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why fast is good
Forget those painfully long workouts. Turns out, feeling the burn is all about speed. As Kanye West swaggers out of his West Hollywood private gym, trainer Harley Pasternak refutes the recent “slow motion” fitness fad. “There was no evidence supporting those slow-mo workouts. It was just that you feel the intensity more when you go slow,” says the former military exercise scientist. He’s not telling you to avoid intensity. In fact, new studies suggest that intense, fast-track workouts – the dream of exercise nuts and gym haters alike – are the best kind. In fitness speak, high-intensity interval training – say, bursts of sprinting followed by a rest – may help prevent type 2 diabetes. In fact, a leisurely bike ride could put someone with type 1 diabetes at a higher risk for complications than if they took a quick spin around the block. And quickie workouts might lower triglyceride levels more than moderate exercise. “Sixty minutes of cardio is better than 30, but it’s not twice as good,” Pasternak says. Now that’s a concept that won’t leave you breathless.
Going from the airport door to your window seat will soon be effortless, and that’s not just blue-sky thinking. Architects, engineers and consultants are teaming up to model people flow through transportation hubs. “Crowds do not fill space evenly,” explains Dr. G. Keith Still, CEO of U.K.-based Crowd Dynamics Ltd. “They cluster, exploit shortcuts, try to get in or out of their environment by the most efficient ‘least effort’ route.” Adhering to that rule, the new terminal at Madrid Barajas International Airport in Spain unfolds in a purely linear fashion over three floors, leaving no room for shortcuts, bottlenecks – or getting lost. The building has doubled the airport’s people capacity. Japan’s stunning Yokohama Ferry Terminal, with a vast column-free interior, lets passengers move freely without obstacles. And architect Meinhard von Gerkan shaved up to 40 minutes off train trips with his innovative two-tunnel design for Berlin Central Station, which meant the trains didn’t need to turn around. Lucky Berliners also got a perfectly engineered sound system – commuting made, for perhaps the first time in history, crystal clear. Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net |
Accelerated Exercise
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