Short bursts of intense exercise like running up five flights of stairs give worthwhile health benefits compared to doing nothing, researchers say. Photo: UnSplash/ Ev
Doing short intense exercise bursts provides significant health benefits, new research shows, offering a promising alternative for those struggling to find time to do get enough exercise in.
World Health Organisation guidelines say we should aim for between 75 and 150 minutes of vigourous activity each week to live healthy lives, or between 2.5 and 5 hours week of moderate activity like strolling or gardening, and that there are benefits to both physical and mental health.
However professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, Ontario, Martin Gibala, the author of The One-Minute Workout, told Sunday Morning that there's a growing body of evidence now showing shorter and more rigourous bursts can also help our health.
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While Gibala says doing the gold standard of doing 150 minutes of vigourous exercise cumulatively through each week is still best, most people are not meeting those guidelines, and short and intense exercise sessions are the next best thing.
"We know generally that physical activity is associated with benefits including it lowers your risks of dying from all causes [and] improved cardiovascular mortality.
"The single best predictor of how long you're going to live and how well you're going to live, is your cardiorespiratory fitness - your cardio health. And we know that exercise is very good at boosting your cardiovascular fitness - cardiorespiratory fitness, and the more vigourous it appears that you can get away with less total time.
"So that's the trade off, this intensity-duration trade off."
His team looked at the effect of "vigourous" physical activity carried out by people in as little as three 20 second bursts. But the intensity was key, he says.
"So imagine on a 10-point scale, where 10 is sprinting to save your child from an oncoming car, vigourous means about a 7 or an 8, whereas the traditional moderate is about a 5 or a 6.
"But it comes from these three 20 second hard bursts of exercise and we showed that if people did that they could accumulate some health benefits, so they could see improvements in their fitness, they could see improvements in some of their blood sugar scores.
"Now it's not to suggest that's as good as doing the weekly guidelines, but it's consistent with this theme that all activity counts, and very small amounts can be quite potent, so you shouldn't blow it off. There's lots of ways to structure this type of physical activity into your day - we call them exercise snacks."
Exercise isn't just about structured workouts, building exercise into your day in other ways contributes, researchers say. Photo: UnSplash/ Carl Tronders
Examples of 'short exercise snacks' might include briskly climbing up four or five flights of stairs, standing up from your desk to do a minute of squats, playing with your children or pets at a vigourous pace, carrying heavy groceries to the car or dancing.
"Three to four minutes a day, do it every day - markedly improves your health outcomes," Gibala says.
"Much like brushing your teeth or other things that we do that are routine, just try to build it in. Ideally pick something you like - or dislike the least - you're more likely to stick with it over the long term."
And there is also evidence to show short exercise bursts can help support weight loss and management - "of course when combined with a good diet," he says.
"Even modest improvements in your fitness that you can certainly illicit with a few minutes each day of physical activity - is associated with marked reductions in your risk of dying from all causes. You're going to live a longer life, you're going to live a healthier life on average if you can incorporate this into your day."
Gibala says when juggling exercise and time shortages, people should think of exercise like an investment in time-saving - as the healthier we are, the longer it's likely we'll live for.
"And the other thing is that all activity counts, so there's no minimum dose - even a couple of minutes a day can be effective. Even if you're not meeting the guidelines, this approach can still be beneficial," he says.
"The key takeaway is that every little bit helps, and you're moving the needle on your health even if you're not meeting those physical activity guidelines."
Tough exercise for short bursts like lifting heavy weights or carrying groceries gives time efficient health benefits. Photo: UnSplash/ Anastase Maragos