The four-second workout

Short, intense workouts aren’t a new fitness trend — high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been performed and studied for decades, while the Tabata Protocol, a form of HIIT that alternates 20 seconds of all-out work with 10 seconds of rest, was developed in Japan in 1996. And according to CNET, the workouts can be very effective, too, burning more calories in less time while still providing all the great health benefits of exercise, including lower blood pressure and body fat.

But one researcher at the University of Texas has found that even tiny bursts of activity — as short as four seconds — can be beneficial. Edward F. Coyle, Ph.D., a professor in the kinesiology and health education department at the University of Texas at Austin, found that four-second sprints performed five times per hour helped burn fat and lower blood triglycerides, according to Healthline.

Study participants were asked to sit for eight hours. Five times per hour, they performed four-second sprints on a specialized exercise bike, which added up to a little under three minutes of physical activity for the entire eight hours.

Coyle’s study supports a simple idea that researchers and physicians have promoted for decades: Too much sitting is bad for you. According to the Mayo Clinic, individuals who sit for eight hours a day with no physical activity face an elevated risk of dying similar to the risks posed by smoking or obesity.

For people who sit at desks all day, physicians and researchers have a clear message: Get up and move around every so often, whether that’s four-second bursts or a long walk or run after you clock out. Your heart and body will thank you.