Researchers at McMaster University have found that a single minute of very intense exercise within a 10-minute session produces health benefits similar to those from 50 minutes of moderate-intensity continuous exercise.

Brief bursts of intense exercise are remarkably effective, a very time-efficient workout strategy, according to Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster and lead author on the study, published online in an open-access paper in the journal PLOS ONE

Gibala and associates compared their “sprint interval training” (SIT) protocol to moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), which is recommended in current public-health guidelines. They examined key health indicators, including insulin sensitivity (a measure of how the body regulates blood sugar) and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Quick intense vs. longer moderate

The ”sprint interval training” (SIT) protocol in the experiment involved three intermittent 20-second “all-out” cycle sprints interspersed with two minutes of continuous low-intensity exercise for recovery. MICT (the current exercise guideline) involves 45 minutes of continuous cycling at ~70% maximal heart rate. Both protocols involve a two-minute warm-up and three-minute cool-down.