We should be active for 3 x 50 minutes a week for our health. Can’t
manage that? Then try this highly effective 1-minute workout called
SIT three times a week instead.
Regular exercise is an elixir of life. Not only does it prevent serious
illnesses such as cardiovascular damage, diabetes, or cancer, but it is
now even considered a highly effective medicine. The
recommendation for a long life in good health is 150 minutes of
moderate-intensity exercise per week. Or alternatively: 75 minutes of
high-intensity exercise per week. However, only around half of adults
in Austria meet these recommendations. Obstacles to implementation
are a lack of motivation and, above all, time. At least the time factor
should never stop us from efficiently exercising again in the future.
This lightning exercise replaces 50 minutes of cardio.
A study by McMaster University shows that a moderate 50-minute
unit can be replaced by a high-intensity 60-second sprint interval
training (SIT) – for example, on an exercise bike. If you really push
yourself and go to your limits, you will achieve the same effects on
cardiometabolic health – on the heart, blood vessels, sugar
metabolism, and endurance performance – as with a long,
monotonous cardio session. Blood pressure drops, insulin sensitivity
improves (great for diabetes prevention), and fire-threatening fatty
tissue melts away. Too good to be true? We asked the cardiologist Dr.
Max-Paul Winter from Herz Zentrum Währing. In this interview, the
Viennese doctor reveals what SIT does to our bodies and who should
try the method.
60 seconds instead of 50 minutes of training. But it has to be really
intense. How does such a training session work?
In the aforementioned study, the effects of the so-called Sprint Intense
Training (SIT) was examined and the SIT group was compared with a
cardio group. SIT is a special form of high-intensity interval training
(HIIT). It involves performing several short but extremely intensive
sprint intervals, also known as ‘ALL-OUT’ sprints, on a bicycle
ergometer. An ‘ALL-OUT’ sprint lasts just 20 to 30 seconds and is
completed with maximum effort at 500 watts. Three of these 20- to
30-second ‘ALL-OUT’ sprints are scheduled as part of a session. This
results in a total sprint training time of around 60 seconds per
session. Between the sprints are slightly longer intervals – from two to
four minutes – with a low load for recovery. Together with a 2-minute
warm-up on the ergometer and a cool-down, this gives you a total
time of around 10 minutes per session.
What does this mean for my health?
The theory is that the energy stores in the cells have to be emptied
very quickly due to the enormously high load during SIT. After the
exercise, the tanks need to be refilled. To do this, the body draws
sugar from the blood very economically. This lowers the blood sugar
level and makes it easier for the body to transport sugar back into the
cells for energy production.
How sustainable are the effects?
They can only be maintained with regular training. For optimum
effects, a session every other day is recommended.
Will I also lose weight?
The effect will probably not show on the scales, but it is still
enormous. The 12-week study showed that the SIT test subjects lost
two percent of their body fat. And it was mainly the dangerous
visceral abdominal fat that melted. It triggers inflammatory reactions
in the body and therefore carries a high risk of numerous diseases. In
the cardio group, the loss of body fat was only one percent.
What should I bear in mind when starting out?
This type of training is very strenuous for the body. It must therefore
be gradually increased. It is advisable to start with one training
session per week and eventually increase to three sessions per week.
I recommend it to men and women who do sport regularly but often
have phases in which there is not enough time for longer exercise
sessions. Do you have three stressful weeks at work but still want to
do something? Then SIT is ideal. However, it should only be done by
people who have training experience and know how to work out. SIT
is not recommended for newcomers to sports or people with existing
illnesses.
