109.5

Watch The Truth About Exercise with Michael Mosley on PBS. See more from Michael Mosley.

6 month experiment: 117 – 1.5 – 4.5 – 1.5 = 109.5 minutes to go.

By far the worst-feeling workout regime I’ve ever used. And by design (100% effort for 30 seconds–x3), it will make you feel bad whether you’re Charles Atlas or Charles Nelson Reilly, and it will not get any easier.

“After half a minute of wild exertion, we can collapse red-faced for 60 seconds, then do it all again. Three bouts like that means your exercise requirement for that session is sorted.” This is presented as a positive. A merit of this workout.

Only 2 reasons so far to recommend it are that you can do it anywhere (running up emergency-access stairs in hotels is completely adequate to this workout), and if you have chronic injuries this may not aggravate them.