How just minutes of running can supercharge your health

"Running offers a wide range of advantages for both body and mind. It can protect against disease, improve mood, and even slow down the body's natural aging process. Yet about 31% of adults still don't get enough physical activity, including running. The most common reason people give is simple -- they don't have enough time. That's where interval running comes in. It promises nearly all the same benefits of regular running, but in a fraction of the time."

"Interval running is based on the principles of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), a workout style that alternates short bursts of intense effort with brief recovery periods. Although HIIT has existed for nearly a century, it became widely popular in the 1990s and 2000s through training methods like Tabata (20 seconds of intense movement followed by ten seconds of rest) and CrossFit (a demanding combination of cardio, gymnastics, and weightlifting)."

"In a typical HIIT workout, you might do 30 seconds of burpees at full effort, rest for 30 seconds, and repeat the sequence several times. The alternating pattern challenges the body to adapt and recover quickly, leading to major fitness improvements in less time. This same approach can easily be applied to running for those who want to see results faster without spending hours on the road."

Interval running uses high-intensity interval training principles by alternating short bursts of intense effort with brief recovery periods. The format yields improvements in endurance, metabolism, fat loss, mood, disease protection, and may slow biological aging while requiring much less time than steady-state running. Popular HIIT methods include Tabata and CrossFit; a typical HIIT session might involve 30 seconds maximal effort followed by 30 seconds rest repeated multiple times. Running-specific protocols include the 10-20-30 method and fartlek, which mix walking, moderate runs, and all-out sprints or add random short sprints into a jog for faster results without long training sessions.

Read at ScienceDaily