Beginners · no equipment listed; water nearby |
| La Bomba dance | Builds energy and fitness with a mix of dance moves to Latin American music, hip hop, Afrobeats and R&B, fun enough that you forget how hard you are working | A reasonable level of fitness · trainers, water, a towel if you like |
| Belly dancing for beginners | An aerobic workout to improve flexibility and core strength; combining music and exercise can lift your mood | Beginners · no equipment listed |
| Wake-up workout | Prepares body and mind for the working day, combining cardio and strength exercises for a morning boost | Ideal for beginners · water, a towel, a mat if possible |
All four were created by InstructorLive and are recordings of previously live webcasts. The shared safety box says they suit most people in good health with a reasonable level of fitness, and to get advice from a GP first if you are unsure they suit your fitness, have a health problem, injury or symptoms, have had a recent heart attack or operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth. Stop immediately if you feel any pain or become unwell.
The NHS adults’ guidelines — how many minutes, how hard
| Guideline | NHS wording | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| How much | At least 150 minutes moderate or 75 minutes vigorous a week | With 45-minute videos, 4 moderate or 2 vigorous are the first counts past it |
| Spread | Spread evenly over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day | The calculator does not count days — avoid saving it all up |
| Strength | Strengthening activities working all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week | Strength time does not count towards moderate aerobic activity |
| Sitting | Reduce time sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity | One video does not undo a day spent sitting |
The NHS says moderate activity raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster and feel warmer, and that one way to tell is if you can still talk but not sing. Vigorous activity makes you breathe hard and fast. Its moderate examples are brisk walking, water aerobics, riding a bike, dancing, doubles tennis, pushing a lawn mower, hiking and rollerblading; its vigorous examples are running, swimming, riding a bike fast or on hills, walking up the stairs, sports such as football, rugby, netball and hockey, skipping, aerobics, gymnastics and martial arts.
The same video is harder for some people than others. Whether to count aerobics for beginners as vigorous is best judged the way the guidelines describe: can you talk but not sing (moderate), or are you breathing hard and fast (vigorous)? The calculator’s “all as moderate” option takes the lower count when you cannot tell (our reading). Gauging intensity by talking is covered in the talk test.
Calculator
Updates as you choose. Every video is 45 minutes. In “by the NHS example lists” mode, aerobics for beginners counts as vigorous because “aerobics” is in the NHS vigorous list; the two dance videos count as moderate because “dancing” is in the moderate list; the wake-up workout, in neither list, counts as moderate (our choice). The moderate-equivalent doubles vigorous minutes, reading 150 moderate and 75 vigorous as the same target (our conversion). How hard a video feels for you is the real test.
Four sums — our examples
| Example (ours) | Moderate-equivalent | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Each video once, by the lists | 225 minutes | 135 moderate + 45 vigorous × 2. Past 150 |
| Each video once, all as moderate | 180 minutes | 45 × 4. Still past 150 |
| La Bomba only, 3 times a week | 135 minutes | 15 minutes short — 1 more 45-minute video makes 180 |
| Aerobics for beginners only, twice, by the lists | 180 minutes | 90 minutes vigorous — past 75 minutes vigorous |
The calculator opens on each video once, by the lists, with 2 strength days: 225 moderate-equivalent minutes and strength “met for frequency”. Three 45-minute videos make 135 minutes, short of 150 when counted only as moderate (our arithmetic).
Checklist
- ☐ Trainers (La Bomba), water, a towel, a mat if possible
- ☐ Spread the 150 minutes over 4 to 5 days or every day
- ☐ Gauge your intensity — talk but not sing is moderate
- ☐ Strength on at least 2 days, separately
- ☐ Stop at once if you feel pain or become unwell
Questions that remain
I worry about noise for the neighbours.
The video pages say nothing about noise or jumping. For moves that raise the heart rate without jumping see quiet home cardio.
What if I cannot keep up at first?
The aerobics for beginners page says that if you cannot follow all the steps at first, just keep moving and you will soon keep up with the instructor.
Does the wake-up workout count as strength?
The page says only that it combines cardio and strength exercises, not whether it meets the strength guideline (all the major muscle groups, 2 sets of 8 to 12). The calculator counts it as aerobic only (our choice). The strength videos are in strength workout videos from the NHS, pilates and yoga in pilates and yoga videos from the NHS.
Sources
- NHS — Aerobic exercise videos — source (page shows: published 26 September 2023, modified 12 August 2024; checked 10 November 2026). The list of four.
- NHS — the four video pages — aerobics for beginners and the others (aerobics and wake-up reviewed 8 December 2023, next 8 December 2026; La Bomba and belly dancing reviewed 14 May 2025, next 14 May 2028; checked 10 November 2026). Length, level, what you need, the shared safety box.
- NHS — Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 — source (reviewed 22 May 2024, next review 22 May 2027; checked 10 November 2026). 150 and 75 minutes, 4 to 5 days or every day, strength on 2 days, sitting less, the moderate and vigorous descriptions and examples.
- NHS — How to improve your strength and flexibility — source (reviewed 21 July 2026; checked 10 November 2026). Strength time does not count towards moderate aerobic activity.
- Not read. The moves and intensity inside the videos (no written version), calories per video, whether the videos play outside the UK.
- What we added. Matching the videos to the moderate and vigorous example lists, the moderate-equivalent that doubles vigorous minutes, the counts and examples.
Where to check further
- Your GP if you have a condition or have been inactive a long time — how hard to start.
- The full adults’ guidelines — NHS physical activity guidelines for adults.
Written on 10 November 2026. The video descriptions and guidelines are from the NHS; the intensity matching and sums are ours.
