Science has revealed the best type of exercise to reverse the pandemic’s inactivity

The new guidelines for exercise and sedentary behavior, published by the World Health Organization, stand out for what’s missing: the minimum time for a training session

Like the previous guides, these recognize the importance of regular activity for physical and mental well-being. The guidelines recommend a goal of 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate activity (such as brisk walking) or 75 to 150 minutes per week of vigorous activity (such as running), or a combination of both.

Training minutes no longer need to be done in steps of at least 10 minutes

My research group studies the role of regular exercise in health and illness. Our research indicates that the health and fitness benefits of exercise start from the very first step of exercise. These benefits add up linearly to 300 to 400 minutes of moderate activity per week. From there, the benefits continue, but at a slower pace.

The change to the WHO guide follows the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition, removing this minimum requirement in 2018. This change was made because there is no evidence that training at least 10 minutes is better than shorter periods

Is about good news for people who have difficulty exercising, and very timely given the challenges that the current pandemic poses for many people’s daily activities. People have seen their step count decrease by as much as 50% during COVID-19.

-Exercise during the day

Support for these guidelines is research on the so-called Sports snacks: short bursts of activity throughout the day. This type of short exercise evolved from research on high-intensity interval training (HIIT), that is, repeated sessions of high-intensity exercise alternating with active rest (low-intensity exercise, usually the same activity). A full HIIT session can last 20-30 minutes between warm-up and cool-down.

The training session differs from HIIT in both the duration of the burst of activity and the time in between. While bursts of workout in HIIT can last anywhere from 30 seconds to four minutes, in the “snacking” exercise they are reduced to 20 seconds

The effect of these short exercises on fitness was tested in a study with 28 inactive adults. Those randomly assigned to perform three 20-second cycling sprints separated by one to four hours of inactivity three times a day for three days a week experienced a 9% improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness. This was comparable to the 13% improvement in the group that performed all three 20-second bike sprints over a 10-minute period.

This doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym for a minute several times a day or do your own home gym. Or even put on sportswear. The great thing about short exercises is that you don’t need any equipmentEven climbing three flights of stairs three times a day three days a week for six weeks resulted in a modest increase in fitness in people who did not exercise. This small amount of activity is enough to improve insulin metabolism in overweight people, confirming previous research indicating that two minutes of moderate walking every 20 minutes lowers blood sugar after a high-sugar test drink.

How to incorporate “gusts of wind” into your daily life

Short exercises are not new, although the research and term are. If you’ve ever sat at a computer or watched television and had the urge to get up and walk or stretch, you’ve done a short exercise. This type of body and brain rest is famous among many writers. Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, spends a minute of every hour writing push-ups and sit-ups. And why not? Short bursts of exercise can give you an energy boost and improve your productivity.

What makes the exercise snack different from getting up and stretching or walking to the kitchen is the increased heart rate and breathing. But you don’t have to worry about sweating. Walking around for a minute or two isn’t enough to get started. This is easy to do with everyday clothes

Some activities you can do include climbing stairs, running in place, jumping, and doing burpees. You can even take a brisk walk or take a walk around the block. If you have an exercise bike or rowing machine, ride it for a minute.

If you want a little longer, there’s the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 11-minute training plan. Developed in 1959, you can do this program at home without any equipment (although it is advisable to keep your knees bent during squats). Researchers recently studied a modified version of this program and found it to be effective in improving fitness.

The ideal is still to do the usual workout routines as well as the short “snacks”. But short exercises are a great way to incorporate physical activity into your day.

If you think it will be difficult for you to get up every now and then, technology can help. From a simple kitchen timer to the alarm on your phone, to clocks that vibrate to remind you to get up. But perhaps most effective is to use a screen time application on your computer, tablet or phone. Some of these apps even lock your device for a period of time, causing you to tend to get up and move around.

The author is professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University (Canada)