A 1-Minute Strenuous Work Out Is Equivalent To 45 Minutes Of Moderate Exercise, Study Finds

Can one minute of strenuous exercise be the solution for people who don't have time to fit in 45-minute work outs?

 A new study finds that 60 seconds of hard exercise boosts health and fitness the same as a 45-minute, lighter work out. Let that sink in.

Scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, determined that "brief intense interval exercise improved indices of cardiometabolic health to the same extent as traditional endurance training in sedentary men, despite a five-fold lower exercise volume and time commitment."

So, would you rather work out extremely hard for one minute or less intensely for 45 minutes? 

Researchers determined that people who participated in both endurance exercise and interval exercise had nearly identical improvements in health and fitness.

They compared sprint interval training involving one minute of intensive "all out" cycling to traditional moderate-intensity continuous training, involving 45 minutes of continuous cycling per session.

 

Don't drop dead, exercise instead!