Six seconds of exercise can transform health 運動6秒可改造健康

Short six-second bursts of vigorous exercise have the potential to transform the health of elderly people, say researchers in Scotland.

短短6秒鐘的一陣激烈運動，有可能改變年長者的健康，蘇格蘭研究人員說。

A pilot study involving 12 pensioners showed going all-out in very short bursts, reduced blood pressure and improved general fitness over time.

一份請12名退休人士參與的試驗性研究顯示，在非常短時間內使盡全力運動，可降低血壓，還可逐漸提升整體健康。

High Intensity Training （HIT） has attracted a lot of attention for promising some of the same benefits as conventional exercise but in a much shorter time. Instead of a comfortable half-hour jog or a few miles on the bike, HIT involves pushing yourself to your limits for a short period of time.

高強度訓練（HIT）保證具有傳統運動的某些好處，但花費時間少很多，因此吸引許多人注意。高強度訓練不是舒適的半小時慢跑，或是騎數英里的腳踏車，而是要在短時間內將自己推到極限。

A group of pensioners came into the lab twice a week for six weeks and went hell for leather on an exercise bike for six seconds. They would allow their heart rate to recover and then go for it again, eventually building up to one minute of exercise by the end of the trial.

一群退休人士每週到實驗室2次，為期6週，接著快速地踩運動腳踏車6秒鐘。接著他們可以等心跳速度恢復後再繼續，試驗結束時，他們最終可以做到（每次）運動1分鐘。

The results showed participants had reduced their blood pressure by 9%, increased their ability to get oxygen to their muscles and found day-to-day activities like getting out of a chair or walking the dog easier.

結果顯示，受試者血壓降低9%，吸收氧氣到肌肉中的能力增加，也可以更輕鬆地進行起身離開椅子及蹓狗等日常活動。

新聞辭典

burst：名詞，（尤指短期的）突然增加，迸發。例如a burst of laughter（一陣大笑）。

all-out：形容詞，竭盡全力的。例句：We made an all-out effort to get the project finished on time.（我們使盡全力準時完成這項計畫。）

go hell for leather：片語，非常快地做某件事。例句：He was going hell for leather to get to the supermarket before it closed.（他要趕在超市關門前趕快去一趟。）