Are you from the school of thought that says you must exercise for at least an hour to make it count?
I had always understood that the time crunched would workout shorter than others, but I never thought a 15 minute routine would lead to results. Until I started my youtube channel of streaming workout reviews. I discovered most of the classes were way less than an hour; some as short as 5 minutes!
Then I found this article in the Times which helped explain how short bursts of strenuous exercise can actually be as effective, if not more than a drawn out routine. So I began to abbreviate my workout, and realized this could be the call!
In her article, Tara Parker-Pope writes:
High-intensity exercise is obviously not a casual stroll down the street, but it’s not a run-till-your-lungs-pop explosion, either. Think breathless, not winded. Heart-pounding, not exploding. Legs pumping, but not uncontrolled.
So it’s a win / win! As long as you give it your all (an 8 on the discomfort / intensity scale out of 10), you can get better results from a short routine than from an hour spent on the treadmill.
Here’s How To Make Your Workout Short And Effective
1. Choose an aerobic activity that you like
Or even better, you can pick something you don’t like since you’ll only be doing it for 10 minutes.
2. Warm up your body for 2 minutes
Do jumping jacks, leg kicks, or bear crawls. Make sure to move the body from side to side and engage all your muscles. If you have a wall nearby, kick up to handstand to open up your shoulders.
3. Do the aerobic activity at a high intensity for 20 seconds
You can use a timer, but I think counting is better.
4. Rest for 2 minutes.
Use a timer. Catch your breath.
5. Repeat #3 and #4
Do 2 more rounds.
6. Repeat #3
This is the home stretch.
6. Cool down and stretch for 3 minutes.
Lift and lower your arms several times. Pay attention to your breath. Do forward folds, side stretches and low lunges to runner stretch.
To improve your endurance, do this 3 times and switch up the aerobic activity.
So what do you think? Are you into doing shorter workouts?
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