7-Minute Workout Collection - Fitness Coach Guide+

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What It Helps With: High intensity circuit training (HICT) isn’t a new concept. HICT, along with high intensity interval training (HIIT) and Tabata workouts have all been shown to have long-lasting benefits despite their abbreviated durations. A budding crop of research suggests that short, intense exercise can boost metabolism, fight weight gain and even add years to your life.

Critics, however, say that the potential results are overstated by the ACSM authors. While some exercise is always better than none, seven minutes is not likely to make a huge difference.

Still, this particular seven-minute workout is only one example of a HICT routine, and can certainly still boost heart rate and tax the muscles. Could it be made even more intense and effective with different moves and added resistance, as fitness expert Adam Bornstein posits on his blog, Born Fitness? Certainly. Could it still be a beneficial addition to an otherwise varied exercise routine? Certainly.

What Fitness Level Is Required: Some understanding of proper form and technique is key in a workout like this, write the authors, not to mention a certain understanding of what you’re getting yourself into. “Proper execution requires a willing and able participant who can handle a great degree of discomfort for a relatively short duration,” they write. However, if you’re game, anyone can give it a go (although the authors do provide a caution for people with hypertension or heart disease).

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE 7-MINUTE WORKOUT

How can science explain seven minutes of intense physical activity making up for at least an hour of moderate physical activity?

Since Jordan and his colleagues published the findings from their study between May and June of 2013, a number of studies have been conducted to substantiate their initial claims. One such study, published in PLOS ONE, suggested that HIIT is a “potent stimulus” that triggers physiological changes consistent with improved health among overweight and obese people. Participants who were asked to spend 10 minutes on a stationary bicycle, including one minute at full intensity, improved their oxidative capacity, cardio-metabolic health and insulin sensitivity.

Another study conducted by researchers from Aberdeen University found that two-and-a-half minutes of high-intensity exercise can be just as effective as running for 90 minutes at a moderate pace. Participants who performed around five minutes of intense physical activity before consuming a meal high in fat had lower levels of fat in their blood compared to those who walked at a moderate pace for 30 minutes. The research team explained that HIIT encourages the liver to absorb more fat from blood before using it.

While science provides one explanation for the 7-Minute Workout’s benefits, perhaps the only explanation we need is that it gets people moving. Over time, a sedentary lifestyle can lead to an array of adverse side effects, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. The only way to break out of a sedentary lifestyle is by getting up and getting active. Unfortunately, a lot of people decide if they’re unable to workout for an hour or more, then they might as well not workout at all. HIIT and other forms of short intensity training makes exercise possible for anyone with a full plate.