If You Have Two Minutes, You Have Time for a Great Workout
We have all seen those annoying late night commercials advertising ridiculous fitness products catering to a fat and lazy population looking to get into shape with minimal effort.
Well, turns out there might actually be something to all this minimal effort business.
A new study suggests that two-and-a-half minutes of vigorous exercise is comparable to running for an hour-and-a-half.
Researchers from Britain's Aberdeen University recently collected data on a group of men between the ages of 18 and 35 who were asked to either run sprints, pedal a bike or a simply take a 30-minute walk.
What they found was those people who performed high intensity sprints for 30 seconds, rested for four minutes and then executed the activity again experienced a more rapid decrease in fat levels than those guys that took a brisk 30-minute walk.
To measure fat levels, researchers had study participants visit the lab exactly one day after they performed their designated exercise to consume a breakfast high in fat and a lunch of just bread, mayonnaise and cheese. Researchers then looked at the speed which the fat content began to drop in their blood.
They discovered that activities like a 30-minute brisk walk decreased fat content by 11 percent, while brief, intense exercise for two-and-a-half minutes revealed a surprising 33 percent reduction in fat -- equal to an hour-and-a-half of running.
Researchers say that these results are likely due to brief surges of vigorous exercise causing the liver to absorb more fat from a person’s blood prior to being burned off by the body.
Study experts added that the two-and-a-half minute workout technically consists of about 20 minutes when taking into consideration the four minute rests, and they say finding time to implement high intensity workouts into your daily routine is the only way it will provide you with positive health benefits.