Six Minutes of Hard-Core Exercise Per Week May Be Enough
Posted on 06/07/2005 8:03:02 AM PDT by Paradox
Six Minutes of Hard-Core Exercise Per Week May Be Enough |
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Ron Gara| 06 June, 2005 23:31 GMT
"Short bouts of very intense exercise improved muscle health and performance comparable to several weeks of traditional endurance training," says Martin Gibala, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology of McMaster University and leader of the provocative new study. Performing repeated bouts of high-intensity sprint-type exercise resulted in profound changes in skeletal muscle and endurance capacity, similar to training that requires hours of exercise each week, the researchers report in the June edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology. Endurance Capacity Increased The study was conducted on 16 subjects: eight who performed a two-week sprint interval training program and eight who did no exercise training. The training program consisted of between four and seven 30-second bursts of "all out" cycling followed by four minutes of recovery three times a week for two weeks. Endurance capacity in the sprint group increased on average from 26 minutes to 51 minutes, the researchers found, whereas the control group showed no change. The muscles of the trained group also showed a significant increase in citrate synthase, an enzyme that is indicative of the tissue's ability to utilize oxygen. High Level of Motivation "Sprint training may offer an option for individuals who cite "lack of time" as a major impediment to fitness and conditioning," said Gibala. "This type of training is very demanding and requires a high level of motivation," he noted. "However less frequent, higher intensity exercise can indeed lead to improvements in health and fitness." |
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I would suggest that anyone who is NOT in decent shape get a checkup by a doctor first, and then build up the intensity slowly, over a period of weeks.
Does sex qualify? I can easily do 15 minutes 3x a week...
This is a heart attack and a lawsuit waiting to happen..
I've seen other studies that show that weightlifing one day a week gives you over half as much benefit as three times a week -- i.e., increasing the amount of exercise has diminishing returns...
Try reading the article bud, it says 6 minutes is A-OK!!
WOOO HOOOOO!!! I'm a TRIATHLETE now!!!!!
:)
They're right. You'll lose weight rather quickly once death sets in after the heart attack.
Less then a minute a day???? Woo-hoo!!
Yes if you perform Michael Jackson winkie twinkies!
BFD. The question is not whether the high intensity program works, but rather, how it compares to more traditional aerobic exercise. This study doesn't address the issue because the control group consisted of eight couch potatoes.
Do you do it with high intensity? If so, it might qualify.
Uhhh, I saw "hardcore" in the title and immediately assumed....
Oh well.
If you're already not in shape, couldn't those bouts of super intense exercise....kill you? Isn't that how folks have heart attacks - responding to short intense bouts of exercise they're not used to?
That depends upon your weightlifting goals. Although I lift weights 3 to 4 times a week, I keep my workouts short and intense: No more than 4 reps per set at 20 seconds per rep, at 95% to 100% capacity. My entire weightlifting workout lasts about 20 to 30 minutes.
bump
I'm sure you know what you're doing. Do you think other folks can figure it out themselves or would they need a trainer to design a program for them?
Re#14 Where did you get that program, if I may ask. I'm about 3 times at the gym a week, 3 sets of 12-15 reps at 75-80% of capacity. I made it up. It has resulted in good tone and just enough soreness to feel like I got a workout...
That's what had me scratching my head. Maybe what they meant to prove is that some exercise give better results than no exercise??
susie
If you're not in shape your definition of intense exercise will be different. Basically it's all just pushing your body as far as it can go, which as you get in shape is farther and farther.
Ona more serious note, don't football players have higher cardiac damage rates because they engage in lots of short intense bursts of activity? But this is one lousy 6 minute burst a week.
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