scoobynutta555

I've not been on the mountain or road bikes in over a month due to being quite lazy. I read in the paper about the new 'exercise craze' of doing 4 mins exercise a day which apparently works wonders

Anyway, I dusted down my spinner bike from the garage and tried it today. 8 20 second bursts flat out with a gap of 10 second bursts in between. It's supposed to be better than a 60 min work out.

Thought I was going to throw up at the end, **** me! I still feel the buzz 45 mins later. Gonna stick at it and see what happens. I'm fairly used to going out on the bikes for anything up to 4 hours fairly continuos peddling, sometimes well over 100 miles a week, rarely ever felt as 'bad' as this after!

Anyone else tried this exercise format?

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

Sounds dangerous putting your heart under such intensity.

Worlasshasansti

I think there was something on the telly about this type of thing a while ago I'm sure it said it only works for people with certain body types.

Mick

jef

iTrader: (13)

it may burn some kcals and increase RMR for a while after,

but i wouldnt think it would be a long term regime and result in fitness - depedning on interpretation of fitness.
plus im sure after a month of it, the effect and results would be quite diminished.

you not even miss being out and about, the sights, sounds ect, esp if you were out for up to 4 hours, and now its 4 mins?

dpb

I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

I thought ten to twenty minutes a day was the recommendation, albeit at normal workout pace

g7prs

iTrader: (5)

There was a section on the new the other night about high intensity fitness training. Similar sort of thing but not on a bike. Short bursts of flat out training.

scoobynutta555

I've not had the time recently to go out, and TBH the weather's been 5hite. I'll be starting my 30 mile all round commute come spring, and be out with the boys on Sundays soon. Thought this might help me ease back into some sort of fitness for when the heavy miles come. I've literally done FA for the past 5 weeks.

zip106

Ive been doing this for a few years now.

Combined with a normal gym routine it works very well.

Matteeboy

Sod that. Proper trail runs, proper cycling, proper swimming, proper weights.

warrenm2

I'm doing this one from the Horizon program

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251

There is a fair bit of scientific research showing this type of exercise does indeed work

zip106

No chance.

Doing the Tabata means I get longer sitting in front of the telly with a Special Brew and a tube of Pringles.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

I'm with you on that, although I might give this intensity training a go at the end of a gym session. Mens Health offered a month of 15-minute workouts for January to help get back into shape after Christmas but I never got around to reading it

dpb

Sounds like interval training for the weak willed

wayne9t9

Sounds like a "quicky" to me.

jef

iTrader: (13)

HIT training can be good, but the above is pushing it imo,

scoobynutta555

Second session done. It's not any easier! I feel more active though. I'm not expecting much, just hoping it'll ease me back into some sort of fitness for the bikes. Anyone with negative comment actually tried this?

Boro

iTrader: (1)

That Michael Mosley guy who researches alot of fitness programs is still doing this HIT program over a year later. It must work for him or he wouldn't still be doing it.

Follow him on Twitter, he knows his stuff.

StevieL81

I've done some HIT recently, it's pretty intense, I felt it more than I would after a 40 min CV session

DYK

I'm glad i'm not the only one,must be something going about,i've been proper lazy over the last weeks.All i seem to want to do is laze about,the guilty conscious is rattling my mind,although i have managed to do 20 minute workouts using the medicine ball.Tried HIT training and it did give a boost,felt really good for a couple months,but then the effects wore off and i returned to normal workouts.
Used to do some Fartlek training years ago,and remembered it being very good.
Going back out on the bike is something i'm planning on doing again,a couple mates keep pestering me when i'm gonna get a new bike and come riding.Been looking at them canyon bikes for weeks now,i just can't seem to click the buy button. Looked in leisurelakes other day,not much really seems too come close spec wise to the canyons for the money..

magictree

iTrader: (1)

+1
Once your body gets used to it the regime will be pretty much useless and you will probably plateau

Magictree

jef

iTrader: (13)

depends what you mean by "work", and indeed fitness.

