The Nutritional Institute

As those of you who know me will understand, one of my pet hates in life is misleading headlines. I did a whole intro presentation on this at the Sports Nutrition Live conference this year. So, imagine my first impression when my friend and colleague, Charlene Hutsebaut (@positivelyslim) shared this Independent newspaper article with me: ‘How to get fit in minutes’

The article is based on a research study done by Prof Jamie Timmons at Loughborough University and he said: “all you have to do is exercise three times a week for three bursts of 20 seconds, with a two-minute break in-between each 20-second burst. The only piece of exercise equipment you need is a stationary exercise bike. Or use a regular cycle or rowing machine.” This type of training is referred to as HIIT (high intensity interval training) and is also similar to Tabata training (20 second bursts, interspersed with 10 second rests). According to Timms, "maximal intense exercise enables the body to handle blood glucose more efficiently after eating – and, this may help people to avoid Type 2 diabetes.” He based this statement on 10+ research studies that he and colleagues have conducted at Loughborough Uni. 

But, is Prof Timms misleading us just a bit? He has an outstanding scientific pedigree, having started out as one of my peers at Glasgow University, before doing his PhD and post-doc with one of the early creatine researchers, Paul Greenhaff. But one downside of science is that it can blind scientists into believing isolated findings and not incorporating them into the bigger picture of health or fitness. Being a top scientist at a top UK university, he should know better than to put out misleading headlines - perhaps this was the result of the Independent spinning his words to suit their headlines, or perhaps he likes getting his name in print, but the message needs to be a more inclusive one…

Do I believe that if you were to undertake 3 x 20 second max bursts three times per week, that it would hike certain parameters of fitness? Yes, of course I do. One of my killer sessions as an athlete was 30sec bursts of certain bodyweight exercises interspersed by 30sec recoveries - it really challenged all my energy systems. But, of course, I did more than 3 x 20 seconds worth in a single go, as he is suggesting. And that was me as a young, energetic athletic, where I would put everything into each exertion. But, what about your average Joe Blogs trying to get fit? As a personal trainer and S & C coach for many years, I have worked with Mr and Mrs Average and often when you ask for a ‘maximal’ exertion, what appears is something with 10 per cent more vigour than their steady state effort. If you do actually manage to motivate an unfit person towards a flat out effort, there are cardiovascular and musculoskeletal risks in unaccustomed hard exercise (reference CrossFit, although they do a touch more than 60secs per session). Even Tabata literature warns that these max exercise bouts are not suitable for complete novices. 

So, a 60sec HIIT session is better than nothing, but I really do think it deludes the very people who are looking for short cuts into thinking that there is a magic fix to fitness. 

As for the elites, shall we ask Chris Froome to get on his bike for just 3 minutes per week? No, since his event lasts several hours per day, he would not be training functionally. Usain Bolt, on the other hand, will not do too much training in excess of six seconds in duration, but imagine the intensity…. So this point focusses on that of functionality - what is it that you want to achieve by doing your exercise? If it’s just to boost your very mediocre VO₂max (max oxygen consumption) level by a couple of points, short HIIT sessions are great, but if you have sports specific goals, it will generally not suffice… on it’s own.  

In everything I do and everything I recommend, I look for balance. HIIT training is superb for high level aerobic/anaerobic stimulation, but as I said, you generally also need to incorporate some exercise that lasts more than a few seconds, which is where the ‘long’ run or cycle or swim come in - long may only be 20mins or so, as per the international guidelines for daily exercise. So, I say: do both HIIT and LSD (stands for long slow distance). If you are taking part in intense activities (or naturally gravitate towards them), do more HIIT and if you do more endurance work (and gravitate towards them), put together a few miles in your weekly outings.

I’ve got two more points and them I’m done. The first is the mechanisation of everything natural in modern life - exercise is something that we historically did to move, to feed ourselves and our families, and for enjoyment. We seem to be caught in an era of slothfulness, where we need excuses not to do something - but guilt often gets in the way (for some people at least), so the three minute exercise illusion is perfect for them to really avoid meaningful activity - burning away on their exercise bikes in front of Coronation Street or Grey’s Anatomy… Even when people get out to exercise, they go to a gym… in the car. I rent office space in a Pilates facility and one lady (who is a swimming instructor) and lives half way between my house and where I work, drives here to do a Pilates class - it takes me a mere 5mins to walk here from my house - go figure…. We should be exercising more spontaneously outside and I wrote a blog on this topic soon after my emigration to South Africa: click here to read it. 

My last point is that of genetics - we can’t get away from it nowadays. In 2015, my Sports Nutrition Live conference presentation was titled LSD vs HIIT - it examined the apparent need for researchers and coaches to try and prove which way is better. Of course, they both have their merits. But, to help you choose the proportions of your training done in either mode, your genetics are important - this is something we’re starting to understand more of and we are also aware that our fuel consumption ratios (carbs vs. fats) are affected by genetics. So, it’s all a case of getting to know yourself and doing what is best for you at the right times. Sometimes HIIT nor LSD exercise is good for us, but a gentle or flowing yoga class is…. Click here for my article write-up of the LSD vs HIIT presentation.