Do you normally spend hours in the gym? According to this study, you don’t need to spend that much time in sports at all: according to the scientists, you only need to move for 13 (!) minutes at a time to achieve the desired results. Not bad news, now that we can’t go to the gym because of Covid-19.

A short power workout would be especially beneficial

Power workout

These so-called power workouts, in which you get the most out of your workout in lessons of twenty to thirty minutes, have been growing enormously in recent years. These workouts have also big fans in Hollywood: allegedly, Halle Berry and Kate Hudson follow an intense workout of up to thirty minutes at a time, for a fit and tight body. But according to new research, it can be even shorter.

Scientists divided a group of 34 men into three different sports routines. Everyone did the same seven exercises three times a week for eight weeks, with weights heavy enough to exhaust the participants’ muscles. The first group did the whole set only once per visit to the gym, the second group three times, and the third group five times. The first group did only 13 minutes, while the second group did about 40 minutes of exercise and the third group even did 70 minutes.

Results

Once the eight-week period had passed, the researchers were pleasantly surprised by the results. The first group, which only moved for 13 minutes each workout, benefited from the workout as much as the other two groups, who worked up a much longer sweat in the gym. The only difference between the groups had to do with the muscle mass of the participants. Although all participants had gained more muscle mass, those results were significantly higher in the groups that had worked out 40 or 70 minutes.

3 x 13 minutes a week is sufficient for a fit and tight body

Sports regime

To change your sports regime right now is a bit premature. It’s up to you. Do you just want to get stronger and fitter? Then three times a week 13 minutes of training should be enough. Do you also want to grow muscles? Then you should train more often a week and follow a more intensive training. What we can conclude from this research is that power workouts are a very good way to get in shape!