ReHIT Exercise for VO2 Max - Minimum Effective Dose
- Mar 15
- 2 min read
ReHIT Exercise for VO2 Max Gains
Significantly improve your VO2 max and insulin sensitivity in 2 x 9 minute exercise sessions per week?
Yes, you really do have time for this exercise.
9 minutes?
Twice a week?
That is ReHIT exercise for VO2 Max.
Meet ReHIT - Reduced-Exertion High-Intensity Interval Training.
Like my last post on the minimum effective dose of resistance training for strength & muscle size, this is about getting big benefits with the least amount of time burden.
This is one of the tools I find can overcome obstacles to getting the benefits from exercise.
Obstacles like parenting, long-hours, commuting, care responsibilities. You know, general adulting things.
ReHIT was specifically designed by exercise scientists looking for the least exercise that could be done & still generate many of the benefits of longer exercise, including High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
🤔 Why use ReHIT exercise?
Studies have shown ReHIT to deliver:
📈12% improvement in VO2 max within 8 weeks
📈25-28% improvement in insulin sensitivity
This means improving the ability for your heart, lungs and muscles to work in synergy to use oxygen for energy, and your ability to regulate blood glucose well and help avoid developing prediabetes & diabetes.
🤔 How to perform ReHIT exercise for VO2 Max Gains?
You need a form of exercise that allows you to go extremely hard, with huge acceleration, very intense, but also safely.
Great options are:
✅AirBikes & Assault Bikes
✅Stationary Bikes, with special mention for CAROL bikes
✅Versa-Climbers
Lacking any of these, you can also perform ReHIT with
☑️Outdoor running, and sprinting
☑️Skillmill (curved mechanical treadmill)
☑️Some row & eliptical machines
🤔Then what?
⌚Warm up for 2 minutes
⚡ All out sprint for 20 seconds
⌚Recover for 3 minutes (keep moving, gently)
⚡All out sprint for 20 seconds
⌚Cool down for 2 minutes
Each 20 second sprint should be at the absolute maximum intensity you can possibly manage (safely!)
Whilst this is an incredibly time efficient approach, it is very intense during those 20 second bursts, so if you are not already exercising, you'll want to build tolerance, stability & establish healthy movement patterns first. Don't try this as your first workout after months (years?) of inactivity.
References
Reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training (REHIT) provides limited improvement in post-prandial and 24-hour glycemia in healthy, physically active men
Reduced Exertion High-Intensity Interval Training is More Effective at Improving Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cardiometabolic Health than Traditional Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training
Reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training (REHIT): a feasible approach for improving health and fitness?
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