Easy One Minute Fitness, Latest Research Shows

Easy One Minute Fitness, studies show, is… well, easy. We all feel time challenged, sometimes. There aren’t enough hours in the day. Demands fly at us from every direction. When are we supposed to dig out time to stay fit?

by David Stone

Relief is at hand,. A new study says you get the same benefits from sixty seconds – yes, sixty seconds, one minute – of interval training as you get from forty-five minutes of moderate exercise.

True story. Here’s more.

Hard to believe?

woman holding gray steel spoon — Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.com

You bet it is, but in an article by Gretchen Reynolds for the New York Times promising details are reported from a rigorous study by scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Complimenting Fitness

Here’s how it worked…

Twenty-five unfit men were divided into three groups. A control group was told to continue whatever they were doing or, more precisely, not doing.

The remaining men divided into two groups, one devoted to moderate exercise, the other to less conventional interval training.

(Interval training involves short outbursts of intense activity broken up by rest breaks.)

For twelve weeks, the moderates rode stationary bikes for forty-five minutes three times a week.

The intervals group rode for only ten minutes, as Reynolds explained…

“…the volunteers warmed up for two minutes on stationary bicycles, then pedaled as hard as possible for 20 seconds; rode at a very slow pace for two minutes, sprinted all-out again for 20 seconds; recovered with slow riding for another two minutes; pedaled all-out for a final 20 seconds; then cooled down for three minutes. The entire workout lasted 10 minutes, with only one minute of that time being strenuous.”
Gretchen Reynolds
Reporting in the New York Times

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At the end of training, the interval group had exercised for only six total hours over three months, with just six minutes of it taken up by strenuous intervals, compared to 27 hours for the moderate exercisers.

Easy One Minute Fitness Results

Take heart. The aerobic results for both moderate and interval trainers were identical in spite of the huge difference in time spent working out.

Oh, and the control group preserved their lack of fitness earned through years of inactivity.

But there is a catch, but isn’t there always?

It’s this:

If you’re like me, one reason — maybe the main reason — you got into a serious exercise program was because you tired of dodging full length mirrors.

Not a perfect solution…

Aerobic fitness can be achieved with less effort and in much less time. That seems certain, but will you shed those pounds that nudged the scales higher while you pursued a career, enjoyed dinners out with friends and binge watched Netflix?

Sadly, nothing in this or any other study suggests weight loss is assured. It’s just about fitness in general.

You like all that time saved, but keep in mind: the standard advice is unchanged.

Weight control means exercise and a healthy diet.

Now that your aerobic fitness is about to improve and you save valuable time, you are free to spend some of it figuring out how to perfect your waistline.

Here’s an idea: Where did my 15 lb. go?