People who say they don't have time to exercise may be out of excuses: A new study finds that just 1 minute of sprinting, along with 9 minutes of light exercise, leads to similar improvements in health and fitness as a 50-minute workout at a moderate pace.
PLOS One published a study, where exercise scientists led by Martin Gibala, chair of kinesiology at McMaster University, who has spent the last several years documenting the health benefits of interval training, found that as little as one minute of intensive exercise could have the same health benefits for the heart, respiratory fitness and muscles as 45 minutes of more typical continuous exercise over three months.
There’s a lot of talk in the exercise world about high intensity interval training (HIIT) — alternating episodes of exercise with periods of less intensive activity or recovery. Professional and elite athletes have been using interval training for nearly a century to maintain their peak performance with the least wear and tear on their bodies. And it’s baked in to workouts like such as Freeletics .
But the concept of HIIT is gaining more momentum lately because studies show that such regimens can actually have the same health benefits as continuous, longer workouts—even if the intervals of exercise add up to as little a 60 seconds of burn. Becuase it’s about alternating within a workout.
The key in how little you can get away with, however, depends on how hard you push yourself during those short bursts of activity.