Michael Mosley has revealed his top tip for exercise, weight loss and living longer – saying it was the ‘best single way’ to do so.
The health guru, who is known for promoting the Fast 800 and 5:2 diets, shared the advice on his BBC podcast called Just One Thing, reports the Mirror.
Michael suggested that high intensity interval training (HIIT) is a super effective way to improve your heart health, lose weight, live longer and reduce the risk of diabetes.
The expert said he enjoys a quick workout that involves planks, star jumps and squats. He also said that people do not need expensive gym equipment in order to perform these exercises.
He explained: “We know exercise is good for us, but many people struggle to fit it in. If this sounds like you, it could be the answer. Not only can you burn more calories in less time, but it can build your muscles and boost your brain power. What’s more, you can introduce intervals of more vigorous intensity into almost any exercise running cycling. Even your morning walk.
“It’s really about adapting it to your current level of fitness, and in the long term, it can have big benefits, increasing muscle strength, fitness, improving your heart and reducing your risk of Type two diabetes.”
Michael also noted that even an intense walk could be a good way to increase the pace of your life – for example, a 20-minute walk with three minute intervals of a faster pace.
He also proposed replacing a walk with a short workout later in the week, adding: “You do five lots of one minute intervals. These are either running on the spot or going up the stairs, so you do a little bit of gentle warm up. Then you go fairly hard for one minute. You have a breather for one minute until you’ve done a total of five minutes of fairly vigorous workout. That should get you done within 15 minutes.”
The health guru explained that high intensity exercise had a significant impact on the body’s mitochondria cells which he said ‘tend to become less effective as we age’.
He said: ” In a recent study, volunteers were asked to do hit cycling at maximum intensity for four lots of four minutes. They did this three times a week. After three months, they’d not only improve muscle mass and strength, but increase their mitochondrial activity by up to 70%.”
Participating in exercise, in particular high intensity workouts, can also boost your brain performance. This is due to the fact that intense exercise can cause your muscles to produce lactate as fuel – which creates a hormone in the brain that stimulates the production of new brain cells and helps protect existing ones.
Dr Mosley added: “A Norwegian study randomised 1500 adults to either doing hit moderate excise or a control group, and they were asked to stick to this protocol for five years. It turned out that he had the biggest impact on both quality of life and fitness. It also led to the biggest reductions in death from all causes.”
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