Why short, sharp exercise is best for men

No pain, no gain

That's the traditional mantra of gym bunnies and fitness freaks. For great results, you need total dedication. Don't head home from a run or the gym before an hour's out at the very least. Work hard and you'll reap the benefits.

But, while that's probably true, new evidence has started to point to the benefits of the short, sharp shock - intense exercise sessions that last no more than a few minutes.

So do you need to spend hours on the treadmill? Not necessarily. We investigate the new science of 'micro-workouts'.

A minute a day!

Can a few minutes of exercise really do you much good? A study published earlier this month suggests the answer is a categorical yes.

In fact, what the report from University of Bath scientists found was that just a minute of exercise a day can be a boon for your health.

Did they mean a minute speed-climbing a vertical slope, or running at speeds Usain Bolt would be happy with? Not at all.

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Instead, the scientists asked volunteers to perform two short cycle sprints on exercise bikes three times a week, and found that after just six weeks the participants showed, on average, a 28% improvement in their insulin function. The better your insulin function, the lower your risk of type two diabetes.

Dr Niels Vollaard, who led the study, said: "Our muscles have sugar stores, called glycogen, for use during exercise. To restock these after exercise, the muscle needs to take up sugar from the blood. In inactive people there is less need for the muscles to do this, which can lead to poor sensitivity to insulin, high blood sugar levels, and eventually type two diabetes."

Scientists have known for a long time that high intensity exercise can reduce the risk of type two diabetes. But they haven't known until now just how little of it we have to do to make a difference.

On Bing: what is type two diabetes?

Intense is key

But you may be less worried about diabetes and more concerned about general health, heart health, and the shape of your body. Fair enough, but it seems short, sharp bursts of exercise can help there, too.

"In my experience as a strength and conditioning specialist you can get fit through short bursts of concentrated exercise," says Charlene Hutsebaut, a personal trainer with 20 years' experience. "Other research shows that these shorter bouts may be even more effective for fat loss than long hard slogs in the gym."

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A study published last year by McMaster University in Canada found that 10-minute bursts of intense exercise on an exercise bike, repeated three times a week, were as good for building fitness and muscle power as 10 hours of moderate cycling over a two-week period.

The study discovered that high-intensity interval training (HIT) took a lot less time than normal training, and also involved a lot less exercise. But it had the same effect on fitness and muscles as the sort of long-distance slog many of us regard as the only exercise worth contemplating.

HIT is "a time-efficient but safe alternative to traditional types of moderate long term exercise", the researchers said.

On Bing: HIT example exercises

Sprinting works too

The McMaster research used bikes, but you don't have to own an exercise bike or be a very proficient road cyclist to reap the benefits of HIT. A study by the university of Glamorgan showed that short running sprints work just as well.

According to the researchers, six 30-second sprints three times a week can have the same health and weight-loss benefits as jogging or cycling for up to 45 minutes several times a week.

Or to put it another way, you can make yourself fitter, leaner and healthier with just nine minutes of high intensity exercise a week.

And it can be anything, as long as it gets you working hard, fast. Doing it on a treadmill or exercise bike is fine, says Charlene Hutsebaut, but sprints in the park with a stopwatch will work just as well. "Plyometric exercises [jumping and hopping type] could be substituted as well by having a line on the floor and hopping back and forth over it," she says.

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Surely more is still better?

You might think that, though short bursts of exercise do some good, more is still better.

Not necessarily. Another study, this time by the University of the West of Scotland, divided teens into two groups. The first group ran steadily for 20 minutes, three times a week, for seven weeks. Instead of the steady running, the second completed a series of 20-metre sprints over 30 seconds.

All the participants showed similar improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness, blood pressure, body composition and insulin resistance. The only difference is that the first group had worked out for a total of 420 minutes, and the second group for 63 minutes.

Charlene Hutsebaut says there is still a place for longer exercise sessions.

"But the biggest advantage to the shorter bursts of exercise is they save you time," she adds. "And for those who have never been big on exercise, adding in lifestyle bits of exercise such as 10 minutes here and there throughout the day makes things more enjoyable. There comes a feeling of a sense of purpose to it all."

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The skinny

As several experts have pointed out, taken together these studies do suggest that the oldest excuse in the book for not exercising - you just don't have the time - is all but redundant. Anyone can find 10 minutes here and there for exercise. Use it wisely and you'll get just as much benefit as long sessions on the road or in the gym.

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