Study: Exercise Less, but Harder

(CBS/AP)  People who complain they have no time to exercise may soon need another excuse.

Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an entire week's workout into less than an hour. Intense exercise regimens, or interval training, was originally developed for Olympic athletes and thought to be too strenuous for normal people.

But in recent years, studies in older people and those with health problems suggest many more people might be able to handle it. If true, that could revolutionize how officials advise people to exercise - and save millions of people hours in the gym every week. It is also a smarter way to exercise, experts say.

"High-intensity interval training is twice as effective as normal exercise," said Jan Helgerud, an exercise expert at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "This is like finding a new pill that works twice as well ... we should immediately throw out the old way of exercising."

Intense interval training means working very hard for a few minutes, with rest periods in between sets. Experts have mostly tested people running or biking, but other sports like rowing or swimming should also work.

"You need to stress your body, that's the key," says "Early Show" medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.

She added, "Your body wants to go to a steady state. So even if that's on a treadmill, it wants to stay at one level and stay there."

Special Section: Dr. Jennifer Ashton

Ashton said integral training is an "uber" workout.

"It improves your oxygen use. It improves your endurance. It improves your strength," she said. "All of those things better for your heart, better for your mind and makes your exercise more fun."

Helgerud recommends people try four sessions lasting four minutes each, with three minutes of recovery time in between. Unless you're an elite athlete, it shouldn't be an all-out effort.

"You should be a little out of breath, but you shouldn't have the obvious feeling of exhaustion," Helgerud said.

In Britain and the U.S., officials recommend that people get about two and a half hours each week of moderate exercise.

Helgerud says that time could be slashed dramatically if people did interval training instead. He said officials have been too afraid of recommending intense training, fearing it might be too much for some people.

"I'm much more afraid of people not exercising at all," he said. "Inactivity is what's killing us."

When compared to people on a normal exercise routine, like jogging, research has shown those doing interval training can double their endurance, improve their oxygen use and strength by more than 10 percent, and their speed by at least 5 percent. Even studies in the elderly and in heart patients found they had better oxygen use and fitness after doing interval training.

Still, most studies have been done in young, healthy adults, and experts advise people to consult a doctor before starting any fitness program.

For Adamson Nicholls, a 36-year-old Londoner and martial arts enthusiast, interval training is a way to boost his endurance so he can outlast sparring opponents. "It's a shortcut to explosive fitness," he said, adding the training results in snappier and heavier punches.

Using interval training, Nicholls got into top shape last year in about six weeks, using weekly 45-minute sessions. He estimates the same level would have taken about three months via regular training.

Experts say that's because intense bursts of activity are precisely what the body needs to build stronger muscles. Traditional workouts lasting an hour or more simply don't push the body enough.

"A lot of the (benefits) from exercise are due to a stress response," said Stephen Bailey, a sports sciences expert at the University of Exeter. "If you disturb your muscles, there's an imbalance created and your body will start signaling pathways that result in adjustments."

Bailey said intense bursts of exercise help the body to convert one type of muscle fiber into another type that uses oxygen more efficiently and is capable of exercising a lot longer. Even though interval training only takes a few minutes, its effects last for hours.

"You've exercised at such a high intensity that you're going to create a massive disturbance in your muscles," Bailey said. That creates a higher metabolism for several hours afterward, which the body will bring down by burning fat and carbohydrates.

Helgerud and others predicted that as further studies confirm interval training is safe for wider populations, authorities will include it in their exercise guidelines.

"This is definitely the way forward to save time on your exercise," Nicholls said. "The results are worth it."

[joggaholic]

I don't think a lifetime committment can have an all or nothing approach. Everyone has different goals (as mentioned before) and different motivations. I jog because it is a great accomplishment to me. I am proud of myself for being able to do it more or less consistently for years. There are days and weeks that I jog at a moderate level and maintain my abilities. There are other days that I give it all I have to progress and reach new goals. I have to listen to my own body and mind. 2 to 3 miles is plenty. Anymore and I'd get bored to death and have exercise induced asthma. That may be 2 days/week or 5 days/week. Also, it may be at 6 miles/hour through the whole thing to maintain or it may have up to 7 miles/hour intervals for a few minutes at a time. It depends on what I have to give. The point is, what fits into your personality. It can be enjoyable.

