Even people who are casually working out likely set aside as much as 4 hours a week just for their gym time. And for those who find gym time enjoyable, this might be an excellent way to spend their time. However, for those who have to work up the strength just to enter the gym, a new study could save them the trouble.
The Study
According to the peer-reviewed journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, You may see similar results if you work out for just 13 minutes versus if you work out for a full half-hour.
The study took 3 different groups who performed different numbers of sets of exercises during 3 weekly training sessions. A low-volume exercise group which performed 1 set, a mid-volume group which performed 3 sets, and a high-volume group which performed 5 sets.
At the end of an 8 week trial, each participant’s strength and endurance was tested with squats and bench presses, as well as muscle hypertrophy – muscle growth.
The study showed no significant differences between the group’s results, having very close changes in muscle mass, strength, and endurance.
The Caveats
Now, this doesn’t mean that you can just take a 13 minute walk and see massive results. This study focused on high-intensity workouts with compound movements – each exercise should use multiple muscle groups.
Many have espoused the benefits of a high-intensity and short-interval exercise, and this study supports a very similar approach. High-intensity exercise pushes far more muscle growth than low-intensity exercise, and can be far more effective for improving performance rather than maintaining it.
Multiple muscle groups should be exercised to help engage as much of your body as possible. This is important not only for a well-rounded body, but also because this is how your body naturally wants to work – it can feel mechanical and strange to do highly-specific exercises.
Regardless of if you want to save time or not, as long as you are exercising and feeling good, then your workout is doing its job.