36 Is Greater Than One - New Study Proves HIIT Can Provide Results With One-Minute of Work

Highlands Ranch, Colo., May 3, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​​​Ever heard the expression “You can do anything for a minute?” Well, according to a new study conducted by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, you can now get fit with one minute of exercise. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? According the study, it’s not. It’s not ideal though, either. The New York Times recently broke down the study very well.

What the study actually uncovered is that one-minute of intense, strenuous activity (Riding a stationary bike in this case), mixed in with a proper warm up, periods of active rest, and a proper cool down, can provide the same results as a moderate, 45-minute workout, when tested three times a week over a 12-week period. The interval training group’s stationary bike exercise went like this: two-minute warmup, 20-second sprint, two-minute slow slow pace ride, 20-second sprint, two-minute slow pace ride, 20-second sprint, three-minute cool down.

The findings help to tell the story that interval training, and particularly high intensity interval training (HIIT), can provide effective fitness results in far less time than moderate or even average intensity workouts. Studies like this provide more science behind what type of results can be accomplished with a quality HIIT workout, such as what is done at FIT36® studios every day.

Now about that whole one-minute workout phenomenon. One of the most important pieces to this study is the active rest the interval training group did between sprints. By staying active—basically just not being inactive—your heart rate will never truly drop to its resting rate. Because of that, the participants are actually able to reach a higher heart rate during the 20-second sprint. The higher the heart rate they can hit during their sprint, the more carbs and fat that can be burned. So if you think you can just get off the couch, do something really hard for one-minute, then sit back down and all of a sudden be a super hero, think again. Active rest matters.

So should you just start doing this one-minute, err 10-minute, workout instead of our 36-minute workout? No, you shouldn’t. Why, you ask? Its science.

FIT36® classes are 36-minutes of HIIT that will train your whole body thanks to a quality mix of movements. So rather than a few 20-second sprints on a bike, we give you 12 different stations that you will work for one-minute each. Then you take a 30-second rest and on to the next one. Do that circuit twice for your 36-minute class. The FIT36® workout is a 2:1 work-to-rest ratio, which according to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning is the optimal work-to-rest HIIT ratio. Your heart rate gets into carb and fat burning zones, and will stay there for the majority of the 36-minute workout. Additionally, because the workout is only 36 minutes, your body will not burn muscle, but rather build muscle. Longer HIIT classes will burn, fat, carbs and muscle. We do not want lose muscle. We want to gain muscle. Finally, FIT36 workouts will provide its members with the after-burn affect. The after-burn affect is ability to continue burning calories after a workout, thanks to the amount of exertion committed during the workout.

With that said, if you can’t make it to class, and you only have 10 minutes to get in some sort of fitness activity, something along the lines of the workout in the study is definitely better than nothing. We suggest something with more strength-based movements to it. Try this if you are in a pinch and need a 10-minute burn:

·         Two-minute full-body warmup consisting of: 20 jumping jacks, 10 body-weight squats and 10-leg kicks (each leg). Repeat if needed to reach two-minutes

·         20-seconds of burpees

·         Two-minute wall sit

·         20-seconds of squat jumps

·         Two-minute plank

·         20-seconds of burpees

·         Three minute cooldown/stretch: 10 jumping jacks, 10 body-weight squats, alternating slow lunges, stretch of choice to finish three minutes

Getting fit is never easy, but luckily HIIT and places like FIT36®, with its ability to provide a great workout in a short period of time, have removed the time constraint blocker from the equation.

Source: FIT36