Not got much time to exercise? Well you could be in luck.
According to a new study by researchers at McMaster University in Canada, one minute of intense exercise could have as much positive benefit as exercising moderately for 45 minutes.
The research involved the recruitment of 27 inactive men who were asked to either undertake a short and intense exercise regime, a moderate one or no regime at all three times a week for 12 weeks, according to UPI.
The participants used exercise bikes with the intense workout involving interval training of 20 seconds sprints for a total of ten minutes with sufficient three-minute warm up and cool down sessions. While the moderate group did 45 minutes of continuous cycling also with warm up and cool down routines.
What the researchers found was that both groups did equally well in the tests carried out after 12 weeks. Both groups increased the same amount of oxygen intake, saw an improvement in insulin sensitivity and muscle content.
Dr. Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University says that it goes to show that small amounts of intense exercise are highly beneficial and should be encouraged. It also shows that people don’t need to drag themselves to a gym or buy expensive equipment to get optimum health benefits from exercise.
“Our study shows that an interval-based approach can be more efficient — you can get health and fitness benefits comparable to the traditional approach, in less time.”
“The basic principles apply to many forms of exercise. Climbing a few flights of stairs on your lunch hour can provide a quick and effective workout. The health benefits are significant.”
The study was published in the journal PLoS One.