High-intensity interval training may help you live longer than more gentle exercise, but it’s hard to prove a link

Regular exercise will help you live longer, right? And strenuous exercise is especially good for you, isn’t it?

Well, maybe. But everything we think we know about exercise and longevity actually comes from observational studies. It tracks people over a long period of time, but it cannot prove the cause and effect.

Currently, a group of researchers is trying to remedy this. Large-scale long-term randomized trials are studying the effect of exercise intensity on mortality risk. The results were recently published in the BMJ..

In a Norwegian study, 1,567 people in their 70s were followed for 5 years and assigned to one of three groups.

The first two groups were instructed to do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) twice a week or medium-intensity continuous training twice a week.

The third group has just been told to follow national physical activity guidelines. This was a control group aimed at showing what would happen without intervention.

However, the researchers ran into an amazing pothole. The control group followed the instructions and decided to exercise harder than the “moderate” exercise group.

“Usually if you tell people to obey [physical activity] In Australia, for example, guidelines can instead rely on being a control group, “said Maria Fiatarone Singh of the University of Sydney, one of the authors of this study.

“But this is [study was done in] Norway, these are vikings. Not only did they do it when they were told to do it, but at the end of five years, 70 percent of the controls actually met those guidelines, and another 20 percent HIIT. It was a. “

This was not a bad thing for the study participants, as they benefited from the movement. However, it made it difficult for researchers to derive causes and effects.

However, as a result, regular HIIT seemed to have an advantage over the other two exercise approaches.

“The HIIT group had the best results in terms of mortality,” says Professor Fiatarone Singh.

“It improved aerobic fitness over the other two groups. It’s important and improved quality of life both mentally and physically.”

This paper is an early milestone in a long-term project, said Dorthe Stensvold, lead author of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

“We will follow participants for another five years. We hope that these data will give a clear answer if exercise intensity is important for longevity.”

The power of consistency

Aside from overactive controls, this study is consistent with previous studies showing that exercise is not only stopping death but also improving life when alive. Wendy Brown of the University of Queensland, who was not involved in the study, says.

All age groups can benefit from regular training, but maintaining it in old age is especially important, says Professor Brown.

“The amazing thing was among these hundreds of people. They went for five years,” she says.

“The moment I quit [exercise] As you get older, the wheels start to fall.

“I don’t think it matters as long as you keep doing that.”

Professor Stensvold agrees.

“Not only adding years to life, but adding life to years is an important aspect of healthy aging,” she says.

“The greater health benefits of HIIT are reflected in higher fitness and health-related quality of life. [the moderate training group] And control is an important discovery. “

High strength does not have to mean high impact

Therefore, any exercise is better than doing nothing, and HIIT seems to offer additional benefits.

But if you’re reluctant to think of high-intensity training, you can rest assured that it’s probably not necessarily about hitting the pavement.

In this study, the HIIT session 10 minutes warm up, followed by 4 lots at 4 minute intervals Participant’s heart rate reached about 90% of the peak rate.

“You don’t have to run to be strong,” says Professor Fiatarone Singh.

“You can climb stairs and walk uphill actively. For the elderly, it’s 90% of your peak heart rate.

“The idea of ​​having to run, which is unpleasant for many because of arthritis, is not true, and there are many less influential ways to do it.”