Fitness: The 10-20-30 routine packs the same punch as longer workouts

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If your ideal workout is short and sweet, give the 10-20-30 routine a try. This unique form of interval training features 30 seconds at an easy pace, 20 seconds at a moderate pace and 10 seconds all out. Repeat each one-minute bout five times and each five-minute block two to four times, resting for one to four minutes between each block. Total time exercising is 10 to 20 minutes depending on how many times the five-minute block is repeated.

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What kind of results can you expect from 20 minutes spent alternating between three different exercise intensities? When it comes to health and fitness benefits, the 10-20-30 workout not only rivals most steady-state workouts, it does it in less time, according to a review in the European Journal of Sports Science.

“The 10-20-30 training is a new training modality, which has greater benefits than aerobic moderate-intensity training and is a more time-efficient way to improve performance and health even in trained people,” said the authors of the review, who hail from the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at the University of Copenhagen.

How does a 20-minute workout pack the same punch as one that is two or three times longer? The difference probably lies in the repeated bursts of high-intensity exercise. Pushing your physical limits to their max, even if it’s for seconds rather than minutes, raises the heart rate into a zone rarely reached during steady-state workouts.

How hard do you need to work? One of the first studies of the 10-20-30 workout was done with runners who boosted their heart rate to 90 per cent of their max effort during the 10-second sprints. Technically, that works out to 50 seconds at peak intensity over the course of each five-minute block. In practice, however, the heart stays elevated as the exerciser transitions to the easy interval, which results in the heart working in overdrive for about two minutes of each five-minute block. That’s enough effort to reap all the health and fitness benefits of a moderate intensity workout in half the time.

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That original study featured 12 male and six female runners 22-44 years of age who were running about 30 kilometres a week. At the request of the researchers, they gave up their regular routine for a 10-20-30 workout performed three times a week. Starting with three five-minute blocks for the first four weeks, an additional five-minute block was added for the final four weeks of the study. After eight weeks, the runners had improved their aerobic fitness (VO2 max) by four per cent despite cutting their training in half (13 km in the first weeks and 16 km in the final weeks). Similar results were recorded in a group of older runners (mean age of 49) and in cyclists who boosted their VO2 max by eight per cent and performance by 17 per cent after six weeks of doing 10-20-30 workouts.

It’s not just athletic performance that improved. Some studies reported a drop in blood pressure and body fat and a gain of muscle mass. Those results weren’t just in healthy exercisers. Type 2 diabetics, hypertensive patients and asthma sufferers also gained health and fitness benefits from 10-20-30 workouts.

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If all this seems too good to be true, keep in mind that to achieve the results reported in the studies you need to spend 10 seconds of every minute at peak effort. Participants in most of the studies reached 90 per cent of their maximum heart rate (220 beats per minute minus your age) during that brief but intense burst of activity. There is some data suggesting that the results are similar at 80 per cent of max heart rate, but that doesn’t change the fact that you need to spend 10 seconds giving it all if you’ve got if you want to make the 10-20-30 workout effective.

If that level of intensity is intimidating, keep in mind that adherence among study subjects was high, with about 80 per cent sticking with the program. That’s impressive considering that many of the participants were considered “untrained.”  Just make sure your easy is easy and your moderate intensity is manageable. It also helps to download an interval app to your phone and set it up to chime at the end of each bout of intensity so you don’t have to keep looking at your phone during the workout.

If you’re not confident in your ability to repeat the five-minute blocks four times, start with two and work your way up to four. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that if four five-minute blocks works, five or six will offer even more impressive results. The more fatigued you get the less likely you will be able to reproduce peak intensity, which dilutes the effectiveness of the workout making your extra efforts in vain. Plus, one of the best features of interval training is its efficiency. Big results in less time is one of the most convincing reasons to give a 10-20-30 workout a try.

That’s not to say that all traditional steady state workouts need to be replaced by interval training. But adding a couple of 10-20-30 workouts to your regular workout routine will offer variety and a noticeable boost in fitness and performance. Not a bad return for a 20-minute sweat.

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