Women who can exercise at a higher intensity during a heart stress test are less likely to die from heart disease, cancer, and other causes, say the authors of a new study.

According to findings, vigorous exercise has impact on the risk of dying from these kinds of conditions.

It’s no surprise that exercise is good for your health, but does the new study mean that all women should take up more vigorous exercise like running, swimming laps, or kickboxing?

Not necessarily. There are many ways to increase your fitness level. Still, for some women, higher-intensity workouts can be a great option.

While many types of exercise lead to greater fitness, there are advantages to maxing out your effort, even if just for a few minutes at a time.

Ken Seldeen, PhD, a research assistant professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, said the body responds to exercise in a way that prepares it for similar challenges in the future.

“Vigorous exercise simply challenges the body more so than moderate exercise, and the response therefore is greater so as to better prepare for that next vigorous challenge,” said Seldeen.

These responses include a greater flow of blood to the muscles which carries oxygen and fuel as well as increased muscle mass and strength.

Body fat is also reduced as fat is converted to fuel, and insulin signaling improves, which can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

There’s also a boost to your exercise capacity.

“Vigorous exercise for example, high-intensity training tends to be superior to lower intensity exercise for increasing maximal MET level,” said Butcher.

It also takes less time to get similar health benefits from vigorous exercise than from moderate-intensity activities.

However, this doesn’t mean vigorous exercise is the only way to go.

“Moderate exercise … delivers some of these enhancements, albeit to a lesser degree,” said Seldeen, “but there are benefits of moderate exercise that are very important, such as reducing stress and chronic inflammation.”