“Park your car further away and walk a longer distance to the door of the market,” or “Take the steps instead of the elevator.” Most of you have probably heard these very familiar tips on how to work more physical activity into your day. But until recently, I don’t think people really understood the impact such changes could have on our health. Well now we do!

Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh found that a smaller amount of exercise than we ever dreamed possible can significantly reduce the chances of contracting type 2 diabetes. As Laura and Jim LaValle have so aptly described it, we have a “tsunami” of diabetes coming. So it’s important to know what we can do to prevent this disease.

Insulin resistance is the condition that leads to type 2 diabetes, and it is strongly linked with inactivity. When you are active, the muscles need more glucose for energy, and with the reinvigoration of the insulin receptors, glucose is moved out of the bloodstream and into the cells. However, studies have shown that to effectively reverse insulin resistance once you have it, exercise must be really vigorous and should be done at least one hour per day.

An exciting new study shows that if you get ahead of insulin resistance, it takes only 1 minute per day to possibly prevent it. You heard me right — 1 minute.

Professor James Timmons, who led the study, found that doing intense muscle exercises lasting only 30 seconds each, and done two to four times a day, dramatically improved post-prandial (after meal) blood sugar levels in just two weeks.¹

The study was done in 16 inactive young men. They were instructed to do short bursts of cycling (30 seconds each), a minimum of two times per day. In that 30 seconds, they were told to cycle as fast as they could, and in just two short weeks, the men had a remarkable 23% improvement in insulin sensitivity.

Think about that again. An average workout time of 15 minutes over two weeks led to a 23% improvement in how efficiently insulin removed blood sugar from the blood stream. This study is a true example of how a little bit can go a long way!

If you are inactive, you have a much greater risk of becoming diabetic. Is a minute a day going to tone and sculpt your body? Probably not. However, if this one change could stop you from becoming diabetic, wouldn’t you do it? Of course you would!

There is only one caveat. During those two 30-second bursts, the exercise must be done vigorously. If you decide your health is worth a minute per day of your time, here are some vigorous activities you could try:

• Cycling: Pedal as fast as you can with resistance for 30 seconds; recover by slowing down, allowing you heart rate to return to normal, and then repeat.
• Stairs: Run or walk as quickly as you can up and down for 30 seconds; recover, then repeat.
• Treadmill: Set on a high incline and walk or run uphill as fast as you can for 30 seconds; recover, then repeat.
• Squat combination: While holding a light dumbbell in each hand, squat with weights at your side; as you stand, press weights overhead. Move as fast as you can for 30 seconds; recover, then repeat.
• Jumping rope: 30 seconds; rest, repeat.
• Jumping jacks: 30 seconds; rest, repeat.

If you have any physical injuries or impairments that would prevent you from doing these exercises, a trainer or physical therapist could design movements that would work for you.

So get moving. And when you park farther out in the parking lot, make that walk to the door a power walk!

Reference

1. Timmons, JA, et al. BMC Endocrine Disorders. 1009. 9(3) doi:10.1186/1472-6823-9-3.

[Ed. Note: Melissa Hawthorne, RN, BSN, CSCS is the owner of Priority Fitness Personal Training and Wellness. She is a Master Trainer for the Resist-a-ball Company, ISCA Personal Training, Kick-boxing, and Beamfit. Melissa serves as a fitness consultant for the LaValle Metabolic Institute. To learn more, click here.]

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