Can You Get Fit in Six Minutes a Week? - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

It seems you can: “After two weeks, both groups showed almost identical increases in their endurance (as measured in a stationary bicycle time trial), even though the one group had exercised for six to nine minutes per week, and the other about five hours. Additionally, molecular changes that signal increased fitness were evident equally in both groups….

The short, intense workouts aided in weight loss, too…. Other researchers have found that similar, intense, brief sessions of exercise improve cardiac health, even among people with heart disease.

There’s a catch, though. Those six minutes, if they’re to be effective, must hurt. ‘We describe it as an ”all-out“ effort… well out of your comfort zone.’”