8 Intense seconds for weight loss and "spot reduction" UPDATE

I finally gave up looking for all the scientific answers this morning and, armed with my trusty NuMetrex heart sensing sports bra and Polar F4 HRM watch, headed to my local Fitness First gym to see what this exercise protocol was like.
The bottom line is that it's not for the faint hearted, but if you're lookingfor a power-packed workout on a tight time budget, this one is a Ripper!

Because of the need for time information I decided to try it out in the gym on a variety of machinery. First up was the famous Concept 2(C) rowing erg. I warmed up over about 7 mins at about 60 - 70% total effort and then decided to get stuck into it. The first 8 intense seconds were easy, as were the next 12 seconds in which you're supposed to take it easy. After about 2 minutes I was officially working hard, and after 5 mins I was working Very Hard. Knowing that I only needed to sprint for 8 seconds before I got to ease off again was highly motivating and I was able to produce more work in the short space of time than if I had aimed to work at a constant level.

I also tried it out on the stationary bike: still hard, but it felt easier than on the rowing erg. My Heat rate montor watch indicated that I'd used a relatively extraordinary amount of calories in the 15 minute work time-frame and I'll also report back on this when I have some more info.

Tomorrow I'm up for a treadmill trial and the elliptical trainer (which I have some doubts about from a safety aspect).

if anyone else has tried this formula or was involved in the UNSW study, I'd love to hear your comments.