IN OUR DESPERATE drive to pack even more into the 24/7 lifestyle, it was only natural that the exercise regimen would also have to become more streamlined. Indeed, when the American Council on Exercise published its predictions for 2004, “faster-quicker” workouts were top of the list. In the UK, fitness centres have already launched training sessions lasting 30 minutes or less for the time-starved punter.
Holmes Place, where spinning classes used to last an hour, has launched an additional half-hour version as well as half-hour abdominal sessions (“Abs Blast”). Meanwhile, Fitness First has developed “X-press Workout”, a 30-minute class in which participants alternate between eight strength machines and eight recumbent bikes. It seems the old “No time for the gym” excuse won’t work any more.
But by introducing shorter classes in the 30-minute range, fitness centres are not only catering for the time-poor, but also acknowledging the recommendations of the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson. In a report (At Least Five a Week) announced with much fanfare in April, he advised not hours spent in the gym — but rather “at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity of moderate intensity on five or more days of the week”.
The message from the Government and gym alike is clear: you don’t have to slog it out to shape up. Sounds perfect for the time-starved, but can 30 minutes be enough? The government report suggested that five half-hour sessions of moderate exercise — such as a brisk walk, swimming, gardening or a cycle ride — is all it takes to reduce the risk of developing major chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, by up to 50 per cent, and the risk of early death by 20 to 30 per cent. Perhaps even more exciting to the fitness-phobe is the news that the recommended levels of daily activity need not be achieved in one session, but that shorter bouts of activity of ten minutes or more are just as effective.
“Frequency is a lot more important than duration when working out,” says Nick Hudson, a trainer at Holmes Place. “For example, although you are theoretically burning the same amount of calories, five 30-minute workouts are going to be more beneficial to your health than two 75-minute sessions. That’s because if you are constantly subjecting your body to exercise — taxing your body more than it’s used to — it will have to adapt. And this is precisely the process that makes you fitter.
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“If, on the other hand, you work out only twice a week your body is in danger of ‘forgetting’ what it has learnt and regressing back to previous levels of fitness.” he says.
The figure of “30 minutes” is not arbitrary — many international bodies, including the World Health Organisation, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the UK and US governments, agree that 30 minutes a day is the minimum amount of exercise needed to protect you from major diseases.
Professor Chris Riddoch, senior scientific editor of At Least Five a Week and professor at the London Institute of Sport and Exercise, says the number has emerged from studies published since the 1950s. The half-hour recommendation is also psychologically easier to contemplate, says Hudson. “Reducing the length of exercise time increases the likelihood that people will adhere to their fitness programme. And when we are dealing with a nation that does bugger all, that can only be a good thing.”
Dr Paul Bromley, chairman of physiology at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, says that a third of the population is completely sedentary and 70 per cent are not doing enough to benefit their health.
Although supportive of the government recommendation, Ben Hurley, professor of exercise physiology at the University of Maryland, says it is important to remember what your objectives are when working out. “If your only objective is fat loss, it’s advisable to increase the duration of your workout to about 60 minutes at least five days a week, as the evidence suggests that the longer you sustain exercise, the more energy you transfer. If, on the other hand, it’s improved cardiovascular fitness you’re after, 30 minutes may be enough but you need to increase the intensity of your workout.”
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But, says Riddoch, you don’t have to endure blood, sweat and tears to experience health benefits. “Just getting up from your office seat and going for a brisk walk will quadruple your metabolic rate.”