Training For Life

The study, from scientists at Canada’s McMaster University, adds to the growing
evidence for the benefits of short term high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time-
efficient but safe alternative to traditional types of moderate long term exercise.
Aston ishingly, it

is possible to get more by doing less!

We have shown that interval training does not have to be‘all out’ in order to be
effective, says Professor Martin Gibala. Doing 10 one-minute sprints on a standard
stationary bike with about one minute of rest in between, three times a week, works as
well in improving muscle as many hours of conventional long-term biking less
strenuously.

HIT means doing a number of short bursts of intense exercise with short recovery
breaks in between. The authors have already shown with young healthy college
students that this produces the same physical benefits as conventional long duration
endurance training despite taking much less time (and amazingly, actually doing less
exercise!) However, their previous work used a relatively extreme set-up that involved

stationary bicycle and a workload which was still above most people’s comfort zone – about 95% of maximal heart rate— but only about half of what can be achieved when people sprint at an all-out pace.

This less extreme HIT method may work well for people (the older, less fit, and slightly
overweight among us) whose doctors might have worries about them exercising“all-
out.” We have known for years that repeated moderate long-term exercise tunes up fuel
and oxygen delivery to muscles and aids the removal of waste products. Exercise also
improves the way muscles use the oxygen to burn the fuel in mitochondria, the
microscopic power station of cells.

Running or cycling for hours a week widens the network of vessels supplying muscle
cells and also boosts the numbers of mitochondria in them so that a person can carry
out activities of daily living more effectively and without strain, and crucially with less risk
of a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.

But the traditional approach to exercise is time consuming. Martin Gibala and his team have shown that the same results can be obtained in far less time with brief spurts of higher-intensity exercise.

The“secret” to why HIT is so effective is unclear. However, the study by Gibala and
co-workers also provides insight into the molecular signals that regulate muscle
adaptation to interval training. It appears that HIT stimulates many of the same cellular
pathways that are responsible for the beneficial effects we associate with endurance
training.

The upside of doing more exercise is well-known, but a big question for most people
thinking of getting fit is: How much time out of my busy life do I need to spend to get the
perks?

Martin Gibala says no time to exercise is not an excuse now that HIT can be tailored for
the average adult. While still a demanding form of training, Gibala adds, the exercise
protocol we used should be possible to do by the general public and you don’t need
more than an average exercise bike.