Would you rather exercise for 40 minutes or 20 minutes? How excited would you be to learn that you could lose three times as much as fat from exercising for 20 minutes than you would from exercising for 40 minutes? And, you only have to do it three times a week. Does such a program exist? YES! Try this exercise bike workout.
Exercise Bike Workout Study
Researchers at the University of New South Wales lead by Professor Steven Boutcher conducted a study in 2007 that revealed that 20 minutes of cycling involving short bursts of sprinting followed by rest was more effective in losing weight in females than 40 minutes of continuous aerobic exercise.
Dr. Boutcher’s study included 45 overweight women who cycled 3 times a week for 15 weeks. One group of women exercise 40 minutes on a stationary cycle at a constant pace and the other group performed 8 seconds of sprinting on the bike followed by 12 seconds of relative rest and repeated over again for 20 minutes. Eight seconds of sprinting, and 12 seconds of “rest”.
And, the Winner Is?
Here’s what the researchers found. Both exercise groups demonstrated significant improvements in cardiovascular fitness. Not really surprising. But the sprint group or high intensity interval training group saw significant reductions in total body mass, fat mass, trunk fat, and fasting plasma insulin levels. High insulin levels are associated with increase body fat. In the sprint group there was also significant reduction in fat loss in the legs compared to the arms.
The researchers attributed many of these changes to unique metabolic responses caused by increased catecholamine release (think adrenalin). Catecholamines allow more fat to be burned leading to greater weight loss. The researchers believe that this same approach would yield similar results with other types of exercise like swimming, walking, rowing, etc.
Fat Burning Exercises
Short bursts of exercise as describe above are terrific fat burning exercises for men and women. Most people want to lose belly fat, but there isn’t a way to just target the stomach with any exercise or what is called spot reduction. You typically lose fat first from the last place you gained it. Much of belly fat is hormonally driven and if fat is not coming off the belly with exercise having your hormone levels measured is advised.
Include short burst of exercise into your routine. Consider the exercise bike workout. You don’t have to exercise long, just intelligently. Make your workouts count. Work hard, play hard, and exercise hard. Live Young!
See related articles.
“4 Benefits of High Intensity Interval Training”
“Increasing Growth Hormone with Sprint 8”
“Boosting Nitric Oxide with Exercise”
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