The Seven Minute Workout To Get In Shape Fast

[pcdoctor01]

This is going to be featured on ABC News tonight.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2...in-shape-fast/

By ABC News
May 13, 2013 12:42pm

Can you really get the perfect body in just seven minutes? A regular seven-minute workout may be all you need to stay in shape, according to the authors of a new study that’s getting buzz in fitness circles.

The high-intensity circuit training workout uses your own body weight and is backed up by science. The study, published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal, shows that when you work close to your maximum capacity with resistance for even a short time, you can change your muscles in the same way that a few hours of running can.

“What makes this workout stand out is the pure efficiency of the entire model, as well as the fact that it can be done completely with body weight,” said Brett Klika, a performance coach at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla., and a co-author of the study.

A story on the workout was first published in the May 12 issue of The New York Times Magazine.

ABC News’ Claire Shipman tried out the workout for “Good Morning America.” Click here to watch.

All you need is a chair to take on the 12 exercises in the sequence, which alternate between upper and lower body moves, with 10-second breaks in between. The breaks, as short as they are, are key to the results — from metabolic benefits to body weight and fat loss, according to the study. Plus, a shorter rest time means a shorter overall workout time to fit into a busy lifestyle.

Shipman commissioned Aaron Sterling, owner of the Sterling Gym in Washington, D.C., where she exercises, to help her run through the circuit of jumping jacks, crunches, push-ups, squats, planks and lunges.

“Because the right combination and the right sequence of muscles were fatigued, your actual performance improved,” Sterling told Shipman. “You look, for being so tired, much better and much more energized.”

Then, Sterling made her do it twice to prove that the quick, intense workouts can make you feel stronger, “even as you think you might die,” Shipman said.

Exercisers can repeat the seven-minute workout two to three times, depending on how much time they have, according to the study.

While there are pros to the workout plan, celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak suggested proceeding with caution if you’re just starting out.

“I would say there is a big danger factor if you’re sedentary or moderately sedentary and you, all of a sudden, try and do the intensity that’s suggested,” Pasternak, author of “The Body Reset Diet,” told ABC News.

Here’s the routine:

1. Jumping jacks

2. Wall sit

3. Push-up

4. Abdominal crunch Core

5. Step-up onto chair

6. Squat

7. Triceps dip on chair

8. Plank

9. High knees/running in place

10. Lunge

11. Push-up and rotation

12. Side plank

[bee1forfitness]

Just for fun I'm going to do them

[saffron]

I just downloaded the app. Looks like fun, almost like a fitness test with all the best tried and true exercises.

[Daizyduke]

App??

[JP44]

The ABC news article doesn't state the duration for each move: it's 30 sec.

Joan

[pcdoctor01]

This is coming on now after a commercial break. When I first saw it advertised, it didn't come on.
This is on ABC News now 7:15PM EST 7/12/13

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2...-in-7-minutes/



It’s the latest fitness craze, and all you need is a chair and about the same amount of time it takes to cook pasta.

The seven-minute workout spawned a mini industry with 26 smartphone apps, countless YouTube training clips and even a music video.

Some people, such as Heather Holland, executive vice president of recruiting and development at Le Pain Bakery, swear by it.

“I’m winded,” Holland told ABC News. “I’m sweating, so you can see that it works.”

The basic philosophy behind the sub-10-minute exercise routine is increase the workout intensity, decrease the time.

ABC News asked exercise physiologist Polly De Mille to put Holland’s seven minutes to the test. De Mille attached a heart rate and breathing monitor to Holland to measure how hard her body was working.

“The machine will tell us how much oxygen your body is using, how much carbon dioxide it’s producing,” De Mille said.

While doing the routine, Holland’s heart rate quickly escalated from 96 beats per minute to 163 beats per minute.

In seven minutes, she burned 52 calories. De Mille says that’s good, but she had some reservations.

“There probably isn’t enough research to say this is all you need to do,” De Mille said.

For more information, ABC News tracked down Chris Jordan, who developed the workout, published by the American College of Sports Medicine.

“Well I have to say that we were overwhelmed by the media attention,” Jordan said.

Jordan told ABC News that the workout was an intensive combination of exercises that elevate the heart rate and work all the major muscle groups.

“Although this has been pushed around as a seven-minute workout, we recommend doing it not once but three times for a good, hard vigorous 20-minute workout,” Jordan said.

With some careful math, one would conclude that going through the workout three times actually makes it a 21-minute workout.

Perhaps a seven-minute cutoff was too good to be true but definitely better than nothing.

[nevertoolate]

There are a variety of these workouts on YouTube, many of them are animated. I like this one and she's a real person: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RQsTW7gCU8. This one's also a real person you can follow along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y3ymrd73KM.

Ann

[Lucky Star]

Originally Posted by saffron

I just downloaded the app. Looks like fun, almost like a fitness test with all the best tried and true exercises.

Originally Posted by Daizyduke

App??

I downloaded two free apps for this and loved one enough to buy the pro version for 99¢. (The pro version keeps a log and has a voice that announces timings and lets you know to switch sides, etc.) This is it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...om.scientific7
Another reason I prefer this version is that you can select the break length from 0-15 seconds. Believe me, I really needed that 15 seconds!

I started my workout today with a 12-min Leslie mile, followed by two rounds of this workout...awesome!!!
I think I'm going to alternate this with Caroline Pearce's Total Cardio Burn.