Exercise at home is as effective as gym|Study

If you don’t have access to the gym or simply if you do not have time then you need not have to worry. A recent study says exercise at home/ home workout is as effective as working out at the gym.

According to a recent research published in The Journal of Physiology the researcher found that home based exercises are as effective in obese person (with elevated risk of heart disease) as working out at gym.

Home exercise is as effective as gym, basis of research

Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University were interested in whether the home based-HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is as effective as HIIT performed at the gym? Which can help to reduce other common exercise barriers such as difficulty with access to exercise facilities due travel time and cost?

For those who are new to HIIT, it is High Intensity Interval Training that offers you a full-body workout in a short time period. However, it is an extremely intense workout which can make your body susceptible to various injuries and hence it requires precautions.

Also read: Long working hours? You are at increased risk of stroke

Research methodology

Researchers choose 32 obese people who has completed any one of the following 12-week programs (For all of these regimens, the exercise was performed three times per week):

1. A supervised, lab-based cycling HIT programme,
2. The Government-recommended 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or
3. A home-based HIT program of simple bodyweight exercises suitable for people with low fitness and low mobility, and performed without equipment.

Then, the researchers measured a range of health markers in these participants like:

• Body composition,
• Cardiovascular disease risk,
• Ability to regulate glucose.

Result of the study

They found that the home exercise (home-based HIT) was as effective as both the Government-recommended 150 minutes and the supervised, lab-based HIT program for improving fitness in obese individuals.

Keep reading: Importance of warm up & cooling down before sports

Resource

1. Home‐HIT improves muscle capillarization and eNOS/NAD(P)Hoxidase protein ratio in obese individuals with elevated cardiovascular disease risk (Research paper published on 19 June 2019): https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP278062

Sunit. S. Ekka

Dr Sunit Sanjay Ekka is a physiotherapist in practice for the last 15 years. He has done his BPT from one of the premium Central Government physiotherapy colleges, ie, SVNIRTAR. The patient is his best teacher and whatever he gets to learn he loves to share it on his Youtube channel and blog.