One intense workout equals routine exercise--study

The research conducted by McMaster University, Ontario, Canada and commissioned by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada revealed that HIT--high-intensity interval training--for just 10 minutes could give steady benefits.

Lead researcher, Professor Martin Gibala said, “We have shown that interval training does not have to be ‘all out’ in order to be effective. Doing 10 one-minute sprints on a standard stationary bike with about one minute of rest in between, three times a week, works as well in improving muscle as many hours of conventional long-term biking less strenuously.”

“HIT is a time-efficient but safe alternative to traditional types of moderate long term exercise,” added Gibala.

Details of the study
The study was conducted on seven healthy and ‘recreationally active’ men, aged 21, who were put on their usual diets and physical activities during the study but were told to abstain from workouts except the stipulated regime.

During the six workout sessions, which lasted 30 minutes each, participants were asked to perform short spurts of HIT on stationary bike.

The subjects repeated the one-minute burst exercise for over eight to 10 times at 95 to 100 percent of maximal heart rate. Each of the six sessions had 75 seconds revival of low-intensity cycling.

The exercising capability of the subjects was also evaluated 72 hours after the final session.

To determine the protein content and bodily metabolism, before and after training, researchers took tissue samples from subjects’ skeletal muscle--known to strengthen activities like walking and running. This examination was called ‘paired Student’s t-test’.

Results of the study
Analysis revealed that the subjects’ capacity improved by 10 percent, post training along with boost in average strength during the sessions.

The results of the ‘paired Student’s t-test’ revealed that protein content and movement of enzymes in the muscle cells also progressed.

This was due to the fact that low capacity HIT is a “potent stimulus for increasing skeletal muscle and improving exercise performance.”

However, researchers stated that further studies will be required to see the benefits of this regimen on cutting heart diseases and obesity risks.

“While this type of research may suggest theoretical benefits to short bursts of intensive exercise, it does not change the fact that regular, moderate-intensity exercise is good for health,” concluded the researchers.

The study appears in the Journal of Physiology.