Just 1 Minute Of Intense Exercise Rivals The Benefits Of A 45-Minute Workout collective-evolution

Chances are, if you are like the majority of Americans, Australians, or Brits, you’re probably not getting enough exercise. From office chair to car ride to couch, we could definitely be staying more active. We all know we should exercise, but sometimes life happens and many of us would rather do almost anything else. The main excuse becomes, there’s just no time. Well, what if I told you that you could get the exact same benefits of a 45-minute workout, in 1 minute? According to this new study, you can.

According to exercise physiologist from McMaster University, Martin Gibala, “Brief bursts of intense exercise are remarkably effective.”

You should know that the entire workout routine is actually 10 minutes, but this includes warming up and cooling down, with only short bursts of intense physical activity lasting 1 minute. What excuse could you possibly have not to spare 10 minutes? None. The answer is none. You have no excuses. You have 10 minutes—I know you do.

The Study

Gibala and his team recruited 27 men who don’t regularly exercise and assigned them to three weekly sessions of either intense or moderate training for a 12-week span, or a control group that didn’t exercise at all.

The group who were assigned to the more ‘intense’ exercise group were shown sprint interval training (SIT) involving a 2-minute warm up on a stationary bike, 3 20-second cycle sprints, followed by a 3 minute cool down and 2 minutes of simple cycling.

Those who were assigned to the ‘moderate’ MCIT group (moderate intensity continuous training) rode a stationary bike continuously at a moderate pace for 45 minutes 3 times a week.

The researchers examined some key health indicators over the course of the study that included cardiorespiratory fitness and insulin, which determine how well the body is regulating blood sugar levels.

The Results

Those in the ‘moderate’ group completed 5 times as much exercise over the 12-week period as those in the ‘intense’ group, and the health benefits that they achieved were “remarkably similar” according to the team of researchers.

“Most people cite ‘lack of time’ as the main reason for not being active,” says Gibala. “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.”

What’s Your Excuse?

While it is definitely important to point out that this was a relatively small sample size and perhaps the study should be taken with a grain of salt, there is a growing number of evidence that shows just how effective interval training can be and why long-distance type exercise may not be ideal. Of course everybody responds to exercise differently, but the main point to take away here is that you absolutely do have time to exercise and you certainly should!

10 minutes a few times a week is something everyone is capable of. You don’t even have to go to the gym, just go to a track or get a jump rope, even ride your bike and go hard! If you play any sports this is also a great, fun way to resemble this sort of exercise regime.