Short Bursts Of Very Intense Exercise As Good As Traditional Endurance Training

September 21, 2006

Short Bursts Of Very Intense Exercise As Good As Traditional

Endurance Training So " No Time To Exercise " Is No Excuse

A new study, published in The Journal of Physiology, shows that short

bursts of very intense exercise -- equivalent to only a few minutes

per day -- can produce the same results as traditional endurance

training.

" The most striking finding from our study was the remarkably similar

improvements in muscle health and performance induced by two such

diverse training strategies, " says Gibala, an associate

professor of kinesiology at McMaster University.

Gibala's team made headlines last year when they suggested that a few

minutes of high-intensity exercise could be as effective as an hour

of moderate activity. However, their previous work did not directly

compare sprint versus endurance training.

The new study was conducted on 16 college-aged students who performed

six training sessions over two weeks. Eight subjects performed

between four and six 30-second bursts of " all out " cycling separated

by 4 minutes of recovery during each training session. The other

eight subjects performed 90-120 minutes of continuous moderate-

intensity cycling each day. Total training time commitment including

recovery was 2.5 hours in the sprint group, whereas the endurance

group performed 10.5 hours of total exercise over two weeks. Despite

the marked difference in training volume, both groups showed similar

improvements in exercise performance and muscle parameters associated

with fatigue resistance.

" Our study demonstrates that interval-based exercise is a very time-

efficient training strategy, " said Gibala. " This type of training is

very demanding and requires a high level of motivation. However,

short bursts of intense exercise may be an effective option for

individuals who cite 'lack of time' as a major impediment to

fitness. "

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