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A new study suggests even the most limited amount of weightlifting can improve a person's muscle strength.
Edith Cowan University researchers published a recent study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports that claims just three seconds lifting weights at maximum effort daily can improve muscle strength.
The study -- which was led by Ken Nosaka from ECU's School of Medical and Health Sciences in collaboration with researchers from Niigata University of Health and Welfare in Japan -- compiled results from 39 healthy university students who performed one specific workout at maximum effort for just three seconds for five days a week during a four-week span.
Nosaka said researchers intended to find "the minimal stimulus for the muscle to get stronger" during an interview with Tom Baddeley of ABC Radio Perth.
The participants each performed either an isometric, concentric or eccentric bicep curl at maximum effort during the course of the study, while researchers measured their muscles' maximum voluntary contraction and changes made during the four-week span.
Additionally, 13 other students performed zero exercises during the course of the study and were also measured in comparison.
The study found the group that performed the eccentric bicep curl saw a 10% increase during the four-week span.
The other two exercise groups also had muscle strength increases, but significantly less than the eccentric bicep curl group, while the group that didn't exercise saw zero muscle strength increase.
Nosaka believes the study suggests people don't need to dedicate long periods of time to see a growth in muscle strength.
"The study results suggest that a very small amount of exercise stimulus, even 60 seconds in four weeks, can increase muscle strength," Nosaka said. "Many people think you have to spend a lot of time exercising, but it's not the case.
"Short, good-quality exercise can still be good for your body and every muscle contraction counts."