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 MARCH 22, 2010 Interval Training for Busy People If you think you don't have the time to exercise, think again. Short high-intensity exercise bursts, known as interval training, are a time-efficient, safe alternative to a traditional training routine of moderate exercise over longer periods. Doing 10 one-minute sprints on a standard stationary bicycle 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, according to new research. "We have shown that interval training does not have to be 'all out' in order to be effective," says Martin Gibala, professor and chair of the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University. The new study involves eight to 12 one-minute bouts of exercise on a standard stationary bicycle with rest intervals of 75 seconds for a total of 20-25 minutes per session. The workload is above most people's comfort zone - about 95% of maximal heart rate - but only about half of what can be achieved when people sprint at an all-out pace, Gibala and colleagues report in the March issue of The Journal of Physiology. You would need to do more than 10 hours of bicycling as exercise at a moderate pace over a two-week period to achieve equivalent results as those in the new study. This type of interval workout is still very demanding, but it can easily be achieved by the general public, not just elite athletes, and does not require more than an average exercise bicycle, he says. |
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