[stout1969]

This is not very good advice. I have completed 42 marathons and am 55 years old. I am 6 ft and 150 lbs with 7% body fat. I have not used the techniques listed here in 20 years. These are for young, fit people, about 5% of the US under 40 population. You get fit by NOT doing "explosive" workouts. You get fit by putting in the time. I "jog" these days about 40 miles per week at a 9-10 minute pace. Faster gets me injured. I do 40 minutes PER DAY of core and 3 hours per week of heavy SLOW weight lifting. You can tell that these writers are clueless because thewy used the jog word. If they think "joggers" run 2,000 miles per year and complete several marathons per year, they are accurate. Just sayin' I have been running for 26 years and am still going strong. But not with this advice.

[scottyusa]

Another study. What happened to medium excercise a few times a week? I am no athlete and do not want to be one. I happily live my life ignoring all the ingredients and dietary information on my food labels. I smoke. If my body says excercise I do. If I feel tired I sleep and don't keep a record of it. I eat when I am hungry. It kinda comes natural for me. I don't think my attitude is good for any of you but it works for me. I don't want to hang around in this upside down world too long. At least not long enough to become old and decrepid and under Obama care. It is the quality of life not the quantity I want. Have fun live to 75. Work your butt off eating right and excercize, don't smoke or drink or have any fun and live til you are 95. Its a choice.

[erb0087]

"Helgerud and others predicted that as further studies confirm interval training is safe for wider populations..."
---------------------------------------------------------

That depends on how much wider these populations are.

Folks that take up three seats on the bus should be a little cautious.



Needless to say, GET A DOCTOR'S OK FIRST, BEFORE YOU PLUNGE IN.

[erb0087]

"You need to stress your body, that's the key," says "Early Show" medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.

===============================================

I see she has really pulled herself together after that nasty breakup with Brad Pitt.

Good for her.

[writer10]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!! What/who in the world are you talking about???

[erb0087]

"Intense interval training means working very hard for a few minutes, with rest periods in between sets. Experts have mostly tested people running or biking, but other sports like rowing or swimming should also work."
======================================

Absolutely.

In fact Dick Cheney should begin this program immediately, without a moment's delay.

[Berkeley-SkirtLifter]

I think I'll stick to my 12oz curls for warm up and 40oz curls for the more strenuous exercise. Cool down should consist of 1.5oz lifts to the lips. Then for even more exercise, walk home, never drive, ... or is that stagger home?

[3for5spotshooter]

Exercise comes in many phases of training. There is an adaptive phase - to strengthen muscle and tendon, a size or hypertrophic phase to build the size of muscles, a maximum strength phase to build muscle density without increasing size. Then there is sport specific plyometric exercise - designed to increase the ability of fast twitch muscle to perform sport related actions.
NO YOU CANNOT BECOME AN OLYMPIC ATHLETE IN 45 MINUTES PER DAY. No way or every lazy couch potato would do so. It is called a workout because it is actual work. The results are worth it. After all, the adage "I only took 15 years to become an overnight success" is true. All of the athletes who "burst on the scene." did so only after years of WORK OUTS - not PLAY OUTS. Finally the adage - "Nothings ever easy." holds true.

In computer terms from eons ago - Garbage in - garbage out. The phase workouts may be only 45 minutes long with controlled rest periods, but they are intense and certainly they are work, but very pleasant work to look, feel and have a high quality of life.

while addressing a church group on fitness one older very out of shape woman asked me which was more important, reading the scriptures or exercising. I mumbled and came up with an answer. Why are these mutually exclusive activities - spiritual development does not have to be an opposite force to physical well being. these things are not opposites. Neither should they be in a holistic approach to a fulfilled life, right? What would be wrong with spirituality and physical health as gifts to be valued?

[mcgroober]

This story is absolutely correct. It is not about running on a treadmill until you drop or spending hours in the weight room, like on the "biggest loser", which is exactly NOT how to lose weight or get in shape. (can't wait until gillian pops a vocal cord and cant scream anymore). Check out "body for life". It is a great workout. They have an annual contest for best results and the before and after pictures are actually real. It is based on short, graduated intensity workouts. The "intensity" can be as little or as much as you want. After I lost all the weight, I have greatly scaled back the intensity and still get a great workout.

[RedWings_ninety_one]

This is the most rediculious thing I've ever heard!

If you excersize EVERYDAY for a certain amount of time, like lifting weights and such, you'll be smaller but stronger than people bigger than you. Also your endurance will be through the roof. Me, personally, I'd rather be underestimated than overestimated when it comes to that type of thing.