Fit in Ten Minutes!

Do you think you’re too busy to exercise? What if I told you that you can get a great fat burning workout completed in as little as ten minutes? I am a firm believer in utilizing the “minimum effective dose” in adaptation for your body. Why perform a certain workout routine for an hour when you can get great benefits in 10-20 minutes at first? Eventually you may need to increase the intensity or duration but enjoy the benefits of the “minimum effective dose” while you can.

Enter High Intensity Interval Training. High intensity interval training involves short intervals of intense exercise alternated with lower intensity recovery periods. If you are new to this type of training, your workout should last about 10 minutes (you can increase the duration as your body adapts to this type of exercise).

Before I get into how to actually complete this workout routine, lets talk about some of the benefits:

It can help you lose fat and maintain (or even build!) muscle mass.

Studies have shown that High Intensity Interval Training can produce similar or more fat loss to other forms of cardio, but in a much smaller amount of time. Because of the high intensity and smaller time frame, your body will produce less cortisol (the stress hormone) which is beneficial when trying to lose fat and maintain muscle mass. Depending on the type of interval training you complete (sprinting, prowler, assault bike) you may even add some mass to your legs if your body is not used to the stimulus-take a look at a sprinter or speed cyclist’s leg development.

You will burn more calories for hours after you complete the training session

When performing traditional cardio (running, jogging, etc.), for the most part, you will burn a certain amount of calories during the session, and when the session is complete, the calorie burning will stop. On the other hand, with High Intensity Interval Training, due to the intensity of the workout, your metabolic rate will be boosted, and your body will burn more calories at rest for hours (up to 24 hours) after the session is over.

You can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time

Due to the intervals going back and forth between a short intense burst and a longer recovery period, you are able to go “all out” on the shorter intervals. This intensity allows you to burn calories very quickly. If done properly, High Intensity Interval Training sessions can burn the same amount of calories and elicit the same health benefits as a moderate intensity training session lasting over twice as long!

Now that we’ve gone through a few benefits, lets get into the routine (This workout routine is based on the research of Dr. Martin Gibala*):

10 minutes on the clock

0:00 - 2:00: Low intensity warm up

2:00 - 2:15: Maximum effort! (a little nod to the Deadpool fans out there)

2:15- 3:00: Low intensity recovery period

3:00 - 3:15: Maximum effort!

3:15- 4:00: Low intensity recovery period

4:00 - 4:15: Maximum effort!  

4:15 - 5:00: Low intensity recovery period

5:00 - 5:15: Maximum effort!

5:15 - 6:00: Low intensity recovery period

6:00 - 6:15: Maximum effort!

6:15 - 7:00: Low intensity recovery period

7:00 – 7:15: Maximum effort!

7:15 – 10:00: Low intensity cool down

Suggested frequency: 2 -3 times a week

Suggested exercises: Airdyne assault bike, Sprints, Recumbent Bike

This workout session has 6 “all out” effort intervals paired with low intensity recovery periods. You want your perceived exertion to be a 10 out 10 for your short intense intervals.

Good luck and enjoy watching the pounds fall off!

*The  One-­‐Minute  Workout:  Science  Shows  a  Way  to  Get  Fit  That's  Smart-­‐ er,  Faster,  Shorter  1st  Edition   Written by:  Dr. Martin  Gibala,  Christopher  Shulgan