Time shortage and availability are no longer factors to exercise and staying fit based on recent interval training findings by scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. According to results one minute of hard exercise with interval training achieves the same amount of health and fitness improvement as 45 minutes of moderate exercise.
The New York Times reports that this study of interval training evidenced the comparison between hard exercise and moderate workout. As little as one minute of hard exercise in an interval training can bring the body sufficient amount of strenuous activity for fitness and health benefits.
Traditional perspectives hold that the length of an exercise session indicates the quality of a work out. This consequently provides more assurance that health and fitness goals are more closely achieved.
The study took in 25 male subjects, who each were out-of-shape. In preparation for the study the subjects were measured for markers of general health as well as their body's insulin use for blood sugar regulation. A biopsy of each subject determined at a cellular level their muscle response and function.
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A third of this group was the control subset. The men were instructed to continue their general activities as they normally would. The second third were given a standard routine of two-minute warm up, 45-minute stationary biking and 3-minute cool down.
The final third applied interval training. After a two-minute warm up, the men pedaled at the highest intensity on stationary bikes, slowed down for two minutes, resumed intense pedaling for 20 seconds, switched to a slow ride for another two-minutes and returned to high intensity pedaling for a last 20 seconds. The men then cooled down for 3-minutes.
Results were compared after a 12-week period of three sessions per week. When the men were retested for fitness, researchers found that the high intensity interval training group displayed identical gains as the group with the 45-minute moderate exercise.
All that jogging is just not working out. Three ways to try high-intensity interval training: https://t.co/SGc0t54VyF #HIIT — GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) April 2, 2014
Professor Martin Gibala at McMaster University points out that application of the principles from this finding depends on an individual's health and fitness goals. Applicable workout will alwayys depend on individual goals.
"If you are an elite athlete, then obviously incorporating both endurance and interval training into an overall program maximizes performance," Martin Gibala said. "But if you are someone, like me, who just wants to boost health and fitness and you don't have 45 minutes or an hour to work out, our data show that you can get big benefits from even a single minute of intense exercise."
GQ points out that referring to this interval training system as a one-minute workout may be misleading as the total workout session eats up a full 10 minutes. Nonetheless, nested within this 10-minute routine is that invaluable one minute of intense workout that makes all the difference.
