When it comes to exercise, for some less may be more. Lack of time is often the main excuse for failure to participate. But suppose there were a way to reap the health benefits of hours of exercise in minutes per day?
This week, I was thrilled to read Martin Gibala's book "The One Minute Workout" with sub-title: "Science Shows a Way to Get Fit That's Smarter - Faster - Shorter".
Dr. Gibala is chair of the kinesiology department at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is recognized world-wide as the foremost expert on high-intensity interval training (HIIT). And McMaster is widely recognized as a world-leading centre in the study of how physical activity enhances human body function and health.
I've been following Dr. Gibala's work for years and eagerly awaited the release of this book. His research has focused on how low can you go with exercise and still derive benefit. The book references a compilation of leading edge research concluding that even sedentary people can experience the fitness and health benefits of hours of traditional cardio workouts, with an interval protocol, featuring but minutes of hard exercise per week.
Here is a visual of how a UK based company, High-Octane Ride, has applied current research.
Humans are wired to move. Short bursts of intense physical activity, like running from the proverbial tiger, lifting, climbing, pushing and pulling heavy objects, stimulate pathways in the body that naturally promote strength, euphoria and resilience. Watch children at play to observe this.
Given modern conveniences however, many of us in the Western world, can get through our day with minimal physical exertion. Consequently, we have to make an effort to incorporate formal exercise into our schedules. Else, lack of muscle and bone movement speeds up our rate of lean tissue atrophy and degeneration.
Public health recommendations to get at least two and a half hours of moderate to vigorous activity weekly have not served us well though. Such an amount can seem daunting and become discouraging. Furthermore, current research shows that even an hour at the gym does not compensate for prolonged sitting.
Countless struggle to find time to allocate to formal exercise. To some it may seem too self-indulgent. People have responsibilities, more important things to do. Not everyone has the privilege to outsource childcare and household chores to spare several hours weekly to planned physical activity. This can leave one feeling inadequate and/or hard done by.
Others would happily outsource body workouts if possible. If there were a pill that delivered, or helped maintain, lean muscle and bone tissue, prevented heart disease, depression and other chronic conditions, as exercise does, it would become a blockbuster seller.
Equally disturbing is the fact that people whose job is physically demanding - who vastly exceed public health recommendations for physical activity - have also been misled to believe that it doesn't count as exercise. Via her Hotel Maid Study, Harvard psychologist, Ellen Langer, acclaimed researcher of the placebo effect (the power of thought in healing), demonstrated that if we are taught to recognize how physical labour translates to exercises done at the gym, within a month body composition and blood markers show improved outcome. On a personal note, after prolonged lack of structured exercise, years following the birth of my children, a fitness test revealed that I was in the 95th percentile plus for all fitness categories, even though it had been years since I'd "worked out". That, I accomplished by simply carrying, playing and caring for my growing children. Perhaps the power of thought ;)
The following are a few quotes from the book that made me laugh.
"A 45-minute jog is so 2014."
~ High-Octane Ride ad
and...
"Muscles are made in the gym and fat is lost in the kitchen."
~attributed to Stuart Phillips director of the McMaster Physical Activity Centre of Excellence
While I recognize that sedentary behaviour is problematic in this day and age, I believe Dr. Gibala's work provides the science to change public health recommendations such that they do not intimidate, so that they empower and inspire people to incorporate physical activity easily into their daily lives, and such that they help us reframe physical labour as meaningful exercise.
My intention is not to discourage those of you who enjoy your endurance fitness routines and challenges. I applaud you for that. As we age and find ourselves with more time to spare, surrounding ourselves with like-minded people, who opt to socialize through physical activity, is both sensible and health promoting. Recognize however, that some will choose never to retire, deriving more pleasure from pursuing other passions, and still others may have already experienced too much wear and tear. For the latter, working out "smarter - faster - shorter" is the way to go.
Off to run up and down the stairs a few times.
Originally published March 17, 2017
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