The Myth of Short Workouts...
 

The recent trend of shorter workouts, of say, 30 minutes or under is rather misleading, IMHO.

The reason these workouts are short is that they either skip or do an abbreviated warm-up. Then they skip or do an abbreviated cool-down/stretch.

If you are like me, you end up adding more warm-up time in the beginning and a better/longer/more thorough cool-down stretch at he end.

So, the workout still ends up being 45 minutes (or more at my age) anyway!

Totally agree. Warmups are CRUCIAL to me, if the warmup isn't good the whole workout feels way too difficult. And if it's not on the dvd I won't do it on my own. This is one of the many reasons I love Cathe, her warmups are almost always vigorous enough and long enough to really be effective and it makes the rest of the workout feel so much easier. (The recent exception being ICE To the Mat which just has a seated stretch as a warmup - :confused:) I would much rather spend 45 minutes with a good solid warmup than 30 minutes with very little warmup. Remember the old Firm warmups - step-touch, step-touch, step-touch FREEZE! Totally a waste of time :p

I really like shorter workouts for stacking them - two 30 minutes together - and I like when there is no warm up or cool down. I think it would be awesome if workout menus let you choose to do the workout with or without a warm-up/cool-down. The first Kettlebell Kickboxing Scorcher series does this and I appreciate it. Even if you can stack and skip through a warm up, I mentally can't do that work all the time, I really like 30 minutes of just workout time. I hear you though . . if it is suppose to be a complete workout you need the warm-up and cool-down.

I agree. OTOH, people put out "20- or 30-minute" workouts that end up being longer because that doesn't include the warmup or cool down and they do one in the workout.

Or the number they give you is rounded up or down. I love Jessica Smith, but her 10-, 20- and 30-minute YouTube workouts end up being 12, 23 and 34, etc. That's fine, but don't title it "20-Minute Sculpting" when it's 26.

Totally agree, it's kind of promoting that warm-ups and stretching doesn't matter by saying ALL you need is 30 minutes, it's just not entirely true. Even if it's quick, I consider a warm up and stretch a critical part of any workout.

I like to do a quick 5-7 mobility warm up before my workouts if they don't have one or have one I don't like. Cathe's warmups are the best that I know of for truly getting warm before I start. She seems to always know exactly when it's just enough to get you warm and then it's time to move on :)

I've never finished a P90X rotation, but have done several of the workouts a few times. I have to say that Tony does outstanding warm-up and cool-downs. Especially for the strength workouts. You really feel prepared to do the work ahead.

I'd rather spend 45 minutes just warming up over doing a short workout with no warm up.

This is me! I like to stack 2 or 3 short workouts together. I don't do short workouts because I'm short on time, I do them because I like variety. I start with cardio and don't do anything intense so I don't need a formal warm up. I finish with my own stretch.

This is a great topic. I'm finding that I'm doing short workouts because what I'm doing is not motivating me to push past 30 minutes. I just admitted this to myself this weekend. I could easily do longer routines if I TRULY liked what I was doing.

And yes, the warm and cool down are so abbreviated compared to longer routines.

Good point, Alta!

I love KCM, but she has at least one warm-up that starts with squats--wha'?! I always do a couple of minutes of walking around, kicks, knee raises before that one.

Also, I have to admit that I use many of the shorter strength workouts because I'm okay with just maintaining the strength/muscle base that I laid down over many years of longer workouts.