Live data from Hacker News

Repeated six-second bursts of exercise 'can transform health'

bbc.com

31–38 of 38 posts

Re: Repeated six-second bursts of exercise 'can transform health'

#32
post #19
post #17

There are several problems with this kind of studies: -Almost all kind of exercise will improve all markers in sedentary, not trained people. -We all look for miracle solutions, but if you really want to improve it´ll take some time and long term commitment. -Interval training works, but it´s currently sold as the solution for all the fitness problem. It has it´s own problems dough. Some of this problems are: +Lack o…

I have to point out none of the problems you point out are specific to HIIT. Over training, lack of warmup and lack of technique can be problems with any exercise regime.

But they are certainly specially dangerous with certain kinds of HIIT as you are performing very close to your maximum capability. At this point the body is under maximum stress and it´s necessary to warmup for a minimum of 10-20 min to perform it with some safety.

Re: Repeated six-second bursts of exercise 'can transform health'

#33
post #22
post #17

There are several problems with this kind of studies: -Almost all kind of exercise will improve all markers in sedentary, not trained people. -We all look for miracle solutions, but if you really want to improve it´ll take some time and long term commitment. -Interval training works, but it´s currently sold as the solution for all the fitness problem. It has it´s own problems dough. Some of this problems are: +Lack o…

Your arguments are the conventional wisdom, but do the statistics support this? Stretching was once thought to be a good way to reduce risk of injury. It was a big part of the conventional wisdom. It isn't that simple, however, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1250267/ . I think a good study would be to track people through something like their first 60 cumulative minutes of exercise after no exercise for,…

This arguments are the ones used and shared by Olympic coaches. There is nothing new in what I say. It´s well known in sport circles that science goes between 10 and 20 years behind the Olympic training methods. They don´t have time to wait for studies to happen, they need to go for what it works now.

As I said HIIT is very very useful, possibly more effective than beginning as I said (depending of your objectives): developing slowly your capability over some months. But recommending it to people out of the blue, with out proper training time under their belt (doesn't have a minimum adaptation to physical activity) that don´t know how their own body reacts. It's just an injury waiting to happen. Not only that, Hiit training is so exhausting that a lot of people give up before they can see results. So one thing is to say that it´s effective, and other to say that it´s really useful or safe as it´s recommended, after all we are talking of finding a training system that it´s useful to the average guy who wants to start training.

IMHO it's much better to make a plan that makes you start slowly, with low volume and low intensity. And from there over the months (you don´t need a lot of them, 2-3 months is more than enough to develop a training base), start adding HIIT, etc.. But that's more difficult to sell, as we all want results this week.

What stretching does, is to allow a complete range of movement, for example people that perform bench press as their main exercise usually develop a strong forward tightness at their shoulder girdle (besides not stretching they usually don't balance the strength between pulling and pushing).

They are terribly strong in one movement (pushing), but this tightness and lack of balance helps develop a lot of shoulder problems overtime, and even it can stop the body from further developing the bench press strength. It´s more complex than only stretching. But stretching has it´s place, you only need to look at Gymnasts and Weight lifters, that are the most powerful athletes gram per gram (of relative strength, not absolute like power lifting). Both of them are very very flexible compared to the average sport practitioner. They develop that stretching capability because they need it to perform well. At that level you don't train a property that you don't need. Of course circus levels of flexibility are way too much and could lead to problems.

Re: Repeated six-second bursts of exercise 'can transform health'

#34
It is necessary to be cautious with this kind of studies as everybody has specific needs.

I have a minor heart problem and I must avoid doing sports which require to be active for small burst like Tennis and squatch. For some people, it is better to do endurant sport like swimming, biking or doing long exercises.

Re: Repeated six-second bursts of exercise 'can transform health'

#35

From my own experience, endurance and strength come from either faster reps, or more weighted reps. Essentially, if the power wattage output of your body is high, you'll benefit immensely.

Exactly! Good point- I think people forget that...

Ever wonder why speed skaters have some of the most muscular legs around? Its simply the number of unencumbered 'squats' they continue to do over long periods of time while practising.

Sure you can lose weight quickly with HIT and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) but we need a lot more study to confirm that they are genuinely 'better for health'. At the moment, they're just a variation...like variations :)

Re: Repeated six-second bursts of exercise 'can transform health'

#36
post #31

I have heard lots of good about interval training. I remember Freakonomics podcast mentioning it being the most effective exercise versus time spent.

Economists recommending on exercise? Doesn't that raise a red flag to you?

Human experience isn't divided up into silos. If economists notice something about biology from a different perspective, we should evaluate their findings, not immediately distrust or dismiss them.

Re: Repeated six-second bursts of exercise 'can transform health'

#38
post #31

I have heard lots of good about interval training. I remember Freakonomics podcast mentioning it being the most effective exercise versus time spent.

Economists recommending on exercise? Doesn't that raise a red flag to you?

The assets valued in economics allow me to make a judgement on how an economist is likely to view , say , dieting.

With that judgement in-mind, I may be more likely to follow the instruction or believe the idea the economist is saying rather than someone else like a drug-addled rockstar or an HIV infected addict.

The information the economist espouses, however, will surely be thought of at a lower priority than any information accrued from a medical doctor, dietician, or fitness instructor.

Considering the opinions of 'non-experts' does not raise flags for me, at least.

Post reply on HN