Mixed
Sprint Interval Training (SIT) consisting of 3 minutes of intense intermittent exercise per week improves insulin sensitivity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and skeletal muscle mitochondrial content to the same extent as 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in previously inactive men.
If you are sedentary and struggle to find time for exercise, try Sprint Interval Training. Perform three 20-second 'all-out' cycling sprints per session, with 2 minutes of easy cycling in between, three times a week. This 10-minute session is as effective as 150 minutes of moderate jogging for improving your heart health, insulin sensitivity, and muscle energy capacity.
In summary, we report that a SIT protocol involving 3 minutes of intense intermittent exercise per week, within a total time commitment of 30 minutes, is as effective as 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity continuous training for increasing insulin sensitivity, cardiorespiratory fitness and skeletal muscle mitochondrial content in previously inactive men.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with a non-training control group, robust measures of insulin sensitivity (IVGTT), and clear statistical significance, though limited to sedentary men.
Source
Twelve Weeks of Sprint Interval Training Improves Indices of Cardiometabolic Health Similar to Traditional Endurance Training despite a Five-Fold Lower Exercise Volume and Time Commitment
Jenna B. Gillen et al. · PLoS ONE · 2016
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