Lifestyle

A 1-Minute Workout Gives The Same Results As A 45-Minute Workout, Science Says

by Stacey Leasca

Are you going to the gym for hours on end to get that perfect beach body? Well, sorry to tell you, but you're completely wasting your time.

Sure, it's phenomenal you want to dedicate so much time and effort to becoming your best self, but it turns out you really don't need to work all that hard to get in peak physical shape.

According to a recently released study by researchers at McMaster University in Canada, a mere 60 seconds of all-out exercise can deliver the same body-positive results as a 45-minute workout. Yes, you heard that right: Your SoulCycle and Barry's Boot Camp bullsh*t is a LIE.

The study looked at sprint interval training (SIT) involving one minute of intense exercise within a 10-minute time commitment versus moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) involving 50 minutes of continuous exercise per session.

The study compared sedentary men performing three weekly sessions of SIT or MICT for 12 weeks. The SIT training involved three, 20-second "all-out" cycle sprints with two minutes rest cycling in-between for 10 minutes.

Conversely, the MICT training involved 45 minutes of continuous cycling at 70 percent maximum heart rate. Both protocols involved a two-minute warmup and three-minute cool down.

And guess what? At the end of 12 weeks, both groups improved cardio-metabolic health "to the same extent as traditional endurance training in sedentary men, despite a five-fold lower exercise volume and time commitment."

The team added in its conclusion,

In summary, we report that a SIT protocol involving 3 minutes of intense intermittent exercise per week, within a total time commitment of 30 minutes, is as effective as 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity continuous training for increasing insulin sensitivity, cardiorespiratory fitness and skeletal muscle mitochondrial content in previously inactive men.

Think you could handle a hardcore workout for just a few minutes a day?