Can a 2-Minute Workout Beat Diabetes

May 21 2014

A new study publishes in the journal Biology suggests that performing just 2 minutes of high-intensity training exercises twice a week can protect against diabetes and offer some relief to people who already have diabetes.

According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 25.8 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, which translates into roughly 8.3% of the population. What’s even more alarming, though, is that nearly 40% of people with the disease don’t know they have it. When diabetes goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, it increases the risk of severe nerve damage.

Researchers at Abertay University in Dundee closely monitored a group of overweight middle-aged men who were considered “high risk” for developing diabetes. The men were asked to perform short 2-minute bouts of high-intensity training (HIT) twice weekly. The exercise involved a series of sprints on an stationary bike, with each sprint lasting just a couple of seconds.

Dr. John Babraj and his colleagues discovered that short bouts of HIT significantly reduced participants’ risk of diabetes. And people who already had diabetes, had their symptoms reduced once they began the otherwise short HIT exercises.

“We found that not only does HIT reduce the risk of them developing the disease, but also that the regime needs to be performed only twice a week in order for them to reap the benefits. And you don’t have to be able to go at the speed of Usain Bolt when you’re sprinting. As long as you are putting your maximal effort into the sprints, it will improve your health,” wrote Dr. John Babraj, lead fitness trainer at Abertay University.

The CDC advises adults to perform 150 minutes of “moderate” exercise per week or 75 minutes of “vigorous” exercise per week. Unfortunately, very few people are able to achieve this amount due to time constraints. We live in an age where people are always on the go; whether it’s working, getting the kids to school on time, doing yard work, etc., it’s often difficult for people to find 75-150 minutes available for exercise.

But the report published in the journal Biology paints a different picture regarding the exercise requirements for adults. While the study focuses on the effects of exercise in regards to diabetes, it may prove beneficial for other conditions as well.

The bottom line is that people should make it a point to exercise each and every week. Even if you can’t invest a full 75-150 minutes, pick up some dumbbells or hop on a stationary bike for a couple of minutes.