Tag Archives: cycling

You Have Time To Exercise

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Every four years the Olympics inspire not only a new generation of athletes to pursue their Olympic dreams, but also gives encouragement to the less physically active to incorporate some exercise into the daily schedule. Unfortunately already overloaded schedules and time commitments end up causing many if not most to quit the new exercise or activity, or even discourages them from starting in the first place.

Can you spare 30 minutes a week for exercise? This is 30 minutes per week total, broken up into ten minute sessions, three times each week? Even the busiest of us can probably find 30 minutes in the course of a week to commit to exercise.

Researchers from McMaster University in Canada enrolled sedentary men ages 19-37 and placed them into one of three different groups- a sprint interval training (SIT) group, a moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) group, and a control group.

The training protocols were straightforward. The sprint interval training protocol involved a two-minute warm-up on the stationary exercise bike, followed by three “all out” cycling efforts of twenty seconds each, separated by two minutes of low intensity cycling, and finally a two-minute cool-down, for a total of ten minutes. This was done three times each week.

The moderate intensity continuous training protocol consisted of a two-minute warm-up on the exercise bike, followed by 45 minutes of continuous cycling at 70% of maximum heart rate, and finally a three-minute cool-down, for a total of 50 minutes. This was also done three times each week.

A 12 week training program then followed. Researchers measured plasma glucose and insulin, and performed muscle analysis, among other measures.

What the researchers discovered was profound- the sprint interval training group (aka the 30 minute per week group) had comparable improvements in cardiopulmonary fitness, insulin sensitivity, and skeletal muscle mitochondrial content to the moderate intensity continuous training group (aka the 150 minute per week group) over the 12 week training program.

Another way to consider this is that the sprint interval group, with only 1/5 of the time commitment of the moderate intensity group, had equal cardiometabolic benefits.

McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario is one of the leading centers of research in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This recent paper adds to the growing body of research on this topic.

So you can you spare 30 minutes a week?

 

(Source- PLOS ONE, April 26, 2016)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone, Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.

Swimming and Cycling Help With Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

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In honor of the Rio Olympics today’s post will examine research on the benefits of swimming or cycling on the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease that leads to damage of the underlying bone and cartilage. It is very common, and it is estimated that osteoarthritis affects approximately 30 million in the U.S. and perhaps 250 million worldwide. Symptoms of osteoarthritis often progress leading to increasing joint pain and decreased function.

A group of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin enrolled a group of 48 participants into the study, including both men and women, with an average age of about 60 years. Subjects had mild to moderate signs of osteoarthritis on x-ray, and in addition were symptomatic with joint pain and decreased function.

Subjects were randomized to a swimming group or a cycling group. They started with 20-30 minutes of exercise 3 days/week at an exercise intensity of 40-50% of heart rate reserve. As fitness improved, participants moved to a goal of 40-50 minutes of exercise/day, 3 days/week at 60-70% of reserve. Swimmers used the breaststroke, freestyle or a combination of the two strokes, while the cyclists used a stationary bike. Both swimming and cycling groups were followed for 12 weeks.

Participants were tested upon entry into the study, and again after 12 weeks of either cycling or swimming. Participants in both the swimming and cycling groups showed reductions in joint pain and stiffness, with improvements in function. There was also significant improvement in a six-minute walk test in both groups. Body mass, as well as hip and waist circumference decreased in both swimmers and cyclists.

This study is important in that it may be the first to look at swimming (not water aerobics) as an intervention for osteoarthritis symptoms. The active cycling control group showed similar improvements to the swimming group, thus giving another possible treatment method for patients with osteoarthritis. It would be interesting to see if the improvement in function and decreases in joint pain would continue if the swimming or cycling continued beyond 12 weeks. Swimming and cycling are low risk activities that may yield large benefits for those suffering with osteoarthritis.

 (Source- The Journal of Rheumatology 2016; 43:3)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.