How One Minute Workouts Improve Your Endurance and Lower Blood Pressure

There's the 30-minute workout, and then there's the 7-minute variety. And now, researchers are saying that taking just a minute to exercise can do you as much good.

With that, there should be no excuse for us not to get up and moving.

"New research published in the journal PLOS One shows sedentary men and women who did one minute of intense, all-out exercise as part of a full 10-minute workout three times a week for six weeks improved their endurance and lowered their blood pressure," Time reported.

The McMaster University (Ontario) study involved 14 men and women who were overweight and led sedentary lifestyles. They had muscle biopsies, as well as blood pressure, sugar level, and aerobic endurance measurements to gauge their level of improvement, if any is recorded.

"They hopped on stationary bikes and warmed up for two minutes," Time explained. "After the warmup, the participants biked as hard as they possibly could for three 20 second intervals followed by two minutes of slow pedaling."

"They ended with a three minute cool-down, adding up to a total of 10 minutes. They did this three times a week, coming out to 30 minutes of exercise a week," the news source continued.

At the end of six weeks, the participants' endurance improved by about 12%. Their blood pressure levels and muscle condition were also better.

"Interestingly, the male volunteers also had significantly improved their blood-sugar control, but the female volunteers had not," MailOnline said.

In getting similar benefits from this workout scheme, you don't need to focus on cycling as your go-to exercise. You can do some other cardio-based activity that gets your heart pumping, such as "sprinting up stairs in 20-second bursts, for one minute, or even high knees running hard in one place." This kind of routine is generally lumped under high intensity interval training (HIIT).

"High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): HIIT, which involves short bursts of activity followed by a short period of rest or recovery, has become the hottest trend in fitness in recent years. In fact, HIIT was named the top worldwide fitness trend of 2014," The Sydney Morning Herald said. "HIIT workouts, which are usually 30-minute sessions or less, are known to improve cardiovascular health, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, not to mention help shed weight fast."

It should be noted, though, that maintaining this kind of workout can be difficult, especially of you're not in good shape. HIIT may also be "too difficult or even dangerous" for the elderly and those who are overweight, which prompted the researchers to "investigate just how short they could cut the workout to and still get some of the same health benefits," Time said.

Based on the results of the McMaster University study, it appears one minute can be enough.