If the idea of joining a gym puts you off either because of the cost, or the time factor, or then because you are self-conscious, a home-based high-intensity interval training (Home-HIT) programme can benefit you, says a new study published in ‘The Journal of Physiology’. This is especially helpful if you are obese with an elevated risk of heart disease.
Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University believe that Home-HIT is a time-efficient strategy that helps to reduce other common exercise barriers like difficultly with access to exercise facilities due travel time and cost. In this study, 32 obese people completed a 12-week programme of either a supervised, lab-based cycling HIT programme, the recommended 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or a home-based HIT programme of simple body weight exercises suitable for people with low fitness and low mobility, and performed without equipment. For all of these regimens, the exercise was performed three times per week.
Researchers measured the health markers in these participants, including body composition, cardiovascular disease risk, and the ability to regulate glucose. They found that home-based HIT was as effective as both the recommended 150 minutes and the supervised, lab-based HIT programme for improving fitness in obese people.