A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that just a few short bursts of vigorous-intensity exercise, even for as little as three minutes a day, could significantly lower a person’s risk of cardiovascular events.
We know that exercise is important for our health, but the new findings suggest that we may not need much to greatly reduce our risk of certain health events, so long as the exercise really challenges us. Walking around the block for five minutes won’t cut it. Instead, you need to strive for an activity that gets you out of breath and gets your heart rate up. Moreover, you should strive to repeat this process multiple times a day.
The Benefits Of Quick Exercise
Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, a researcher with the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, who worked on the study, calls this type of exercise “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity,” and the exercise itself can be less than a minute. In fact, most acts that were examined in this study were less than two minutes per session.
For their studies, researchers tracked the heart health of thousands of women between the ages of 40-69. Daily activity was measured using wearable health trackers. When researchers looked at the data comparing the health of women who did less than two minutes of vigorous exercise multiple times a day to those who did no exercise, they found some interesting results. Women who pursued vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity had a lower risk of all major cardiovascular events for heart attack and heart failure.
“People are very surprised that 20-30 seconds of high-intensity exercise several times a day can make a difference to their health,” said Stamatakis. “They think they need to do structured exercise,” such as at a gym, to see these benefits. “The entry level is very low. There are no special preparations, no special clothes, no money to spend, no time commitment. You are interspersing exercise across your day.”
Dr. Silverman Comments
The findings in this study mirror some of the points made by Tim Ferriss in his book “The Four-Hour Body.” In that book, Ferriss talks about finding ways to incorporate small bursts of activity throughout the day and to try to find ways to pursue enjoyable activities to overcome the boredom of exercise.
“I know a lot of creative people who hate exercise because it’s boring. I was in that camp too. The bike/desk was my savior. That mixed with a measurement system: “I got a heart rate monitor (HRM) and started using it for EVERYTHING. I used it while pedaling to make sure that even when I was having fun playing a game I was doing myself some good. If you know your heart rate zones (easy to find on the Internet), the ambiguity non- fitness- experts feel with respect to exercise is removed. Thirty minutes in your aerobic zone is good exercise and burns fat. Calculate how many calories you burn (a good HRM will do it for you), and the experience is fun and motivating. I started wearing my HRM when I was doing things like annoying chores around the house. You can clean house fast and burn serious fat. That’s not some Montel Williams BS. It’s real. Because of the constant use of an HRM I was able to combine fun and exercise or annoying chores and exercise, making all of it more rewarding and way less likely I’d get lazy and decide not to do it.”
This latest study is similar in that is suggests that we can benefit from very short bursts of exercise throughout the day, and if you can make these exercises enjoyable, even better. Challenge yourself to run up four flights of stairs at work, see how many pushups you can do in a minute, speed through some jumping jacks or simply find a way to get your heart rate up multiple times a day, and your body will be better off because of it. Find something you love to do, and do short amounts of it multiple times a day to improve your heart health.
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