Would you believe it if we told you that you can maintain and keep your muscles tight if you exercise regularly? Naturally. It is a fact. But could you even digest it if we said that workout only takes three seconds? You’d say we’re kidding, but we’re not.
A team of researchers from Edith Cowan University, Australia, in collaboration with Niigata University of Health and Welfare (NUHW), Japan, has produced a study suggesting that three seconds of exercise a day can have a positive effect on muscle strength. .
The study was conducted on 39 students at Niigata University of Health who were required to perform a muscle contraction for three seconds a day for four weeks. The three types of contractions – isometric, concentric and eccentric – had to be performed with maximum effort.
In addition, 13 students who did not exercise also participated in the study. The results showed that students who exercised for three seconds every five days a week for four weeks showed development in their muscles. On the other hand, students who did not practice at all showed no sign of development.
“The research results suggest that a very small amount of exercise stimulus — even 60 seconds in four weeks — can increase muscle strength,” said Prof. Ken Nosaka, lead author of the study, Edith Cowan University, in a press release. Prof Ken added: “A lot of people think you should spend a lot of time exercising, but that’s not the case. Good quality short exercises can still be good for your body, and every muscle contraction counts.”
The study also found that of the three contractions, the muscles showed the most development when performing eccentric muscle contraction, which is basically the elongation of the muscle under concentration. “While the mechanisms underlying the potent effects of eccentric contraction are not yet clear, the fact that only a maximum eccentric contraction of three seconds per day improves muscle strength in a relatively short period of time is important for health and fitness” said Professor Ken.
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