Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Garmin Connect
I am starting to question if I’m the only individual on earth who has really attempted the Sugarcane exercise. You can check out and become aware of it anywhere: an Andrew Huberman podcast moved it to internet popularity, there are a lot of blog sites explaining the procedure, and you can’t scroll physical fitness TikTok long without encountering a clip of Huberman promoting it. Unlike other stylish exercises like the Norwegian 4×4 or the 12-3-30, I could not discover lots of individuals stating they had really done the Sugarcane exercise, much less enjoyed it or seen outcomes. I had to attempt it for myself.
What is the Sugarcane (or Sugar Kane) exercise?
The Sugarcane exercise is a series of periods explained by Andy Galpin (on Huberman’s podcast). He states he discovered it from fitness instructor Kenny Kane, which leads Huberman to call it the Sugarcane (Sugar Kane?) exercise. Here is the clip in which Galpin initially explains the exercise.
The Sugarcane exercise is in some cases referred to as a HIIT exercise or a VO2max exercise, however Galpin does not utilize either term. It is an interval exercise, however, with brief sections that you do at high strength, with rests in between.
Galpin states that it can be made with any length of period, however just strolls through an example of how to do it with two-minute periods. This exercise does not appear to have actually been released in other places, so all we actually need to go on is this brief interview clip. Here’s how he explains it in the podcast:
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Round 1: run (or bike, row, and so on) as far as you can in 2 minutes. Keep in mind the range you covered.
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Rest 2 minutes
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Round 2: run (or bike, row, and so on) for the exact same range as round 1. Anticipate this to take a little longer than round 1.
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Rest 2 minutes
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Round 3: run (or bike, row, and so on) for the very same time as round 2. Goal to beat your initial range from round 1.
If you covered 400 meters (one lap of a track) in round 1, you may take 2:05 to cover that exact same range in round 2. You’ll then require to run for 2:05 in the 3rd round, intending to cover 401 meters or more.
How it went when I attempted it
I picked to do this on foot, operating on a flat gravel track. Should be quite basic? Simply a good little night of running periods. Welp, I faced a couple of issues.
No simple method to configure it in an app or watch
My very first issue was that there was no simple method to configure the exercise on my phone or watch. In the Garmin Connect app, I can develop time-based or distance-based periods, so the very first two-minute round is simple enough.