Can HIIT Can Fight Cancer in One Workout?

We are not suggesting that high intensity exercise cures cancer. But we are referencing a new study that points to HIIT as being successful in stopping the growth of cancer cells in the colon area – with just one session.

To perform the study, the researchers selected a group of men who had survived colon cancer and put them into two groups: one who did a single HIIT session and one who did the same session three times a week for a month. The exercise itself was 10 minutes of warming up and then four minutes cycling, three minutes rest, then four minutes again, until they hit 16 minutes of high intensity.

Blood tests were taken, and there were very notable findings: the HIIT workouts had an almost immediate effect on colon cancer cells, inhibiting their growth in the lab. And whether it was 12 rounds or just one, the cancer growth stopped.

Now, the way that cancer grows in a lab is not exactly the same way it grows in a human body. There are obviously a lot more tests to be done. And we are firm believers that 12 HIIT sessions is better than one; this is about cancer but we can list plenty of other ways in which consistently sweating is going to make you happier and healthier. Now. The study was published in the Journal of Physiology, and we’re not sure how well that journal ranks among the science community, but the results are compelling. We expect follow-up studies will ensue.

If you think it needs to be all or nothing when it comes to HIIT and exercise, this study shows evidence that even in small amounts HIIT can do wonders for general health.

-Shane M.