The secret to staying fit might just be doing less exercise.
If you’ve been reading my Blog for some time, you’ll know that I recommend short bursts of higher intensity exercise to give the most benefit from your time and effort.
A new study I have just read about shows that short but intensive bursts of exercise lasting ten minutes are as effective as hours of training in fighting flab and getting fitter.
Researchers who have been studying interval training have found that it not only takes less time than what is typically recommended, but the regimen does not have to be ‘flat out’ to be effective in helping reduce the risk of such conditions at Type 2 diabetes.
The study is reported in a recent edition of The Journal of Physiology.
“What the research has been able to show is that interval training does not have to be ‘all out’ in order to be effective and time-efficient,” says Martin Gibala, Professor at the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University.
Professor Gibala’s first study on interval training was published five years ago. Since then a growing body of research has focused on this particular method of exercising in which you train hard but for less time.
Previous research from McMaster University involved 30 seconds of maximal pedaling on an exercise bike followed by four minutes of recovery, and repeated 4-6 times.
This latest research involved eight to 12 one-minute bouts of exercise on a stationary bicycle at a relatively lower intensity with rest intervals of 75 seconds, for a total of 20-25 minutes per session.
The workload was still above most people’s comfort zone, but only about half of what can be achieved when people sprint at an all-out pace.
According to the researchers the trade-off for the lower intensity was that the duration had to increase to get the same training effect. In the words of Professor Gibala, “There is no free lunch; duration must increase as intensity decreases.”
While the total amount of exercise performed was higher than in Gibala’s previous interval training studies, the overall time commitment was still lower than what is typically recommended by public health agencies and most weight loss programs.
What does it mean for you?
The beauty of exercising this way (doing intervals) is that if you don’t have much time or struggle to fit exercise into your busy day, you can get the same fitness benefits in less time by doing bursts of higher intensity exercise.
Most people find it a challenge to push themselves very hard, so this study shows that provided you exercise for a bit longer you don’t have to push as hard.
My recommendation is to vary both the intensity and the time. On the days when you are short on time, do shorter, faster intervals.
On days when you have more time, exercise at a lower intensity but for a bit longer. Hopefully these days will feel like you are cruising well within your limits so make sure you enjoy these days.
