People with chronic health conditions or those who haven't been able to exercise for extended periods may feel that they don't have the experience of exercising.
People shouldn't have to lose the benefits of physical activity, though. Recent studies suggest the benefits of a few minutes of exercise and the cottage fitness industry that has risen in response by promising transformations are possible with minimal time.
10 minutes of activity can indeed help you improve your health and activity. Even though the U.S. Guidelines suggest more than 2.5 hours of exercise per week, just 10 minutes a day can improve fitness and health.
Research proves that short workouts are beneficial to both mental wellbeing and fitness. The studies say you may not achieve total body transformation, but even 10 minutes of exercise is better than no exercise at all if approached correctly.
Ten minutes of exercise might be all you need
Researchers have been trying to answer the question of how short you should reduce your work and still benefit from it, says Edward F. Coyle, PhD., professor and Director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Texas in Austin.
Along with intensity, making your workouts short and intense can also be effective. For example, in Dooly's study, participants cycled for 4 seconds at a time with 15-30 seconds of rest in between. Other studies used "exercise snacks" that included climbing 3 flights of stairs three times.
Dr Coyle said that these interval sessions temporarily deprive your muscles of fuel and the oxygen needed to produce more, just like longer workouts. In response, your blood volume increases, your heart pumps more with each beat, and your muscle cells develop more mitochondria (tiny energy-producing factories).
Though less intense physical activity isn't always beneficial, it's still a way to maintain your health. Moving our bodies, even for shorter sessions, can help us do well.
1. Move around more throughout the day
People should do moderate-intensity workouts every week (health experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise weekly), which should be enough to get the benefits of physical activity.
On average, that's 20 minutes each day. However, if you've been inactive lately or have physical limitations, 20 minutes may feel like a lot.
Fortunately, the most recent update to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans states that any amount of physical activity counts, as long as it's not just one long session.
With humans spending many hours a day sitting, frequently walking for shorter times is preferable.
According to Wall, a certified personal trainer from the American Council on Exercise, it's unhealthy for you to sit for prolonged periods in your day and only do a single concentrated workout session. He emphasized that sitting all day can be bad for your health because it can lead to more heart disease and diabetes.
Our bodies are designed for movement and 150 minutes of exercise is a healthy goal. You can start with 5 minutes a day, but find the right time where it isn't too easy to stop. Once you get consistency, you can add more intensity or duration to your routine.
The more you exercise, the more motivated you'll be to exercise. It becomes easier to sneak in minutes when you crave movement. Eventually, these minutes accumulate and lead to 150+ minutes at the end of the week.
2. Balance your thoughts, mood, and your health
It's apparent that short sessions of physical activity also had a positive effect on one's brain. The growth factors released by your body during these short sessions help stimulate new brain cells. This can be seen from the beneficial effects caused by exercise.
The Japanese study features people who ran for 10 minutes. They saw better moods and were quicker on a color-word-matching test. Their brain activity increased in the prefrontal cortex, which controls attention, planning, and working memory.
Instead of going for more challenging workouts, take a moderate break for 10 minutes if you're feeling low, stressed or stuck. The instant relief from exercise may give us temporary mental clarity, but the long-term benefits still outweigh this.
Adding elements like social connection or engaging rhythm can also improve your thinking. For example, walk with a friend or listen to music.
3. Achieve fitness goals from brief, intense workouts
If you want to reap the rewards faster, take on more vigorous activities. If you double up on strenuous exercises, it only takes 75 minutes a week to see results.
Mr Wall adds that intense exercise will lead to better skills at your sport and more anaerobic endurance, or the ability to work harder for extended periods.
It may be tricky to replicate lab-based protocols in the real world. For example, Dr Coyle's cycling experiment is often conducted with specialized bikes, and participants need time before the short, hard approach to warm up properly.
Some people believe that hard work is the only way to get results, but it can lead you to become overtrained or injure yourself. This is why Dr Coyle alternates doing 4-second intervals with 45-minute steady rides where he can watch Netflix in between.
Having long and intense workouts is ideal, but any movement is better than no movement. Mix up different modes of exercise and length to increase the number of benefits you receive.
Mr Wall says that physical activity is like a recipe, with vegetables being the ingredients. The vegetables won't always be the same, but we need to consume five of them per day. Just like the vegetables, our physical activities will vary based on personal preferences and goals.
Source: https://www.mdedge.com/familymedicine/article/256428/mixed-topics/how-short-can-short-workout-really-be?ecd=WNL_eve_220721_mdedge
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