Athletes rely on interval training to improve their speed and power, but generally as part of a broader, weekly training program that also includes extended, less-intense workouts, such as long runs or bicycling.

However in the past couple of years, scientists and many sportspeople have become interested in the idea of exercising exclusively with intervals, ditching long workouts altogether.

The attraction of this approach is obvious to all. Interval exercise duration can be short, making this form of exercise a positive gift for anyone who feels that they never have enough time to exercise.
Prior to this study most studies of interval training have had limitations, such as not including a control group, being of short duration or studying only health or fitness results, not a combination of both.

For this reason fundamental and important questions have remained unanswered about just how well these short, very intense workouts really compare to traditional, endurance type training.
This led scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, (who had themselves conducted many of those earlier studies of interval training), to conduct what has been recognized as the most scientifically rigorous comparison to date of super short and standard exercise programs.

They recruited 25 out-of-shape men and measuring their aerobic fitness levels and as a marker of their general health their body’s ability to use insulin properly to keep blood sugar levels regular. The scientists also biopsied the men’s muscles to examine functioning at a cellular level.
The researchers then randomly divided the men into 3 groups. One group was asked to change nothing about their current, low levels of exercise – these would then be the controls.

A second group began a typical endurance workout exercise regime, consisting of riding at a moderate pace on a stationary bike in the lab for forty five minutes, with a 2-minute warm-up and 3-minute cool down time.

The last group was tasked with interval training, using the most abbreviated workout proven to have verifiable benefits. The volunteers warmed up for 2 minutes on stationary bikes, then pedalled as hard as possible for twenty seconds; rode at a very slow pace for 2 minutes, sprinted all-out again for twenty seconds; then recovered with slow riding for another 2 minutes; pedalled all out for a last twenty seconds; then cooled down for 3 minutes. The entire workout lasted ten minutes, with only 1 minute of that time being strenuous.

Both groups completed three sessions each week for twelve weeks, a period of time that is about 2x as long as in most past studies of interval training.

By the end of the study which was published in PLOS One, the endurance group had ridden for 27 hours, while the interval group had ridden for six hours, with only 36 minutes of that time being high energy exercise.

However, when the scientists retested aerobic fitness, muscles and blood sugar control, they found that the exercisers showed almost identical gains, whether they had completed the long endurance workouts or the short, more stressful interval routine. In both groups of subjects, endurance had increased by nearly twenty percent, insulin resistance had likewise improved significantly. There were also significant increases in the number and function of certain microscopic structures in the men’s muscles which were related to energy production and oxygen use.

The control group showed no changes in health or fitness.

The result indicates that three months of concerted endurance or interval exercise can almost identically improve someone’s fitness and health.
Is that enough reason for folk who currently exercise moderately or not at all to begin interval training as their only workout choice?

Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University says:

it depends on who you are and why you exercise

If you are an elite athlete, then obviously incorporating both endurance and interval training into an overall program maximizes performance. But if you are someone, like me, who just wants to boost health and fitness and you don’t have 45 minutes or an hour to work out, our data show that you can get big benefits from even a single minute of intense exercise.

The post Can you get Away with Just One Minute of Exercise? first appeared on Healthy Gab.

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Not only is it free, anyone can do it and you don’t need any equipment to begin. It’s easy on the joints, and I believe it helps with appetite control.

She also says that she feels less hungry after walking, rather than more which might be the case with other forms of exercise.

Depending on your physical status, you can expect to lose a half-pound to 2 pounds per week with a new walking program. This is according to Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, the well-known author of “Walking the Weight Off for Dummies.” The great news is that the heavier you start, the faster you’ll shed those pounds. To get the best results your new walking program pay attention to these hints and tips.

Check with your doctor

Walking does work for just about everybody—but upping your activity level does put strain on your muscles, joints, and heart. If you haven’t been exercising for a while checking with your primary care doctor is a good idea.

Once you’ve begun your walking regime, stay alert for signs you’re overdoing it. “Always listen to your body,” Smith says. “Pain, light-headedness, or nausea can all be signals that you are exerting yourself too much.” Other warning signals include chest pain, pain that shoots down your arm or up your neck, or severe headaches. If you develop them, stop your workout and check with your health care practitioner.