the reason it has an effect just now is because its new - if you didnt run and went out and try to do 5 miles youd be fooked, same as if you didnt squat or bench press and then started at a level above what your used to youd again feel it.
it will get to the stage where you will be able to do it, and not feel anywhere nears as exhausted - thus you have raised your fitness to that level, but if you then doubled the time or effort or increased any factors significantly - you be exhausted again - the worst routine you do is the one that never changes - that is if your looking to continually increase your fitness.

if your happy doing 4 mins a day forever more, then thats fine. and many will do the same routine for years - nothing wrong with it - but it will never ever in a million years have the same effects as the first period of time you did it.

btw im NOT saying its wrong or anything - but just realise what it is your doing and its limits. aslong as your happy with what you are doing and you think its of benefit and enjoyable, then why not.

jef

iTrader: (13)

take my words back actually, i just read that BBC article and its a massive FAIL tbh.

it talks of 4 weeks and improvements in fitness, and then what??, it doesnt mention anearobic fitness, and the reporter has a family history of diabetes - and used BG results/insulin sensitivty as a marker for his fitness. Its not aimed at long term fitness. not a single mention of any other of the myriad of things that can affect insulin sensitivity. sleep, food intake or changes in it, stress, illness, excersise ect ect ect
there is no mention of his normal excersise routine, and most importantly his diet - how often his bloods were taken before and after trying this.

its nonsense tbh.

only really been taken up as its a bit "sensational" akin to journalists reports ive read where they linked protein shakes to "roid rage"

again however its not up to me to decide what people enjoy or dont enjoy or how much excersise they do ect - if its enjoyable activity for the individual then why not.

its only gained media space as its clearly appealing to masses and has a contorted report on it - in an attempt to give it credability. the same as other media non events that need to be hyped to fill newspapers.

all IMO

magictree

iTrader: (1)

Its just trying to say even if your a lazy **** you can manage 4 minutes, easy way out and all that

zip106

Watch last weeks Horizon on iplayer - all documented on there with scientific analysis and blood tests.
Quite interesting.

Then make your minds up.

dpb

Horizon used to be to a stupendous watch 25 years ago, not any more imo

jef

iTrader: (13)

id say even better idea, try it for yourselves for a year - its 4 mins a week, surely everyone could spare 4 mins a week!!
could fit that in Jeremy kyle add breaks, so no excuses.

zip106

Seriously, just watch it.

Unless you know better than all the scientists on the programme?
And the sports trainers at Loughborough University where a lot of it was filmed?

jef

iTrader: (13)

zip i dont need to watch an edited bit of a programme, intended on generating veiwing figures and general interest to base my thoughts on.

i am not saying this could not result in an increase in fitness, in comparision to a established light excersise regime - or even compared to zero excersise. it likely would have an impact as its quite possibly a fairly extreme change from what average people currently do.
the same as HIT training with weights would have an effect on people who have never tried HIT training before - it will have an impact.
it will not however have the same impact or continual increases similar to initial experiences over an extended period of time.

it may have for a % of people, some impact.

it ALL depends on your interpretation of fitness, and health.

its different for everyone.

i honestly cant be bothered watching it and pausing after every comment, that includes "possible,likely, a chance of" or other generic terms and noting them down.

i will instead just use my experience to judge it, im not overly bothered if others choose to beleive it, as ive said previously if your inclined to believe it, then its your choice - and im happy to accept you have a different opinion to me.
if i get a chance over the next few days in family life i will try to watch it, and comment then

zip106

Jef, it makes no difference to me either - I just found it an interesting insight to the workings of the human body and its reaction to different exercise regimes.

I'll admit though, I did use to do a very similar thing twice a week during my gym sessions -whether it actually worked for me I'm not sure, as I was doing lots of other stuff as well.

But as I say - well worth a watch.

jef

iTrader: (13)

tbh there is links on the very same site, as the bbc horizon tv show to goverment policies, international studies and findings, eg this from 2010, http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/.../dh_128255.pdf
yeah maybe out of date by now, but just look through the list of documents and guidlines there.