Sprinting Helps Shed Belly Fat

Sprinting fights belly fat, say researchers. Just 20 minutes of sprints on an exercise bike, three times a week, will do.

Sprinting fights belly fat, say researchers.

Just 20 minutes of sprints on an exercise bike, three times a week, will do.

Walking for Fitness and Weight Loss
A few extra steps a day are enough to keep you fit.

It could replace seven hours of jogging over the week for a similar result, according to Steve Boutcher, associate professor at the University of New South Wales, who led the study.

"Sprints are a very time efficient form of exercise. The sprint program, LifeSprints, reduced visceral fat with seven times less exercise time and has a much greater impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health than reductions of subcutaneous fat stores in the legs and arms," Boutcher was quoted as saying in the Journal of Obesity.

Men who participated in the research, lost two kg of body fat, 17 percent of visceral fat, and put on 1.2 kg of muscle in their legs and trunk after the 12-week exercise bike sprints programme, said a university statement.

Quiz on Fitness
Who wouldn’t want to look fit in the current scenario where young and old are hitting the gym to look and feel fighting fit? We invite you to participate in this quiz on fitness and check if you are well informed on what it takes to remain fit all through your life.

"Other studies using aerobic exercise, such as continuous jogging, have found that the amount of exercise needed to produce a similar decrease in visceral fat was around seven hours per week for 14 weeks," Boutcher said.

The team of researchers has previously studied the impact of the sprinting programme on women, which also showed a significant loss of body fat from stationary cycling for 20 minutes, three times a week. LifeSprints were also good for those who wanted to boost muscle mass.

Prosthetics, a Feel Good Stride in Medical History
An inadvertent contribution has been made by women in stilettos and ostriches towards scientific progress by showing researchers to design a prosthetic leg better adapted for walking, states study.

"Participation in regular aerobic exercise typically results in little or no gain in muscle mass, whereas moderately hard resistance exercise over months may increase muscle mass. The amount of LifeSprints exercise, however, needed to significantly increase muscle mass appears to be much less," added Boutcher.

Source-IANS

Warm-up Boosts Strength: Study
Low-load luteal muscle exercises enhance body's performance, shows study.