Explainer | 1 hour of HIIT exercise a week is as effective as 5 hours of moderate activity, research shows
- ‘Low-volume’ HIIT of less than 20 minutes, three times a week, is as effective as the WHO’s recommended 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, researchers say
- As little as four minutes of HIIT three times per week can significantly improve blood sugar levels and cardiorespiratory fitness, another report says
“Low-volume” high-intensity interval training (HIIT) of less than 20 minutes, three times a week, is as effective as the World Health Organization’s recommended 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, concludes a recent report in the Journal of Physiology.
A review of a decade’s worth of HIIT studies has also found that as little as four minutes of HIIT three times a week can improve health.
HIIT has become increasingly popular as a quick and effective way to improve health, with scores of programmes and classes popping up in Hong Kong in recent years. The training incorporates short bursts of active periods of work interspersed with recovery periods.
As countries emerge out of lockdown and people are more cautious about returning to gyms, HIIT continues to be a popular way to exercise. The WHO physical activity guidelines are 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity per week or 75 to 100 minutes of vigorous activity a week. But for many time-poor Hongkongers this may be unattainable due to family or work commitments.
The findings of this study show that low-volume HIIT, involving less than 20 minutes of total exercise time including warm-up and cool down, yields comparable improvements to the WHO guidelines despite requiring significantly less time.