What is exercise efficiency?

Exercise efficiency often refers to how effectively your body utilizes energy during physical activity. It includes optimizing your workout time and maximizing benefits within a given period. Here are some key points from discussions on The Tim Ferriss Show:

1. General Training Efficiency:

   • Martin Gibala highlights that even short sessions, like 3 sets of 25-minute workouts per week, can be highly effective. This involves brief warm-ups and cooldowns to focus on high-intensity work during the core part of the session 1.

2. Aerobic Efficiency:

   • Dr. Peter Attia explains aerobic efficiency in terms of substrate usage. During aerobic activities, your body can use either glucose or fat to produce ATP (energy). Efficient use of these substrates, especially during lower intensity activities, maximizes energy production and performance 2.

These insights underline the importance of optimizing both the duration and intensity of workouts to achieve meaningful health benefits efficiently.