(29-06-13) Just 12 minutes of exercise a week is enough to stay fit

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Staying in shape does not necessarily have to mean spending
endless hours at the gym pumping iron and running on a treadmill, according to
a new study out of Europe. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science
and Technology found that engaging in just four minutes of rigorous exercise
three times a week is enough to raise oxygen intake levels and decrease blood
pressure and glucose levels, two positive markers of physical fitness.

For 10 weeks, 26 inactive, overweight, but otherwise healthy men were
instructed to follow one of two workout regimens. Half of the men were assigned
to undertake the three, four-minute workout sessions per week protocol, while
the other followed a three, 16-minute workout sessions per week protocol, which
was broken down further into three, four-minute sessions per day, three times a
week. At the end of 10 weeks, all of the men were evaluated for progress.

What was discovered was that oxygen intake among all the men was roughly
equal, regardless of group assignment. This means that those doing four times
as much exercise fared roughly the same in this department as those doing just
12 minutes of exercise a week. The shorter exercise group also saw noteworthy
improvements in both cholesterol profile and body fat composition, though the
benefits were even more pronounced in the group that did more exercise.

Overall, the men who engaged in the longer workout sessions fared better than
the men who engaged in the shorter sessions. But both groups saw health
improvements that experts say should change the way we look at physical
fitness. What may have previously been considered a waste of time - who would
have thought just four minutes of rigorous exercise would be beneficial? - may
hold the key to improving public health on the larger scale.

"These data suggest that it may be possible to reduce cardiovascular mortality
with substantially less exercise than is generally recommended, provided it is
performed in a vigorous manner," wrote the authors in their conclusion.

"A growing body of evidence suggests that exercise training with low-volume
but high-intensity may be a time-efficient means to achieve health benefits,"
they added. "The 1-AIT (aerobic interval training) type of exercise training
may be readily implemented as part of activities of daily living and could
easily be translated into programs designed to improve public health."

Earlier study suggests longer duration, low-intensity workouts may be even
more beneficial
On the flip side, earlier research out of the Netherlands found that long, low-
intensity exercise routines may actually be more beneficial than short, high-
intensity workouts. A study published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE back
in February found that simply standing more often, or walking for long periods
of time, can help improve insulin sensitivity and blood lipid levels more than
engaging in one hour of intense exercise every day.

"According to the study, being active simply by standing or walking for long
periods of time significantly improved insulin levels compared to both a
strictly sedentary lifestyle, and one in which participants were largely
sedentary except for an hour of exercise each day," wrote ScienceDaily.com
about this study.

"The study concludes that when energy expenditure is equivalent, longer
durations of low-intensity exercise may offer more benefits than shorter
periods of intense activity."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130213173127.htm

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