Do You Really Need To Go The Gym Each Day? Just Sprinting For 40 Seconds/Day Can Make You 12% Fitter

Do you really need to go the gym each day? Just sprinting for 40 seconds each day can make you 12% fitter

• Adults only need a 10 minute walk interspersed with 2 20-second sprints
• Done 3 times a week, it may be as good as the recommended 150 minutes
• But any more than 40 seconds of 'all-out' exercise is counter-productive

It will be welcomed by overworked office workers without even a proper lunch break to exercise.

Just 40 seconds of running full pelt up a hill, and no more, could greatly increase your fitness.

Scientists have found only 10 minutes of walking, interspersed with two 20-second bursts of sprinting as fast as you can, could make an inactive person 12 per cent fitter.

Done three times a week, it may be just as effective as the 150 minutes of exercise a week recommended by the NHS, which more than a third of us do not even manage to achieve.



Just 10 minutes of walking, interspersed with two 20-second bursts of sprinting as fast as possible, could make an inactive person 12 per cent fitter

A review of 38 existing studies taking in more than 400 people, by the University of Stirling, backs up the quick-hit health benefits of high-intensity exercise.

But it is the first to suggest people should not do too much, as any more than 40 seconds of 'all-out' exercise is counter-productive.

Any extra 20-second repetitions were actually found to cut the fitness boost – measured using aerobic capacity, which is the amount of oxygen the body can use.



The results were recorded using high-intensity exercise bikes to measure the effect of 10-second 'sprints', but the researchers say they would apply to running uphill, or even up the office stairs.

Lead author Dr Niels Vollaard, from the university's faculty of health sciences and sport, said: 'If you have a long commute, you are sitting behind your computer for eight hours a day and then you commute home, taking the time to go to the gym is pretty tough and not always feasible.

'These short high-intensity interval training sessions may take away barriers to exercise which could otherwise put people off.



Any extra 20-second repetitions were actually found to cut the fitness boost – measured using aerobic capacity, scientists found

'What surprised us was that any more than two repetitions could diminish the increase in fitness, which could potentially be explained by the role of glycogen in the muscles.'

Glycogen, a complex carbohydrate stored in the muscle which provides the fuel for exercise, is depleted during short bursts of super-intense exercise.

For the first time, we have evidence to suggest an indicator of fitness levels is improved more by doing fewer repetitions of high-intensity exercise
Dr Niels Vollaard, from the University of Stirling
This has the knock-on effect of increasing the amount of mitochondria, the powerhouses in our cells which keep us fit and healthy.

But the scientists believe performing any more than two exercise bursts does not further affect glycogen levels, while additional fatigue seems to cut the boost to fitness by five per cent for every additional sprint performed after the initial two.

Another explanation may be that people asked to run or cycle full-pelt for 20 seconds, if they know they have to do it more than twice, will unconsciously do so more slowly to save their energy. This would also cut the benefits to health.

The form of exercise examined in the review was cycling on specialised high-intensity exercise bikes, which are on sale in the UK but not currently used in most gyms.

As opposed to doing 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, as recommended by the NHS, the participants did 20 minutes of cycling a day.

DON'T EXERCISE - GET DEMENTIA

Couch potatoes are just as likely to get dementia as those born with the Alzheimer's gene, a study claimed last week.

Research has shown that physical exercise may be able to prevent or slow down the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.



This means that even without any genetic risk factors, over-65s who rarely exercise are among the most likely to develop the disease.

Currently 47.5 million people worldwide are living with dementia and that number is is set to increase to 115.4 million by 2050 due to the aging population.

But Canadian experts warned the rising rate of physical inactivity could drive up that figure even more.



These sessions were very easy, just moving their legs without resistance, but were interspersed with two 20-second sprints as fast as the cyclists could go, after three minutes and at six minutes and 40 seconds.

This was done three times a week, making the total time commitment just half an hour, with a total of two minutes of the tiring exercise.

Dr Vollaard said the same principle is likely to apply, based on previous studies, to walking uphill or upstairs for 10 minutes at a time, interspersed with two 'all-out' bursts of running.

The effect is a 12 per cent fitness boost, measured through oxygen capacity, which has been shown to ward off heart disease and early death.

It worked in healthy people with sedentary lives, such as office workers, although the exercise is not suitable for people with uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Dr Vollaard added: 'For the first time, we have evidence to suggest an indicator of fitness levels is improved more by doing fewer repetitions of high-intensity exercise.

'We are currently performing studies to investigate the physiological mechanisms that may explain this unexpected finding.'

The study is published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

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