Australian_Mens_Fitness_2016_08_

AUGUST 2016 MEN’S FITNESS 21

Breakthroughs

Going balls-to-the-wall

for just three brief HIIT

intervals may rival a

much longer session —

but there’s a big “but”.

Is fantastic

fitness

just a minute

away?

F

Edited by Nina Combs Hard-hitting news from the cutting edge of modern research

Few discoveries
in fitness will
likely ever
match this for
sheer excitement: the recent
finding that three 20-second
intervals of all-out exertion
offerthe same health
benefits as 45 minutes of
moderate exercise.In a
12-week study at Canada’s
McMasters Uni, 27 sedentary
men performed three weekly
training sessions, one
group doing three intense
20-second cycle sprints,
the other, 45 minutes of
moderate cycling. Yet both
groups showed a 19% rise
in cardio ability and better
insulin sensitivity. Sounds
like a brilliant way to get fit
in no time flat, right? Not so
fast. Though the untrained
subjects did benefit from the
short HIIT bursts, untrained
people willalwaysbenefit
from increased activity;
chances are fit guys won’t
see the same gains.And
studies show that 20–30
minutes of HIIT helps athletes
boost oxygen intake; so
consider combining the two.
Some good interval apps to
get started: Seconds (iOS,
Android; free) and Tabatach
(iOS; $4.49).—ADAM BIBLE