BackExercise goes small
You don't need to sweat for long hours in the gym, say experts and recent studies
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Not able to spend enough time on exercise? Worry not. It is not about how much you exercise, but how little—and how smart. Many experts are vouching for the “less is more" theory of workouts. In fact, the main topic of discussion at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis in May-June 2013 was how much “less" of exercise is good enough.
This is good news for those who are too busy to take out time for the traditional long fitness sessions, or simply can’t see themselves spending hours running, walking or working out in the gym. It is an appealing idea: to be able to fine-tune the body by doing on-the-fly workouts that don’t take much time.
“Exercise guidelines have always suggested 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week (30-minute walk each day for five days) or about 75 minutes of vigorous exercise in a week, like jogging, but new research seems to be veering towards a different direction all together," says Upma Lal, head, department of physiotherapy, Nova Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital, New Delhi.
There is, of course, a condition to less exercise: The small workout session needs to be of a certain intensity to have any effect, and has to be tailored scientifically and performed correctly.
Shrink it
There has been a gradual increase in interest in brief high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions. HIIT is a training technique that includes quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods. This type of training keeps the heart rate up and burns more fat in less time. It is included in regular aerobic exercises (read below “Make it your own").
A 2006 study, published in The Journal Of Physiology, showed that a 3-minute sequence on an electronic stationary bicycle—30 seconds of punishing, all-out pedalling followed by brief rest, repeated five or six times—led to the same benefits as 90-120 minutes of prolonged bike riding. The study by researchers at Canada’s McMaster University had then generated huge interest, and has been followed up by similar studies.
A May 2013 study, published in the journal PLoS One, has delineated mere 4 minutes as the minimum amount of highly intensive exercise required to develop appreciable endurance and health gains. To reach this figure, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim gathered 26 overweight and sedentary but otherwise healthy middle-aged men, and randomly assigned them to two groups. Half of the group began a supervised exercise programme where they ran on a treadmill at 90% of their maximal heart rate—basically at 90% of the top speed a person is capable of—four times for 4-minutes, with three minutes of slow walking in between, followed by a brief cool-down period. The other group did just one set of 4 minutes at 90% capacity. This was repeated three times a week for 10 weeks. At the end of the programme, there were no significant differences in the gains between the two groups. Metabolic and cardiovascular health, better blood sugar control and blood pressure profiles were netted equally by both groups.
Another study published in the 5 August edition of the Journal Of the American College Of Cardiology reviewed running habits of 55,157 adults over a 15-year period and reported that running as little as 5-10 minutes a day could reduce the risk of mortality by 30%, of cardiovascular disease by 45%, and add three years to your life. What’s interesting, the study researchers found that runners who ran less than an hour per week had the same mortality benefits compared to runners who ran more than 3 hours per week.
“HIIT has been the buzzword for a while now and is popular because everyone is in a rush and wants to finish a workout rather than skip it altogether, and HIIT scores here. There are a lot of other benefits that this form of training offers: It makes the heart stronger and improves aerobic capacity. Plus, there is the benefit of afterburn or Epoc (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), which keeps metabolism high for hours after the exercise and helps burn more calories," says New Delhi-based Nisha Varma, Reebok master trainer (north India). “It’s a fact that HIIT delivers better result in less time. Quality scores over quantity everywhere, so it is the same in case of exercise too. Besides, I have noticed that during really long workouts people lose their focus and the consistency suffers (often because of boredom)," adds Kruttika Ranjane, fitness trainer and owner, The Hive Gym, Mumbai.
The practicalities
According to Varma, “HIIT is a very doable exercise form—almost everyone can do it based on his/her age and medical fitness level. However, it should be done every other day, as there are increased chances of injury without adequate rest, and as the intensity increases, the chances of injuries too go up." Do work at maintaining correct posture and gait patterns while doing these exercises.
Raju Easwaran, senior consultant orthopeadics, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi, cites a January study, published in PLoS One, by researchers from New Zealand who tried to find out whether HIIT can be extended from a research clinic setting to a real-world one. They found that the improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness in a group of overweight participants undertaking aerobic interval training in a real-world setting was modest. “This happens possibly because sticking to these kind of exercises might prove difficult and impractical outside of clinical settings," he says.
Dr Lal also points out that while health parameters definitely improve with these high intensity, short duration workouts, what is unclear is whether these really short duration exercises can help people lose weight. “For that, one needs to burn more calories than consumed, and with short sessions energy expenditure may not be very high. But then exercise is not just a tool for weight loss, it is in fact a route to getting fitter, gaining all-round health and improving your quality of life," she adds.
According to Dr Easwaran, “HIIT has its advantages but it is best suited for people who have been active physically. For sedentary people, a three-month period of conditioning is advisable to prevent injuries." He believes that HIIT is a complex concept for those unfamiliar to exercise, and some patients may require specific assessment or instruction before commencing a HIIT programme.
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests considering incorporating interval training after a period of initial conditioning—typically two-three months—intermittently to avoid excessive orthopaedic stress. “Additionally, HIIT may require initial supervision in untrained and high-risk individuals, and may transiently increase the risk of cardiac events in people with underlying undiagnosed heart disease," he adds. Dr Lal agrees and suggests you get a clearance from a doctor before trying out a high-intensity session, especially if you suffer from a chronic disease or heart problems. “Once you have it, I am all for pushing oneself harder during the workout."
By Kavita Devgan
Two simple beginner-level HIIT programmes for three days a week
u Reebok CrossFit and Tabata are prime examples of HIIT. They involve cardio, strength, Olympic lifts, kettlebells, pull-ups, push-ups and hundreds of exercises used in different combinations
u The power workout—100 skips, 25 squats, 15 full push-ups—to be repeated for 10 minutes (can increase time to 15 minutes maximum).
—by Nisha Varma, Reebok, master trainer (north India), New Delhi.
u Begin with a minimum of a 5-minute warm-up; do the following exercises one after the other; and take a 90-second break after five exercises—burpees, 10; walking push-ups, 1 minute; gap jumps, 1 minute; static lunges, 15 repetitions; bunny jumps, 1 minute; crab walks, 30 seconds or tricep dips, 15; jump squats, 20; mountain climber with push-ups, 15; ape crawl, 1 minute; plank, 1 minute.
— by Kruttika Ranjane, trainer and owner, The Hive Gym, Mumbai.
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