Can you really get fit by exercising for two minutes a week?
The great thing about making science documentaries is that you constantly discover things that surprise you. I first came across High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) more than five years ago while making a documentary for Horizon. At the time, I learned that just three minutes a week of intense cycling could greatly improve aerobic fitness and blood sugar control.
I kept in touch with the scientists, and was delighted to get another chance to try out HIIT. This time it was for a recent BBC documentary, The Truth About Getting Fit, and the novelty was that the HIIT protocol was now even shorter.
Dr Neils Vollaard at Stirling University has research showing that just two minutes of intense exercise a week (two bursts of 20 seconds, three times a week) would be enough to give the unfit a significant boost.
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