1 Minute of Hardcore Exercise May Have Benefits of 45 Mins of Moderate Exertion

In what is possibly the best news we've ever heard, science is basically saying that exercising for a shorter period of time is the same as a long period of time. Well, we've really simplified that but that's the gist of it!

Intensity training is something many people use - including top athletes to improve their performance and the research stated below toys with intensity training and its benefits. In case you don't know what intensity training is, it's a type of workout that consists of an extremely draining but brief burst of exercise — essentially, a sprint — followed by light exercise such as jogging or resting, then another sprint, more rest, and so on.

Scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario decided to do a comparison of super-short and more-standard workouts.

The got 25 out-of-shape young men (the scientists plan to conduct a study on women later) and measured their fitness and their general health. 

Then the researchers randomly divided the men into three groups. One group was asked to change nothing about their current, virtually nonexistent exercise routines; they would be the controls.

A second group began a typical endurance-workout routine, consisting of riding at a moderate pace on a stationary bicycle at the lab for 45 minutes, with a two-minute warm-up and three-minute cool down.

The final group was assigned to interval training, using the most abbreviated workout yet to have shown benefits. Specifically, the volunteers warmed up for two minutes on stationary bicycles, then pedaled as hard as possible for 20 seconds; rode at a very slow pace for two minutes, sprinted all-out again for 20 seconds; recovered with slow riding for another two minutes; pedaled all-out for a final 20 seconds; then cooled down for three minutes. The entire workout lasted 10 minutes, with only one minute of that time being strenuous.

Both groups completed three sessions each week for 12 weeks. 

By the end of the study, published in PLOS One, the endurance group had ridden for 27 hours, while the interval group had ridden for six hours, with only 36 minutes of that time being strenuous.

But when the scientists retested the men’s aerobic fitness, muscles and blood-sugar control now, they found that the exercisers showed virtually identical gains, whether they had completed the long endurance workouts or the short, grueling intervals.

So, take the hint and spend 10 mins a day on this because OMG IT'S LIKE THE SAME AS 45MINS!