3 mins of exercise a week is enough? / HIIT

Options
elsinora
elsinora Posts: 398 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Not talking about me!

For those in the UK - there's a programme on tonight and the article below about how:

"A few relatively short bursts of intense exercise, amounting to only a few minutes a week, can deliver many of the health and fitness benefits of hours of conventional exercise, according to new research, says Dr Michael Mosley. But how much benefit you get from either may well depend on your genes."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251

Interesting to see what they say .... love Horizon programmes, but want to see what the science says. Hmm..........
«1

Replies

  • mickipedia
    mickipedia Posts: 889 Member
    Options
    " But how much benefit you get from either may well depend on your genes."

    That sounds like a very vague cover up for "it doesn't work" lol.. Would be interesting to see what the theory behind it is though
  • elsinora
    elsinora Posts: 398 Member
    Options
    " But how much benefit you get from either may well depend on your genes."

    That sounds like a very vague cover up for "it doesn't work" lol.. Would be interesting to see what the theory behind it is though

    I know!!! they did this programme called "why are thin people not fat" and it was really really interesting, although a depressing prognosis for myself. I'm a long distance runner and triathlete, so would be interesting to see what they say.....
  • Witchmoo
    Witchmoo Posts: 261 Member
    Options
    There's an article about it today on the BBC news website......sounds interesting and worth a read.
  • solarpower03
    solarpower03 Posts: 12,161 Member
    Options
    Read about most effective HIIT- Tabata protocol.
  • elsinora
    elsinora Posts: 398 Member
    Options
    There's an article about it today on the BBC news website......sounds interesting and worth a read.

    that's the link I provided in my original post
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    Options
    It's been on before. Basically he went on a treadmill thingy and they found like 48hr later he was still burning at an higher rate or something (hart rate or metabolism was still up), but there's no way you can burn as many calories in 3 mins as you can in an hour at whatever exercise you are doing! :noway:
  • sharpei65
    sharpei65 Posts: 167 Member
    Options
    I've just read the BBC article on this and may watch it tonight to see how they argue the theory behind it given that this differs greatly from all current advice in that you need to sustain aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes to have any health benefits.

    Yup it sounds like one of those catch all - its in your genes - theories!!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Options
    There is a growing body of evidence supporting the value of high intensity training programs (the concept has been around for decades but has become far more fashionable with things like crossfit) .

    Interestingly there was an article in the February 2012 issue of Runners World suggesting that these types of workouts may be very beneficial to distance runners..... http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263--14192-F,00.html
  • elsinora
    elsinora Posts: 398 Member
    Options
    It's been on before. Basically he went on a treadmill thingy and they found like 48hr later he was still burning at an higher rate or something (hart rate or metabolism was still up), but there's no way you can burn as many calories in 3 mins as you can in an hour at whatever exercise you are doing! :noway:

    agree!!!!
  • sharpei65
    sharpei65 Posts: 167 Member
    Options
    Obviously they are not focused on numbers of calories burned, its the effect on your insulin and the efficiency of how your body uses oxygen and in turn your future health.....

    It does sound familiar to another documentary he did but I think this one on H.I.T. is different
  • glpennington
    glpennington Posts: 14
    Options
    I am doing HIT with a personal trainer for two half hour sessions per week. I have been at it for six months. The focus is on targeted major muscle groups with workout to failure. Work out to failure is where the muscle simply cannot do another rep. What people don't explain is that this point comes after your muscles scream and your mind triggers the fight or flight mechanism and your head starts spinning. Where I can say that I am much more defined in certain muscles than I ever have been before, I can't say it has done a complete job. I worked out with a buddy the other day and had very little aerobic endurance. I am also disappointed that I'm not losing belly fat as fast as I had hoped. Diet plays a major factor in fat loss. However, I believe that some aerobic and flexibility exercise needs to be added back in for me to see any more major gains.
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    Options
    Hmmm.very interesting! Will definitely watch! Thanks for the heads up!
  • lesliejil4
    lesliejil4 Posts: 5
    Options
    UUUmmm I would agree that some "smaller bursts of exercise" would be beneficial especially for those who don't exercise at all but would completely disagree that this is key to long term health and fitness. Don't get me wrong, I don't think people need to exercise to the extreme but with the right combo of strength and cardio, I think fitness and health can be achieved in 4-5 sessions a week.
  • lesliejil4
    lesliejil4 Posts: 5
    Options
    Exactly what I'm saying. There has to be a balance. Also, everone needs the cardio for good heart health among other things.
  • olong
    olong Posts: 255 Member
    Options
    This article only talks about HIT's benefits for insulin sensitivity and aerobiic (heart and lungs getting oxygen to body) fitness. Nothing about improvement to muscles, bones, energy benefits. It's a myoptic article that fails to mention the myriad of other purposes of exercise. It does not address the othe health issues that regular exercise benefits. It's benefits, while they may be valid and valuable, are few.

