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Continue ShoppingI, as a fitness professional, since the hour long “no pain, no gain aerobic, sweat till you drop class” ruined my knees, shot my adrenal glands and left me flabbier than ever have advocated short bursts of fitness for the past 10 years because I’ve seen how it can change people’s lives and help them reach countless goals.
Recent research has been proving my hunch that those 10 minutes of exercise really do make an impact. Despite what naysayers might claim—that 10 minutes isn’t enough to help people lose weight or get fitter—studies continue to show that these short workouts have long lasting benefits. In fact, the more fit you are, the more benefits you might be getting from a short workout, according to the authors of the study.
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard measured how treadmill exercise created biochemical changes in the blood of a three groups: the healthy middle-aged, people who became short of breath with exertion, and marathon runners. Their results, published recently in the journal Science Translational Medicine showed that exercise affected more than 20 metabolites, which are naturally occurring compounds in the body that serve a variety of functions.
In response to exercise, metabolites that burn calories and fat and improve blood sugar control increased while others involved in cellular stress went down. Even more interesting, says researcher Dr. Robert Gerszten, is that these positive changes that began after 10 minutes of exercise were still measurable 60 minutes after participants cooled down—evidence that even small amounts of exercise can build up long-term benefits.
One thing from this study is clear: Yes, 10 minutes of exercise does make a difference! Its metabolic effects last long after your session is over. So next time you think 10 minutes won’t matter in the grand scheme of things, remember that its benefits linger long after you leave the gym and that using your SpinGym throughout the day for 10 minute intervals can have tremendous benefits!