4-Second Sprints to Counteract Sitting All Day: Study

With work from home becoming a default working style, the number of hours we remain seated is almost equivalent to the amount of time we spent being awake. Prolonged sitting has always been a problem, even before the COVID-19 season, linked to increased risks for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disruptions. In studies conducted by the University of Texas at Austin, healthy young people who sat all day had left their metabolisms less able to break up or clear fats, even with exercise inserted within the day.

But a new study published in April in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise revealed that introducing four seconds of high-intensity exertion periodically throughout the day might counteract the unhealthy metabolic consequences of prolonged sitting.

Once every hour for eight hours, the volunteers of the study clamber on stationary bikes and sprint as hard as possible for four seconds, then stop pedalling, rest for 45 seconds, and sprint again, repeating that sequence five times, completing 160 seconds of exercise in a day. Researchers found that these exercises just below 3 minutes helped to improve fat metabolism and lower triglyceride levels in the bloodstream.

Professor Ed Coyle at the University of Texas who conducted the study said the results suggest that breaking up sitting with frequent, intense and extremely abbreviated exercise “can undo” some of the adverse effects of being sedentary.

So as working from home becomes the new norm, try the method suggested to reduce prolonged sitting. You will then be a step closer to a healthier heart!