A new study shows that you can get health and fitness benefits in less time by doing a different type of workout.

Busy lifestyles have brought us the common excuse that we don’t have enough time to exercise.

However, there is a way to overcome lack of time by doing an intense exercise totalling just 10 minutes.

McMaster University researchers suggest that we can get similar benefits from a few minutes intense exercise as we get from longer, continuous workouts.

Professor Martin Gibala, the lead author of this study, said:

“Most people cite ‘lack of time’ as the main reason for not being active.

Our study shows that an interval-based approach can be more efficient — you can get health and fitness benefits comparable to the traditional approach, in less time.”

The research team decided to compare the effect of sprint interval training (SIT) with moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT).

They recruited a group of sedentary men to complete three weekly sessions for 12 weeks.

They were divided into a control group with no exercise and moderate or intense training groups.

The researchers measured the key health indicators of insulin sensitivity and cardio-respiratory fitness in both the moderate and intense training groups.

The SIT protocol and MIC protocol involved two minutes of warm up and 3 minutes cool down of easy cycling.

The difference was that SIT involved 3×20-second ‘all-out’ cycle sprints at 500W mixed in with 2 minutes cycling at 50W while MIC involved 45 minutes cycling at a moderate pace (110W).

After 12 weeks of training these two group showed astonishingly similar results, suggesting that the SIT protocol — one minute of intense exercise within a total 10 minute commitment — is as effective as 50 minutes moderate exercise.

One possible explanation for this amazing effect may be related to the intensity of energy usage in a short period.

Professor Gibala, who has done various studies on interval training over more than a decade, suggested:

“The basic principles apply to many forms of exercise.

Climbing a few flights of stairs on your lunch hour can provide a  quick and effective workout.

The health benefits are significant.”

This study was published in the journal PLOS ONE (Gillen et al., 2016).