12 minutes of couch potato time a week to get back on track

When you get home from get off work every day, do you just want to lie down on the sofa, watch TV, eat snacks and be a "couch potato"? Be careful that obesity is like an enemy that sticks to you. According to foreign media reports, a study shows that just 4 minutes of intense aerobic exercise 3 times a week can effectively increase the oxygen content in the blood, lower blood pressure, promote body metabolism, and improve the health level of men who have not exercised for a long time.

It is well known that exercise can improve health, but the amount of exercise and the length of exercise time remain to be defined. According to the British Daily Mail, researchers at the Center for Sports Medicine at Trondholm University of Technology in Norway found that three short and intense aerobic exercises a week can effectively improve the health of men who have not exercised for a long time.

Exercise to increase oxygen content: 4 minutes each time, 3 times a week

The researchers recruited a group of overweight men with inactive cardiovascular risk factors and divided them into two groups, who underwent a 10-week exercise program that included high-intensity training three times a week. Both groups performed aerobic training at an intensity close to that of an athlete (total heart rate reached 90%) for four minutes each time. Group A performed this exercise only once, while Group B repeated it 4 times per session (i.e., 16 minutes).

The results showed that the blood oxygen content in Group A increased by 10% and in Group B by 13%, while the blood pressure of both groups decreased significantly. However, the drop was greater in Group A, which only did the exercise for 4 minutes each time.

Arnt Erik Tjonna, who led the research, said that the research does not mean that you can get back to a slim figure by just 12 minutes a week, but it can provide a motivation for people who don't like sports or are getting fatter. You only need to spend a little time to help yourself get back to health! The study has been published in the scientific journal PLOS One.