It’s a common excuse: You just don’t have enough time to exercise.
But do you have a minute?
A new study published in the journal PLoS One reveals that just one minute of high intensity exercise–yes, you read that right–could lower your blood pressure by as much as 12 percent.
In addition, it could also improve your blood sugar levels, reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes.
The findings were led by researchers from McMaster University.
“Short-term interval training protocols can induce physiological remodeling similar to continuous moderate-intensity training, despite reduced time commitment and a relatively small total exercise volume,” say researchers in the online version of PLoS One. “The main finding from the present study was that short-term interval training, using a protocol that involved only 1 min of very intense exercise within a total time commitment of 10 min, was a potent stimulus to induce physiological adaptations that are linked to improved health in overweight and obese adults. Short-term interval training using a 10 min protocol that involved only 1 min of hard exercise, 3x/wk, stimulated physiological changes linked to improved health in overweight adults.”
For the study, researchers recruited 14 men and women described as being either overweight or obese–a group which often benefits from increased exercise. After measuring certain health markers such as their blood pressure and glucose, researchers had them work out on a stationary bike, peddling as fast as they could for 3 20 second intervals, lasting a full minute. From there, they repeated this same exercise 3 times a week–to surprising results.
6 weeks after their first workout, researchers checked their blood pressure–and found that it decreased their blood pressure by a whopping 12 percent. Better yet, it improved blood sugar levels for the men in the group, though it had relatively little effect for women.
To researchers, the findings show that staying in shape doesn’t necessarily mean working out longer.
“Our general design, which involved 3 sessions per week for 6 wk, was similar to recent studies by Metcalfe and Ma, but clarified outstanding questions regarding the potential for very low-volume interval training to increase muscle oxidative capacity, resting blood pressure and aspects of glycemic control,” say researchers. “Despite the small sample size, potential sex-specific adaptations were apparent that warrant further investigation. In summary, we report that 3 min of all-out exercise performed within a 30 min time commitment per week including warm-up and cool-down, improved skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and indices of cardiometabolic health including VO2 peak and blood pressure, in overweight/obese adults.”
What This Means For You
It’s true: It’s hard to find time to work out. Turns out you don’t actually need much time to exercise, according to these findings, however–just one minute alone can improve your health.
Readers: Have you tried short workouts like this before?
Sources:
Introducing the One-Minute Workout – Time.com
Three Minutes of All-Out Intermittent Exercise Per Week Increases Skeletal Muscle Oxidative Capacity and Improves Cardiometabolic Health – PLoSOne.org
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