Shoes and Clothing

If you’re cleared by your doctor you need to get the right footwear. Look for a shop that does gait analyses to help you select the right pair for your specific foot type. Go a half-size up from your regular work shoes, as your feet swell when you exercise. Walking doesn’t require a huge variety of athletic wear, but investing in a few important pieces can make you much more comfortable when walking. Start with the right sports bra – try a few on and do some jumping jacks in the dressing room; you might feel a bit self-conscious, but it’s well worth it to make sure you can move easily but with the right degree of uplift.

Look for tops and bottoms in moisture-wicking fabrics, which will keep you comfortable, dry, and chafe-free. Choose styles with a bit of stretch (new lycra materials are good), so they don’t pinch if you take a bigger step or stride uphill. In cold weather, add layers, you’ll want to start protected from the elements but have clothing to take off as you warm up during the course of the workout.

Avoid Chafing

The combination of sweat, movement, and clothing can leave your skin raw and irritated. Prevent it by applying petroleum jelly or Body Glide which is a convenient, plant-based balm. Use it on your thighs, neck, arms, around your sports bra, or elsewhere you might feel painful chafing or rubbing.
Avoid blisters with socks that fit snugly without sliding, and if sore spots do pop up, cover them with a product like Blister Cushions (there are a variety of different makes), which fit like a second skin to relieve pain, speed healing, and prevent new irritation.

Go Slow

Ultimately, you’ll want to build up to 30 to 60 minutes of walking several day a week. But start slow if you haven’t worked out in a while. Each week, add to the daily total 5 minutes. This slow, steady ramp-up gives your body a chance to adapt, reducing your risk of injury as you get fitter.

One of the great things about exercise in general but especially with walking is that it really can be cumulative during the day

Palinski-Wade says.

If you feel overwhelmed by a 30- or 60-minute total, break it up into three 10-minute segments. You’ll burn just as many calories and net the same health benefits with less stress on your schedule.

Don’t forget to rest and take care, soreness and some pain is normal, just apply ice (or a cooling pack) in spots like your knees, ankles, or lower back. If you have pain directly behind your kneecap, around your Achilles tendon, or in your ankles or hips could mean you’re pushing harder than you should. If a few days of rest and icing don’t resolve these issues, see a sports doc or physical therapist for advice.

Make it Fun!

This is extremely important, just get company for your walks or listen to music, change places you go for a walk. You need to keep it fun or you will lose interest and eventually stop. So don’t overlook this as its very important.

 

The post Walking May Be The Key To Overcoming Big Weight Loss Challenges first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Walking May Be The Key To Overcoming Big Weight Loss Challenges appeared first on Healthy Gab.

 

In a new first, scientists compared the neurological impacts of different types of exercise, including running, weight training and high-intensity interval training. The results suggest that high impact training may not be the best choice to maintain long-term brain health.

Exercise has been shown to change the structure and functioning of the brain. Studies in animals and people have shown that physical activity usually increases brain volume and can reduce the frequency and size of age-related holes in various parts of the brain.

Exercise also augments adult neurogenesis, (the creation of new brain cells in an already mature brain). In studies of animals, exercise involving running wheels or treadmills can double or even triple the number of new neurons that appear in the animals’ hippocampus, which is a key area of the brain associated with learning and memory. This result was apparent when comparing the brains of animals that remain sedentary with those that underwent exercise. Although not proven many scientists believe that the human hippocampus would be similarly affected.

These studies of exercise and neurogenesis have focused on distance running. Lab rodents of course know how to run. But the question still remains whether other forms of exercise would also prompt increases in neurogenesis.

The current study, which was published this month in the Journal of Physiology, involved researchers at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland (and other institutions) injecting rats with a substance that marks new brain cells. These researchers then set groups of rats a variety of different workouts, with one group remaining sedentary to serve as a control group.

Some groups of rats were given running wheels in their cages, allowing them to run at will. Most jogged moderately every day for several miles.

Other groups began resistance training, which involved climbing a wall with weights attached to their tails.

There was also the rodent equivalent of high-intensity interval training. For this the animals were placed on small treadmills and required to sprint at a very rapid and strenuous pace for three minutes, followed by two minutes of slow activity, with the entire sequence repeated twice more, for a total of 15 minutes.

