How a One Minute Workout Improved My Cardio
I have been neglecting my cardio. I generally just not a fan and I find weight lifting much more enjoyable. Three days a week I life weights early in the morning alternating with yoga. Of course I can’t simply not do any cardio specially if I want to participate in Tough Mudder and play basketball when summer is back. I need a way to get my cardio in so I don’t die on the court/course.
Enter Dr. Martin Gibala. Dr. Gibala is a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University and has overseen a series of studies in VO2 Max (our cardio ability and efficiency) and has some fascinating findings. The study purports that executing a “One Minute” high intensity interval routine 3 days per week we can realize the same physiological benefits we would achieve if we were running for 45 minutes at medium effort. I want in.
The one minute workout is actually a 10 minute time investment. Here’s how it works and how I am doing it on a treadmill:
- 2 minute warm up at medium, brisk walk pace
- 20 second “sprinting for fear of life” speed
- 2 minute medium, brisk walk pace
- 20 second “sprinting for fear of life” speed
- 2 minute medium, brisk walk pace
- 20 second “sprinting for fear of life” speed
- 3 minute cool down medium, low pace
The only marker I’m measuring is my Resting Heart Rate (RHR) which was 61 bpm and my general heart rate averaged at 67 bpm.
At three weeks my lowest RHR is already 53 bpm and the next lowest at a different time of day is 55 bpm. I measured my max MHR which got up to 148 bpm right after the sprints. So far this has improved dramatically and I can feel the energy I have throughout the day. I’ll keep a close eye on it and report back. I now have a goal to get my RHR under 50 bpm.
For more on the One Minute Workout here’s a Tim Ferriss Podcast and a New York Times article.
