How many times have you given up on healthy physical exercise due to lack of time? Apparently, it happens more often than we think. We believe that physical activity requires a lot, a lot of time, and we reluctantly decide to give it up. We would like to see results after a short while and, if it doesn't happen, we feel discouraged.
A new study by the scientists of the Edith Cowan University proves exactly the opposite: it says that enough three seconds a day to change things, a rhythm of physical exercise that is feasible for everyone and at any time.
According to what has been experimented, it is enough to perform a certain type of bicep curl for three seconds a day and the results will appear within the first four weeks. You say it's not worth a try? The effort seems to be worth it.
A new way of experiencing physical exercise
The study of the two universities involved a total of 52 students.
39 were encouraged to do a bicep curl at maximum effort for three seconds a day, while the other 13 students did not perform any exercises.
Active participants (those who needed to exercise) had three different types of curls available:
- Concentric curl:
the dumbbell is raised towards the shoulders, shortening the muscle - Eccentric curl:
the dumbbell is slowly lowered below the hips, stretching the muscle - Isometric curl:
the 90-degree arm holds the muscle in place
The researchers measured the maximum voluntary contraction force of the muscles of subjects before and after the four-week period. The results surprised everyone.
What is the most effective curl?
Exercise proved beneficial for all involved. However, those who were assigned the eccentric curl performed better.
Their concentric strength is increased by 12,8%, the isometric strength by 10,2%, and the eccentric strength by 12,2%. Overall, their overall muscle strength increased by 11,5%. The concentric curl group improved their isometric strength by 6,3%. Likewise, the isometric group has increased its eccentric strength by 7,2%.
Professor Ken Nosaka of Edith Cowan University, spoke about the power of eccentric exercise and the possibility of studying other muscles:
Although the mechanisms behind the powerful effects of eccentric contraction are still unclear, the fact that only a maximum eccentric contraction of three seconds per day improves muscle strength in a relatively short period is important for health and fitness. We haven't studied other muscles yet, but if we find that the three-second rule applies to other muscles as well, you may be able to do a full-body exercise in under 30 seconds.
Source study: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports – Effects of 3-second daily maximum voluntary isometric, concentric, or eccentric contraction on elbow flexor strength
