Do one-minute bouts of vigorous intermittent physical activity (VILPA) really really make a difference? Yes!
Doing 4.5 minutes of VILPA reduces cancer incidence by 20% and a 32% reduction in physical activity-related cancers.
Doing 10 minutes a day is almost a 50% risk reduction in cancer incidence.
And as little as 3.5 minutes a day makes a difference—18% reduction in cancer.
This shows there's a massive bang for your exercise buck. You do not need to work really long and really hard to see meaningful results.
How do we know? Yes, there's a study.
If your self-talk goes something like: Why bother exercising if I'm not going to exercise for an hour? It's useless. I might as well not even try.
That's simply not true. And this just shows how untrue that kind of defeatist mindset is. Every little bit helps. Doing something is better than nothing. Just do it. Exercise is not an all-or-nothing game. Just playing is winning. This is the kind of thinking that will help you succeed.
What the heck is VILPA?
To qualify as vigorous intermittent physical activity, or VILPA, you need to perform exercise intervals of at least one minute of intense physical activity.
It does not have to be continuous. You can break up the exercise throughout the day.
And it's not exercise-specific. Do whatever you like to do or whatever you are already doing.
Activities include:
- vigorous housework
- carrying heavy shopping around the grocery store
- bursts of power walking
- playing high-energy games with the kids
- run up stairs
- pushups
How can Max Workout Help?
VILPA is essentially High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in your everyday life. What does Max Workout specialize in? HIIT.
Max Workout was created on the idea of less is more. You can achieve great results with the least effort possible. And it's research like this that continues to prove that premise true.
Max Workout has lots of short, effective workouts that will get the job done. Here are some good options:
- 5 Minute Workout
- 7 Minute Workout
- 10-10-60 Workout (3 minutes)
- Low Impact Workout (10 minutes)
- Tabata Workout (9 minutes)
Download Max Workout for free from the App Store.