Short HIIT Workouts Shown to Improve Metabolism Fast

The January edition of the journal BMC Endocrine Disorders contains a report from researchers at Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland, who have shown that an extremely short high-intensity interval training workout caused substantial improvements in the metabolic function of sedentary male volunteers in as little as two weeks. How short is extremely short? Try, 3 minute workouts completed just a few days each week.

Professor James Timmons and a team of researchers at Heriot-Watt tested the insulin action and glucose clearance of 16 sedentary male volunteers. They then started the men on workouts consisting of short all-out 30-second sprints on a stationary bike, with the total exercise time being three minutes. These workouts were conducted every few days.

When the metabolic functions of the volunteers were tested two weeks later, they were seen to have "substantially improved both insulin action and glucose clearance" from just this extremely low-volume, but high-intensity exercise regime.

Dr. Timmons went on to say that while the standard workout guidelines (several hours a week of moderate to vigorous exercise) are a fine target, few people are accomplishing this. Very short HIIT workouts can deliver substantial improvements, and could provide an alternative for people who can't or won't meet the standard workout guidelines.

The Heriot-Watt study provides yet more evidence of the clear benefits of high-intensity interval training as opposed to more traditional workouts. You can also take something else away from these impressive results. If a bunch of sedentary volunteers could achieve substantial metabolic improvements with just three minutes of HIIT workout a few days a week, what could you accomplish if you adopted a complete fitness plan that applies HIIT principles?