Thanks to a remarkable report, “no time for exercise” may be a poor excuse. In follow-up to an earlier study that found very brief bouts of high-intensity exercise were just as effective as much longer periods of moderate exercise – scientists have now shown that this method, dubbed HIT for short, doesn’t even have to be “all out.”

Researchers from Canada’s McMaster University had shown in a previous study that healthy college students who did 10, one-minute, “all-out” sprints on a stationary  bike with one minute of rest between just 3 times a week achieved the exact same physical benefits as 5 or more hours of moderate exercise.  In the current study, they found that study subjects could get the same benefits working still at a vigorous pace, but significantly less (about 50% less) than a true “all out” maximal intensity.  (Journal of Physiology, March 2010)

I found this study astonishing and particularly relevant for the aged, the less fit, impatient folks and those of us who suffer from time famine. I have used HIT during my business travel and found it to be efficient and effective.

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