The study continued for seven weeks. At the end of the time period the researchers examined brain tissue from the hippocampus of each animal.

There were differing levels of neurogenesis, dependant on how each animal had exercised.
Those rats that had jogged on wheels showed robust levels of neurogenesis, far more than in the brains of the sedentary animals. The greater the distance that the animal had covered during the experiment, the more new cells its brain grew.

There were far fewer new neurons in the brains of rats that had completed high-intensity interval training. They showed somewhat higher amounts than in the sedentary animals but less than in the distance runners.

And the weight-training rats showed no discernible augmentation of neurogenesis, although their strength levels had increased. Their hippocampal tissue looked just like that of the animals that had not exercised at all.

According to Miriam Nokia, a research fellow at the University of Jyvaskyla “sustained aerobic exercise might be most beneficial for brain health also in humans.”

Dr. Nokia and her colleagues theorise that distance running stimulates the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor which is known to regulate neurogenesis. The more miles an animal runs, the more B.D.N.F. it produces.

Weight training, on the other hand, while beneficial for muscular health, has previously been shown to have little effect on the body’s levels of B.D.N.F.

According to Dr. Nokia high-intensity interval training, is much more physiologically draining and stressful than moderate running, and “stress tends to decrease adult hippocampal neurogenesis,” she said.

These results do not mean, however, that only running and similar moderate endurance workouts strengthen the brain, Dr. Nokia said. Those activities do seem to prompt the most neurogenesis in the hippocampus. But the other types of exercise may lead to different types of changes in the brain. They could encourage the creation of additional blood vessels or new connections between brain cells or between different parts of the brain.

So if you’re at the gym doing weight training perhaps you should also think about mixing it up a bit more. Get on your bike or hit the cardio circuit a bit more often.

 

The post The Fast Track To Brain Health first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post The Fast Track To Brain Health appeared first on Healthy Gab.

Other, related research has linked physical activity with maintaining both a body and mind that functions more like a young person’s. Plus, some science has shown that when it comes to premature death, a lack of exercise may put you more at risk than being obese.

American study

In the Penn State study researchers surveyed people age 65 or older about their exercise habits and then tracked them for 15 years. Nearly a third of the study participants died during that period.
Less than 10 percent of the subject’s strength trained, but those select few were 46 percent less likely to die during the study than others who were tracked during this period.

Logic might dictate that older study participants who train with weights must be in better health to begin with. But even after adjusting for body mass, chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, and habits like activity, drinking, and smoking, lifting was still linked to a 19 percent reduced risk of death.

Strength training can keep you active and independent in your golden years, says study author Jennifer Kraschnewski, M.D. Not only does it strengthen your muscles, resulting in better stamina and balance, but it also increases your bone density.

Penn State isn’t alone in recommending weight training as one of the factors contributing to increased longevity.

European study

A recent study conducted by researchers at the MedUni Vienna help to support thr American findings.

According to Science Daily, the goal of the European study was to provide information that supported the goal of improving the fitness levels and quality of life for older people with inadequate nutrition.

According to the study’s authors, about ten percent of Austrians over the age of 65 are “frail” and another 40 percent are in the initial stages of “frailty.”

What the results of the study found is that regular strength training can increase strength in older adults and as a result, enables them to live more independently.

We know that muscle mass decreases from the age of 30. Without training, around 50 per cent of muscle mass has deteriorated by the age of 80.

Thomas Dorner of the MedUni Vienna’s Centre for Public Health told Science Daily.

In this study, the intervention group boosted their maximum hand strength by three kilograms. That is an increase of almost 20 percent on the initial measurements.

In other words, exercise is essential to good health, and especially as we age. Later in life, bone and muscle mass tends to decrease, flexibility starts to diminish and balance and agility are sometimes compromised.

The researchers also found that strength training led to a significant increase in the participant’s overall physical activity levels, mobility, quality of life and cognitive functions – as well as helping maintain bone density.

The results of both studies (American and European) indicate that strength training is an important aspect of exercise all through life and especially as we get older. So if you’re over 30 it’s time to hit the gym.

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