From Dan’s Bullets. (I just had to add some of my own comments in
places)
Can’t find the time to get to the
gym or don’t want to go for a jog in the rain? You may finally have run out of
excuses.
Scientists say that intense exercise for just two and a half minutes a day could help keep the pounds off.
Wow! 2 ½ minutes? I’m skeptical, but interested.
A study shows that concentrated effort can burn as many as 200 extra calories, provided the spurts are broken up with longer periods of easy recovery.
No pain, no gain: During the study the men did 30 seconds of high intensity exercise, followed by four minutes of rest.
A study shows that concentrated effort can burn as many as 200 extra calories, provided the spurts are broken up with longer periods of easy recovery.
No pain, no gain: During the study the men did 30 seconds of high intensity exercise, followed by four minutes of rest.
It is the latest evidence to
support High Intensity Training (HIT), whereby a number of short bursts of
intense exercise are teamed with short recovery breaks in between.
Although HIT is not new, recent research suggests it can deliver the same physical benefits as traditional endurance training.
Researcher Kyle Sevits said: “Research shows that many people start an exercise program, but just can’t keep it up.” The biggest factor people quote is that they don’t have the time to fit in exercise. We hope if exercise can be fitted into a smaller period of time, they may give it a go.”
Although official guidelines state adults should do 30 to 60 minutes of exercise a day, many fail to achieve this.
During a three-day study, five healthy men, all between the ages of 25 and 31, lived in a sealed off room so that their oxygen, carbon dioxide and water levels could be monitored to calculate how many calories they burnt. (Who could live in a sealed off room for 3 days? I hoped they compensated them well!)
They were also given a diet precisely tailored to meet their energy requirements. For two of the days, they spent most of their time in sedentary activities, such as using a computer.
On the last day they performed five 30-second sprint workouts at high resistance on a stationary bicycle.
Although HIT is not new, recent research suggests it can deliver the same physical benefits as traditional endurance training.
Researcher Kyle Sevits said: “Research shows that many people start an exercise program, but just can’t keep it up.” The biggest factor people quote is that they don’t have the time to fit in exercise. We hope if exercise can be fitted into a smaller period of time, they may give it a go.”
Although official guidelines state adults should do 30 to 60 minutes of exercise a day, many fail to achieve this.
During a three-day study, five healthy men, all between the ages of 25 and 31, lived in a sealed off room so that their oxygen, carbon dioxide and water levels could be monitored to calculate how many calories they burnt. (Who could live in a sealed off room for 3 days? I hoped they compensated them well!)
They were also given a diet precisely tailored to meet their energy requirements. For two of the days, they spent most of their time in sedentary activities, such as using a computer.
On the last day they performed five 30-second sprint workouts at high resistance on a stationary bicycle.
Each burst was separated by a four-minute period of recovery in which the men pedaled slowly with little resistance. The results found the volunteers burned an extra 200 calories on average over the workout day.
Although the researchers cannot prove the technique leads to weight loss, it suggests that intense, but brief, bursts of exercise could help people maintain their weight. Aha, not lose weight, but maintain it.
Mr. Sevits, of Colorado State University, which conducted the research, said burning an extra 200 calories a couple of times a week could combat average weight gain of a couple of pounds each year.
‘Motivating yourself can be very hard. The way this could work in the real world is with the guidance of a personal trainer,’ he added. OK, but not all of us can afford a personal trainer nor want one.
Experts believe HIT improves insulin sensitivity, which is important for keeping blood glucose levels stable, possibly because it uses more muscles than conventional aerobic training.
It may also help to break down stored glucose in muscles.
But scientists warn not everyone responds to this form of training because genes play a part in determining whether you gain any benefit. Oh great, another way to say it’s not my fault, I have bad genes. That excuse is getting old. I could say that, but I know the main reason I have trouble with weight gain is I eat more calories than I spend!
Anyone with medical conditions should seek medical advice before undertaking it, they added.
I think that any exercise program you undertake is a good idea, as
long as you do not have a health condition that would prevent you from doing it
safely. Adding short, but intense bursts of aerobic activity has always been a
good way to rev up your fat burning, but it would be naive to think that all you
have to do is exercise is 2 ½ minutes a day. We all know that it just isn’t
that easy, for if it were then I would be a skinny Minnie just from trying to
do speed cleaning and chasing after kids! We all would, right?
I think this study is seriously flawed, though I like the title.
What are your thoughts?
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