Guidelines say that we are free to organise our minimal amount of minutes however we like.

A presentation, a chore, a lesson, or a working day. I suppose there are a number of things in life we would prefer in the shorter and sweeter variety. Anything that drags on more than it absolutely must isn’t just boring but could even become counter-productive to the original purpose of the activity in the first place.

Long presentations quickly deflect the interest of the listener unless they are truly dazzling. Long lessons at school without breaks tend to ruin students’ concentration spans and limit learning. A long day at work tends to stress people out, making it hard to switch off when it’s all over.

Indeed, if I may coin a phrase, ‘short and sweet keeps all upbeat’. This seems a pervasive theme in the exercise and fitness realm.

First we started doubting the effects of long bouts of low-to- medium-intensity cardiovascular training, such as walking fast or cycling at a leisurely pace.

Instead, we started to favour the apparent magical wonders of interval training, which exploits the interplay between hard bouts of physically intense activity, alternated with short rest periods.

We applied this model to individual components within our workouts, but now it seems we’re about to attack the entire workout itself with the implied and updated wonders of exercise economy. Even international guidelines tend to support this idea in the way that relevant information is presented. Many health authorities around the world have bought into the concept of a minimal amount of prescribed time engaged in physical activity per week, measured in minutes. For large segments of the population the magic recommended number is 150.

But the guidelines go beyond mere time prescriptions. They tell us how we can divide that time, which is where things get interesting. They say that we are free to organise our minimal amount of minutes however we like.

You could split them in two and do an hour-and-a-quarter of moderate activity twice a week, or you could split them into 15 and workout for 10 minutes two to three times per day. You could basically work with any other split, anywhere in between.

What was most surprising to many was that the shorter bouts would be considered as effective as the long bouts because, after all, the long bouts are much harder to perform, right?

It would seem we’ve been punishing ourselves unnecessarily all these years. You don’t need to slave away for hours on end. In exercise terms, we were sold on the idea that short and sweet trumps long and bitter, every time.

Research has shown that shorter bouts of exercise aren’t just equally as effective as longer ones, but actually surpass them in terms of cardiac health benefits and performance

According to new research conducted at the University of Exeter however, shorter bouts of exercise aren’t just equally as effective as longer ones, but actually surpass them in terms of cardiac health benefits and performance.

We know that from the early day of sports science research, multiple sessions per day were experimented with and observed by coaches and analysts. Athletes would perform short sessions interrupted by bouts of sleep, recovery and heat treatments, re-hydration and nutritional sustenance. It makes sense, because the more you can recover between each bout of effort, however small it may be, the more intensely you are able to operate. And if you’re operating more intensely, then in short, you’re running at a higher output.

The UK researchers at Exeter investigated the way young children indulge in physically active play and attempted to replicate it in adolescents. Young children tend to alternate relatively intense bursts of activity with rest, and can repeat this pattern several times per day.

For adolescents the pattern was duly replicated and studied, with blood sugar levels, fat metabolism and blood pressure all indicating signs of improvement when compared to more traditional forms of continuous, steady-pace, lower intensity forms of physical activity.

In the study, the precise amount of minutes engaged in physical activity whether in bursts or continuous stretches across all groups was kept identical, leading the researchers to the conclusion that the shorter bursts, minute for minute, were therefore more effective than the extended periods of time in achieving measurable benefits to the cardiovascular system.

If you would like to put this all to good use, why not spice up your training with some intervals? Simply re-arrange your continuous, steady-pace exercises into smaller and more intense bouts with rest in between. There are many variations to the theme, from toned-down versions for special populations and sufferers of heart disease, to revved-up, high-octane versions for the super fit, just like Tabata training.

Izumi Tabata, a Japanese scientist, came upon a specific timing system in the mid-1990s that tended to cause significant improvements in cardiovascular fitness in athletes. To try out a Tabata circuit for yourself, warm-up thoroughly, pick any four movements and work as hard as you can on each for periods of precisely 20 seconds, with short 10-second rest periods in between.

Repeat the sequence twice, so you’re ultimately performing eight intense bouts in total. That will take you about four minutes. Yes, that’s a workout. Combined with a warm-up and cool-down, you could complete it all in just under 15 minutes, perhaps the toughest yet most productive 15 minutes of time you’ve spent in quite a while.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt