Short Bursts of Intense Exercise as Effective as Longer Workouts

A brand new study set to be published in The Journal of Physiology has found that small amounts of high intensity exercise yields the same benefits as traditional endurance training. The short burst, but high yield training can be completed in as little as a few minutes every day.

Among the most surprising findings of the study was that nearly identical muscle health and performance were seen in two different groups of people following two completely different training regimens. The research team of this experiment, led by Martin Gibala, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMasterUniversity, made headlines last year for a related study. In their prior research findings, the team found that short burst exercise was effective but did not directly link the effects of sprint training with the effects of endurance training.

In the most recent study, as in the prior research, 16 test subjects were used. The newest study focused on 16 college-aged students each of whom performed six training sessions over a two week period. One-half of the students were asked to perform anywhere from 4-6 "sprint" bicycle sessions at an "all out" pace. This workout was completed at every session for the two week period. Between the sprints the students were required to rest for 4 minutes before beginning their next exercise on the bike.

The other group of college-aged students completed 90-120 minutes of cycling at each of their exercise sessions. The cycling for this group was completed at a moderate speed. The total time commitment for this endurance training group was 10.5 hours of cycling over the two week period. The other group which focused on sprinting exercised for only 2.5 hours total over the two week experimental period.

Despite this significant gap in actual volume of training, the advances both groups made were remarkably similar. Both the sprint group and the endurance group showed very similar improvements in exercise performance as well as lessened muscle fatigue associated with overall strength and endurance improvement.

This broad reaching study does have some minor gaps, as is common with any study of a medical nature. Perhaps one of the largest gaps seen is the application of the results to a broader group of people. This study used a very small group of participants and may lead some to question the actual conclusions which were reached. Despite this shortcoming, the study still contains many useful tips for those who don't have a lot of time to exercise.

Looking to apply the study to your exercise habits? As the study indicated, interval training, namely sprinting, can be a very time conscious way to exercise with severe time constraints. Never again will time constraints provide an excuse for lack of exercise. Not only will this study apply to the exercise habits of individuals, but potentially to the sports world as well. With shorter high intensity exercise yielding the same results as that of longer moderate training, focus can be shifted. This shift may lead to less time spent on conditioning and more emphasis put on teamwork and on field action.

Finally, the lack of time excuse has been laid to rest.