Want to get the most out of your workout?

There are many different ways to train and to stay fit! Many of the patients at Yarra Osteopathy have personal trainers, gym routines or do pilates. A lap of the “Tan” is pretty much an obligation when you are living in South Yarra. However, trying to meet our exercise needs can be difficult and it often means finding a compromise to get the health, physical and mental benefits.

A recent episode of the ABC’s Catalyst program may be worth a look if you time poor but want to get the most out of your workout.

“Fit in 6 minutes a week” details the evidence surrounding high intensity interval training. And let me tell you the news is good. The presenter Anjya Taylor, followed a program of four 30 second sprints (flat-out) three times a week for 4 months. Each 30 second sprint was followed by four and a half minutes of rest. So basically this means the actual exercise component of the training is only 6 minutes a week, hence the catchy title. Realistically this must include rest breaks so the training takes a total of 60 minutes a week.

The results of the trial were startling.

  • 1.5% decrease in body fat
  • Loss of 1.5 Kgs of fat tissue
  • 5cm decrease in waist size
  • Resting heart rate dropped  from 66 to 59
  • 10% improvement in VO2 max (measure of how much oxygen the energy producing part of our cells (mitochondria) can consume when exercising flat out)

This was all from what is realistically a pretty humble time commitment. Also, it turns out that endurance exercise doesn’t alter the mitochondria!!

The real benefit from all this is that you look better and feel better…. but your health indicators all improve. This type of training is now being modified to help manage Alzheimers, obesity, type 2 diabetes and the symptoms of menopause.

So don’t take my word for it. Get online and watch this episode. It goes for 28 minutes… Eight minutes longer than your new training routine!!!