3 Minutes Of Exercise Is All You Need

Do you exercise as much as you think you should, or do you follow the usual recommendations for weekly exercise to maintain good health? The most common reason people give for not exercising regularly is a lack of time. Who has time to go to the gym several times a week or spend hours walking, jogging or running? But what if it was possible to get the same health benefits from just three minutes of exercise a day? 

What’s involved in High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)?

The idea is to exercise at high intensity for very brief periods which are separated by rest, or low intensity exercise. The exercise should be aerobic and common examples are cycling on an exercise bike, running up and down stairs, or on the spot.

What are the benefits?

Researchers at the University of Bath in the UK found that HIIT improved glycemic control — or in other words that it lowered blood glucose levels, which means that HIIT could be effective in preventing type 2 diabetes.

The results of their study showed that in sedentary but healthy young men, regular HIIT sessions reduced glucose and insulin levels in the blood and increased insulin sensitivity by 23 percent. A lack of sensitivity of cells to insulin ultimately leads to the development and worsening of type 2 diabetes. It means that sugar (glucose) cannot get into cells to be used as energy, but instead accumulates in the blood. This build-up of glucose can become toxic to tissues like the eyes and kidneys and leads to a build-up of fat around our organs.

Professor James Timmons of Nottingham University is one of the researchers in an ongoing European study of HIIT in middle-aged people. He said: ‘The science is developing on High-Intensity Interval training. Yes, it is really good at improving glucose uptake into the muscles in a very, very short time.’

Martin Gibala from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, who has been researching HIIT for over a decade says:

‘A growing body of evidence demonstrates that HIIT can serve as an effective alternative to traditional endurance-based training, inducing similar or even superior physiological adaptations.’

HIIT may also help to burn fat

Professor Timmons added: ‘With really intense exercise, you release hormones that can help break down fat. This may help burn that fat over time, after HIIT is done. Also, we think, but don’t know, that HIIT will subdue appetite, while traditional exercise (jogging etc) will stimulate appetite. This last point is key and will be researched by our team.’

The effect of HIIT on body fat was shown in a study of healthy overweight women. After performing HIIT for 15 weeks, the women who participated in the study lost more fat from their trunks and legs and reduced body mass, total body fat and insulin levels, compared with women who carried out traditional exercise regimens for longer periods of time.