The alarm went off this morning and I turned it off. It was one of those mornings for me. My 2 hour bike ride wasn't going to happen. I thought the whole day was going to be a bust, no workout for me. Then I happened upon this article talking about a 7 minute workout! Let's just say that I felt so good that I continued and did 3 rounds. It might not be the 2 hour bike ride I had planned for the day, but it was a fun 21 minutes! Better than nothing right!?
Give it a go, once, twice or three times!!!
In the time it takes you to eat a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, you
could be done with your exercise for the day. Using scientifically
based principles, fitness experts from the Human Performance Institute
in Orlando, Florida, designed the perfect workout plan for the
time-crunched masses. The kicker: It takes only 7 minutes.
How is that possible? With a type of workout that experts call
high-intensity circuit training. You may have heard of high-intensity
interval training—periods of intense aerobic activity alternated with
periods of rest, like jogging and then walking and then jogging again.
High-intensity circuit training is similar, only it incorporates
resistance training, too. The principle: Do a strength exercise like a
squat repeating the motion for a certain amount of time, rest, and then
do another strength move. It’s different than traditional resistance
training because the rest periods are shorter—usually less than 30
seconds—and the exercises chosen work large muscle groups in order to
raise your heart rate. “Our approach combines aerobic and resistance
training into a single exercise bout,” write the paper’s authors, Brett
Klika, CSCS, and Chris Jordan, CSCS, CPT, in Health and Fitness Journal.
This approach is extremely effective at improving aerobic fitness,
boosting metabolism, and burning body fat. In fact, these type of
workouts can increase the number of calories you burn at rest for up to
72 hours after your workout ends as your body expends energy to repair
your muscles, according to a study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.
Klika and Jordan also believe that high-intensity circuit training may
help you lose more fat than traditional resistance training, they write,
because resistance training with short rest periods release greater
levels of fat-burning human growth hormone immediately after exercise.
Here is an ideal 7-minute workout. Perform each exercise for
30 seconds, and take 10 seconds to rest and transition to the next
exercise. If you have the time and energy,
you can repeat the circuit 2
or 3 times.
Jumping jacks
Stand with
your hands at your sides and your feet together. Jump up and spread your
feet out as you simultaneously raise your arms above your head. Without
pausing, jump back to the starting position.
Wall Sit
Start by standing with your legs hip-width apart
approximately 2 feet from a wall. Bend at your hips and knees until your
thighs are parallel to the ground, press your butt and back against the
wall. Hold this position for 30 seconds.
Pushup
Get down on all
fours with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Lift your
knees, your body should form a straight line from your head to your
ankles. Bend your arms to lower your body until your chest nearly
touches the floor, then push back up to the starting position. If this
is too difficult, rest your knees on the floor and perform the exercise
from this position.
Crunch
Lie on the floor
with your knees bent and your hands behind your head. Raise your head,
shoulders, and rib cage up off the floor about 4 or 5 inches. Pause,
then lower back down.
Step-up
Stand facing a
bench, step, or sturdy chair. Step up on the bench with your right leg,
then your left leg, so that you’re standing with both feet on the bench.
Step down with your right leg, then your left leg. Repeat, alternating
which leg you use to step up.
Squat
Stand with your feet
slightly wider than hip-width apart. Bend at your hips and knees to
lower your body down; stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground.
Pause for a moment, then return to standing.
Triceps dip on chair
Sit
down and place your palms on the edge of the chair. Scoot your butt off
the chair, supporting your weight with straight arms. Walk out your legs
so that your body forms a straight line from ankles to chest. That’s
your starting position.
Keeping your elbows pointed toward the back of the chair, bend at
your elbows to lower your body down several inches. Then push your body
up to the starting position.
If that’s too hard, walk your feet in closer to the chair.
Plank
Get down on
the ground on all fours, like the top of a pushup. Bend at your elbows
so that your elbows and forearms are resting on the ground. Your elbows
should be directly below your shoulders, and your hips should be in line
with your ankles and shoulders. Hold this position.
Running in place
Jog in place. Raise your arms and knees higher to make the move harder.
Lunge
Stand with your
feet hip-width apart. Take a big step forward with your right leg and
lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the ground. At the
bottom of the move, both of your knees should form right angles. Press
your body up with your right leg. Step back with the right leg to return
to the starting position. Repeat, alternating legs.
Pushup and rotation
Start
in a pushup position. Lower your body until it nearly touches the
floor. As you push back up, rotate the right side of your body upward as
you raise your right arm to the sky. Rotate back to return to a top
pushup position. Repeat, alternating sides.
If this is too hard, perform the same move without lowering your
body—just rotate back and forth from a straight-arm plank. Still too
difficult? Hold a straight-arm plank.
Side plank
Lie
on your left side and prop your upper body up on your left elbow and
forearm. Raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from your
ankles to your shoulders. After 15 seconds, switch and repeat on your
right side for 15 seconds.
I know this workout might seem simple, but for those days that you may have hit snooze....
This turns out to be a great alternative.
What are your go to moves on days that don't quite turn out the way you had planned??
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