Try the two-and-a-half-minute health secret!

Try the two-and-a-half-minute health secret!

Research says short intensity workouts in that time are akin to a 90-minute run. Ready for the busy man’s health mantra?

Ismat Tahseen

    If you’re as lazy as a bean bag and don’t want a long workout, there’s still hope for you! A solution lies in the time frame of just two-and-a-half minutes. That’s right, that is all that’s needed say experts, citing short periods of high-intensity exercise could be better at warding off heart disease. 

WHAT THE STUDY SAID In a research, men were asked to do highintensity sprints on an exercise bike while others were to walk on a treadmill. The first group pedalled hard for 30 seconds, rested for four minutes, then repeated the pattern four times. In all, they did two and a half minutes of vigorous exercise while the other group just walked briskly. The next day at the lab they ate a fatty breakfast and their blood was tested to see how fast the levels of fat in their blood fell. Results showed that walking cut fat by 11 per cent, but the group who did sharp bursts of exercise cut it by 33 per cent. 

EXPERTS VOUCH FOR IT A wesbite quoted Dr Gray, of Aberdeen University, saying short bursts of exercise may somehow spur the liver into taking in more fat from the blood, before storing or burning it. Fitness trainer Hetall Madiwalla agrees that the two-minute workout can rev up metabolism. “It’s a great cardio workout. Try running as part of it or play a sport or spin on the gym cycle; all are apt. Just remember to do this in an ‘intermittent style’, which means change the pace and go from high intensity to low intensity. And don’t forget to warm up before it,” she adds.

Try the shorter workout today