10-minute Workouts
Posted on: January 28, 2015Categories: LiveWell 24/7
If you lack motivation for a 5-mile run or an hour workout session in the gym, new research reveals good news for you. Recent studies show that short but intense bouts of exercise can deliver fitness benefits. What does this mean for you and your fading New Year’s resolution to get into better shape?
If you don’t have the time for lengthy workouts, you can reap benefits from short spurts of exercise—the catch is that that short amount of time is high intensity. If you’re looking for how to get started, you can try replicating the workout used in an exercise study conducted at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada:
- Warm up on a stationary bicycle for two minutes.
- Pedal “all-out” for 20 seconds, followed by two minutes of easy pedaling.
- Repeat the 20-second intensity and two-minute recovery periods twice more, for a total of 60 seconds of intense pedaling.
- Finish your 10-minute workout with a three-minute cool-down phase.
Workout volunteers in the study participated in three sessions per week for six weeks. At the end of that time, they showed improved endurance capacity, healthier blood pressure and other benefits.
With only a couple minutes of intense exercise needed a week, you don’t have an excuse to not work out. Find an activity you enjoy, and commit to just a few minutes a week for better health.
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