Even better for golfers, the sprint-interval training highlighted in the study more closely mimics the type of energy demands needed to play golf at a peak level. Most of the action in our sport takes less than two seconds. Sure, walking 18 holes while carrying your clubs requires endurance, but being able to summon a lot of energy in a very short amount of time is what golf’s all about, and that’s what sprint-interval training helps improve.

While the study had its group of “healthy untrained adults” go all-out for three sets of 20-second cycle sprints, the takeaway for golfers shouldn’t be what they did to reap the same cardio benefit as those who did 50 minutes of moderate-intensity continuous training, says Golf Digest’s Chief Fitness Advisory Ben Shear. Rather, the message is that ramping up your heart rate for very short periods, followed by a resting period, and then ramping it up again, is a better way to get your cardio.

And that means anything you can do to get your heart beating hard and fast for 30 to 60 seconds periodically will help you just as much as going out for a five-mile run. Things like jumping rope, running up stairs, going all out on a stationary bike—they all do the same thing for your cardiovascular health, he says.

Perhaps the best part is that this type of training is that its self-limiting. Your body will let you know when it’s time to take a break. You want to push yourself, but also listen to what your body is saying.

The expert advice: First, get cleared for intense training by your doctor. Then, pick something you can give 100-percent effort at without an elevated risk of injury. For example, if quickly walking up a flight of stairs leaves you gasping for air at the top, then you have found a sprint-interval exercise that will boost your cardiovascular health. For most middle-aged to senior adults, you’d be surprised what something like lateral bounds doe to increase your heart rate. Watch Golf Digest Certified Fitness Trainer Andrea Doddato do them here.

As a bonus, lateral bounds is a great “golf exercise” that improves your ability to tap into ground reaction force and avoid swaying or sliding in the golf swing.