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In a small study, sprint interval exercise helped to “clean-up and rebuild” cells better than steady-state moderate-intensity cardio.
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Sprinting (in this case, on a bike) helped get rid of damaged mitochondria while creating and keeping fit mitochondria.
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Experts say it doesn’t take a lot to benefit from this effect—even a few minutes a couple times a week may help.
Next time you’re out for a run or bike ride, considering picking up the pace. New research suggests that sprint intervals can help to “clean up and rebuild” your cells, ultimately supporting better cell function and energy levels.
The study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, wasn’t huge, but it’s raising questions about the importance of moving fast and how it can ultimately impact your health. Here’s what the research discovered, plus what experts want you to keep in mind.
Meet the experts: Javier Botella, PhD, is the lead study author and postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Health and Sport (IHES) at Victoria University. Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, is the co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab.
What did the study find?
For the study, researchers divided 28 people into two groups: One was asked to do sprint intervals on a bike (four to eight 30-second all-out sprints with four minutes of rest in between) three to four times a week for eight weeks, while the other was asked to do moderate-intensity continuous exercises (think: running at a slower, steady pace) over the same time period.
The researchers collected a bunch of health information during that time, including muscle biopsies and advanced imaging to look at the participants’ mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cells) and a range of other cellular markers.
After crunching the data, the researchers concluded that both exercises support a variety of health markers, including the function and content of your mitochondria. But sprint interval exercises created a special “clean-up and rebuild” response that steady-state moderate-intensity cardio didn’t match.
“Previous research had already indicated that sprint interval exercise was a very efficient type of exercise to improve cardio-respiratory fitness, despite only requiring little time of exercise,” says Javier Botella, PhD, lead study author and postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University. “However, why it was so efficient remained partially unknown.” This study is helping to answer that question.
What does it mean to “clean up” your cells?
This means that your body is removing what is old or suboptimal in your cells, Botella says. “Think of it as removing any broken furniture—mitochondria—from your house, or cell,” he says. “In the case of mitochondria, the cell cleans up those ones that are not fit enough to resist the stress of sprint exercise.”
Why can sprinting help?
Sprinting can do a number on your mitochondria, but in a generally good way. “Sprinting poses a big stress to the cell’s mitochondria,” Botella explains. “Some of these mitochondria—10-15%—can’t resist the stress and get damaged.”
When these mitochondria are damaged from sprinting, it activates different mechanisms in the body to clean out the damaged mitochondria while creating and keeping fit mitochondria, Botella says. The end result: Those cellular powerhouses that are left can do their job, supporting the energy demands of your cells.
How To Put These Findings To Work
You don’t need to spend all your workout time sprinting, but the findings do make a solid case for adding speedwork into the mix to support healthy cells.
“Most exercise is known to be positive for mitochondrial and cardiorespiratory adaptations,” Botella points out. “However, with these findings, people can boost their mitochondrial quality by adding a vigorous sprint and high-intensity sessions every now and then to ensure the less fit mitochondria are efficiently removed and space is left for newer and better-functioning mitochondria.”
Picking up your speed here and there is a good move, agrees Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab. He suggests aiming to get your heart rate up to at least 80% of your maximum (or working at roughly an eight out of 10 perceived exertion level) for as little as four minutes two to three times a week. That might look like doing four 1-minute treadmill or bike sprints interspersed with two minutes of walking recovery. Just be sure to work your way up slowly if you’re new to this type of exercise, and talk to your doctor first if you have any pre-existing health conditions.
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