Great science-backed ways to get fit as quickly as possible

Watching an athlete at his peak is exciting. Fulfilling his athletic potential, not much. Getting fit is hard and painful – or so we assume.

But this is not necessarily the case. In fact, research shows that anyone who’s just starting to exercise more than they’re used to will see improvements surprisingly quickly, no matter which exercise they choose. Even better is discovering that there are ways to speed up your fitness journey.

The key to improving fitness is, at its core, simple. You need to go beyond your “usual load,” which is a fancy way of saying doing more activity than you’re used to. This will stress your body and force it to adapt.

When it comes to starting cardio exercise as a beginner, “one of the first things that happens is you get more blood volume,” he says. Abby Lynn At the University of Michigan. Within 24 hours of exercise, this increases to up to 12 percent Due to water retention, which increases the amount of blood plasma, which enhances the amount of oxygen that can be supplied to the muscles. After two weeks of training, peak blood volume is usually reached, which is about 15 to 20 percent higher in athletes compared to sedentary individuals.

Energy-producing structures within our cells called mitochondria become more numerous and efficient at this time as well. Small blood vessels known as capillaries begin to spread rapidly within the muscles, too, improving the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to tissues. one He studies She found that capillary density expanded by about 20 percent after two months of the cycle training program.

These shifts enhance the maximum rate at which the body can use oxygen, a measure known as VO2 Max. Stuart Gray At the University of Glasgow, UK. Changes in VO2 Max usually occur about six to eight weeks into training. By the third month, it can improve by about 10 percent, he says.

become stronger

Muscles also adapt quickly. A single session of strength training increases gene activity Within the muscles involved in regulating inflammation and removing waste products that build up as a result of the stress of exercise. It doesn’t take long to build muscle strength either, at least if you’re a beginner. “Everyone gets stronger in the first three weeks because your nervous system learns how to talk to your muscles better,” Lin says. With repetition, nerve signals from the brain become faster, and muscles become better at responding to them, generating more force faster, Gray says.

The exercise also works by tearing down muscle fibers, allowing them to build stronger. In a sense, you literally become “torn.” This takes a little longer, so the greatest improvements in muscle size and strength do not occur Until about eight to 12 weeks into training.

All of this suggests that your workout should feel a little easier within two to three months of your first workout. But several factors mean this varies from person to person. The most important influence is genetics. Our genes determine about half of our aerobic fitness, says Lin. “Some people, no matter how much they train, their VO2 Max won’t shift much,” says Gray. “Then, you’ll get the really annoying people who will do the same training that you and your VO2 Max will fly off the charts.”

Age is another factor, though Younger people adapt to exercise more quickly than older adults. Previous physical activity also makes a difference, as people who have previously trained are able to rebuild muscle faster than those who are just starting out.

A wide range of exercises can improve fitness within a few months, provided they are done three to five times a week for about 30 to 60 minutes. For example, 12 weeks of endurance training such as cycling Increase muscle mass by 7 to 11 percentAlmost the same strength training program for the same duration. However, one system seems to outpace all the others in terms of getting fit quickly – both from an aerobic and strength perspective – by stressing our physiology in the right way to induce maximum adaptation.

High intensity interval training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves exercising at maximal maximal effort in repeated bursts of up to one minute, with short rest in between. This system was devised in the 1990s by Izumi Tabata and colleagues at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, Japan. They showed that a 4-minute exercise, with repeated cycles of 20 seconds of intense work and then 10 seconds of rest, was performed five days a week for six weeks. Greater aerodynamic improvement of moderate hour-long workouts performed over the same time frame.

Since then, numerous experiments have confirmed the power of HIIT. “If you want a quick increase [in fitness] The key is to work as hard as possible during intense intervals, says Lin. Just six HIIT sessions over two weeks significantly improved VO2 max and endurance, but significantly, a 2021 study Similar improvements can be achieved if these HIIT sessions are compressed into a five-day period.

Adam Sharples At the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo, beginners say two to three HIIT sessions per week. You can intersperse it with longer-duration endurance activities, such as jogging or swimming, to increase results, he says. Once you notice your strength has faltered with HIIT, you can add two or three total-body strength training sessions, says Lin.

However, the best exercise is ultimately the exercise that you will be able to stick with, not necessarily the exercise that leads to the quickest improvements. “Sometimes, we get into the weeds with the perfect plan, but I think for most people, we just need to get out there and get moving,” Gray says.

The trick is to constantly challenge yourself. If you do this, you may be surprised to discover peak performance.

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