Research: High-intensity interval training, 20 minutes each time, can reverse muscle aging. Many previous studies have proved that high-intensity interval training is good for young men and women to lose fat and gain muscle. The Australian research team hopes to apply the same training to middle-aged and elderly women. Is it effective? Therefore, the research team recruited 40 postmenopausal women and randomly divided them into high-intensity interval training group and sedentary group.
The high-intensity interval training group participated in the eight-week high-intensity interval training program, riding an exercise bike for 20 minutes each time (more than 80% of the maximum heart rate), practicing three times a week and exercising for 8 hours after eight weeks. At the end of the program, women in the exercise group gained 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) in leg and trunk muscles, lost 0.8 pounds (0.36 kg) in body fat, and increased 12% in aerobic exercise. There was no change in the sedentary group.
Riding an exercise bike for 20 minutes each time and practicing it three times a week for eight weeks, women's leg and trunk muscles gained 1.5 pounds. Yati Boutcher, the first author of this study and a doctor from the University of New South Wales, Australia, said that this study shows that high-intensity interval training is better than weight-bearing training in increasing muscle mass. However, compared with resistance training, if you want to increase the muscle mass of trunk and legs faster, it will take more time to achieve similar results.
At present, the mechanism of high-intensity interval training on muscles is not clear, but Boutcher pointed out that doing interval training on bicycles may greatly increase the synthesis of mitochondria and myofibrillar protein in legs, increase the protein synthesis in trunk, and make muscles contract continuously at the same length, both of which are helpful for muscle growth.
What is isometric contraction? Refers to the state of constant muscle length and continuous output; That is to say, the output continues but the angle remains the same, such as lifting a dumbbell and fixing it at a stretching angle. The mechanism of this muscle contraction is that when the main part of the muscle, such as the muscle abdomen, contracts, it elongates the tendons connected with it, while keeping the distance between the attachment points of the tendons on both sides of the bone unchanged, thus forming an isometric contraction movement. However, when the force produced by isometric contraction exceeds a certain level, the local blood supply of muscle will be temporarily terminated, forming a state of hypoxia.
If you don't like to do high-intensity interval training, can you achieve the same effect by increasing the riding distance?
Unfortunately, Boucher said it might not work. Because compared with aerobic exercise (moderate speed riding) or leisurely walking, high-intensity interval training has been proved to bring more benefits in a shorter time.