    Everything in moderation!
  • mickyjd
    mickyjd Posts: 97
    Options
    Interesting - worth the watch.

    I've been doing HIT for 6 mornings per week since January and I have to say it's helped my running times enormously. also my resting heart rate has come down 15 bpm, so I love it.

    A bit like the other poster, the fat hasn't come off my stomach as quickly as I'd have liked, but I'm fitter and faster and have made a change for the rest of my life, so woop woop, bring on more HIT training I say.

    Thanks to the OP for this thread, much appreciated!
  • gidgeclev
    gidgeclev Posts: 103 Member
    Options
    Interested on the effect on insulin reaction - I can't help but think I have some problem with insulin resistance as I really have to cut carbs to lose any weight so this could be very helpful for people like me who struggle to exercise regularly due to work commitments, commuting 3 hours a day, back problems and terminal lethargy during the week. 3 minutes running hard on the spot per day is easily manageable!
  • becka63
    becka63 Posts: 712 Member
    Options
    I think they were discussing it on the radio at the weekend, basically, it's a guy who trains Olympic athletes and has determined through research (I didn't hear the programme, my husband told me about it) that this intense form of working out is more effective because it uses up to 80% of your muscles for a very short time. He recommends you do it on a stationary bike rather than running, because running uses less muscles and for this type of exercise you are more prone to injury. Basically, you 'warm up' at a moderate pace for 20 sec, then go hell for leather for 40 sec and that's your workout!

    It will be interesting to watch though- perhaps therel'll be a sudden surge of sale of exercise bikes?!!
  • Cimolestes
    Cimolestes Posts: 33 Member
    Options
    I see some people talking about 'Workout to Failure' where your muscles absolutely cannot do any more. This seems an odd concept given that if you did it to an animal it would be regarded as extremely cruel and if you did it to your car it would be damaged. Weird...
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Options
    I read the article, lot of vague facts in there.

    The bottom line is this: HIIT training is a good addition to a regular training routine, but it won't get you 100% of the way there, no matter what your genes are doing for you. And 3 minutes a week will do very little for you anyway. A single HIIT session should be between 4 and 20 minutes (not including the warm up and cool down) depending on the type, and completeness of the workout. I.E. if you are doing total body HIIT, the routine can be longer as you're using more muscle groups, but if you're targeting (like using tabata protocol) then it will be about 4 to 5 minutes.

    What HIIT training does:

    It's real focus was originally designed for specificity, or the concept of targeting a specific muscle or muscle group and working only that group, usually very hard or to failure. Since an individual muscle or group can only work so hard for so long before reaching overload or energetic fatigue, that doesn't take very long. This forces that muscle to signal for increases in it's ability to extract oxygen and/or store and use glycogen at the muscle cell sites. It can also activate dormant muscle fiber bundles and allow you to gain strength without gaining new muscle mass. There is also some side overall cardiovascular benefit because you're working aerobically and at the aerobic threshold for much of this routine.
    What HIIT won't do: it won't trigger hypertrophic effects (mass building, total muscle power increases) and it won't be very effective at overall cardiovascular increases (overall endurance), although the local muscular endurance will increase.

    so is HIIT good? Yes, if your body can support it, I recommend it 1 to 2 times a week.
    Is HIIT all you need? No, it only covers part of the needs of a body, not all of them. Cardio and weight training are also needed for a comprehensive workout program.

Categories