Short term high-intensity interval training as effective as moderate long term endurance exercise
Short Term High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) As Effective As Moderate Long Term Endurance Exercise, Study
The excuse that there is not enough time to exercise effectively is beginning to wear thin according to evidence from a study by scientists in Canada who found that short term high-intensity interval training (HIT) can deliver in significantly less time the same health benefits as moderate long term "endurance" training.
The scientists who did the study are based at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. A paper on it is about to come out in print in the The Journal of Physiology, although an online issue has been available to view since January.
Scientists have known for years that doing regular moderate long term exercise like cycling or running for several hours a week improves oxygen delivery to muscles and elimination of waste products: it also improves the efficiency of fuel burning in the tiny power houses inside cells, the mitochondria.
Such a regime also widens the blood vessels to the muscle cells and boosts the number of mitochondria they contain. The result is an ability to do every day things more effectively, without strain, and with lower risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes.
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