As little as five minutes a day of eccentric exercise could offer significant health benefits to those living a sedentary lifestyle, researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU) found. The research has been published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

The study, led by Dr. Benjamin Kirk and Professor Ken Nosaka in ECU’s School of Medical and Health Sciences, evaluated the effects of a five-minute a day, home-based bodyweight eccentric exercise program on physical fitness, body composition, and both physical and mental health in sedentary individuals.

Over a four-week period, the participants completed daily exercise consisting of 10 repetitions each of chair squats, chair reclines, wall push-ups, and heel drops focusing on eccentric—muscle lengthening contractions, by slowly stretching contracting muscles such as sitting to a chair slowly in which the front thigh muscles are lengthened while supporting the body weight.

“We saw significant improvements in muscle strength, flexibility, strength endurance and mental health, suggesting that even small amounts of daily exercise can provide sustainable and detectable benefits in sedentary individuals,” Professor Ken Nosaka said.

“The results highlighted that eccentric exercises are very effective in improving fitness. This type of exercise is also more accessible to most people, as it makes use of body weight and eliminates the need to go to a gym.

“The eccentric exercises can also be spread out during the day, which makes it more achievable to those who are time poor.”

Sedentary lifestyles can be deadly

Physical inactivity can contribute to premature death. In Australia, it is estimated that only 63% of people met the aerobic guidelines for adult physical activity, while only 29% met the muscle strengthening activity criteria.

Only 19% of Australia’s adult population currently meet both aerobic and physical strength guidelines.

“As you get older, your fitness level will decline by 1% to 2% a year on average. So, for someone who is 50 years old their fitness levels will be 20% less than compared to when they were 30 years old,” Professor Nosaka said.

“Performing exercises regularly is very important, particularly as people get older, as it lowers the risk of chronic disease, injury, fatigue and helps with mental health.”

A foundation for a better life

While results from ECU’s recent study show there are significant health benefits from the five-minutes a day exercise plan, much greater benefits can be gained from increasing the volume of the exercises gradually.

“The guidelines are for 150 minutes a week of exercise, but that figure can often discourage people, especially if they are just starting out. Using five minutes a day as a starting point and building on that, would allow people to see more results,” Professor Nosaka added.

“Every muscle contraction counts, but you need at least ten contractions for each exercise in order to gain some results.”