Mini Workouts?

maleficent

maleficent

0
The Canadian Press: No time? Squeeze in a short workout, but will it make a difference?
No time? Squeeze in a short workout, but will it make a difference?

4 days ago
NEW YORK — Stephen Lowrie has received the message to squeeze in exercise wherever he can. He parks far from the entrance, takes the stairs - even lifts weights at his desk.


"I don't do all these things all the time every day," said Lowrie, 47, of Bedford, N.H. "If I did I'd be in great shape."


Perhaps. Lowrie's piecemeal fitness regimen is something that's been encouraged as even videotaped exercise routines shrink to mere minutes. But as enticing as such programs sound, getting into shape is generally going to take more than a session of eight-minute abs, said Jillian Michaels, a personal trainer on "The Biggest Loser."


"Ten minutes?" said Michaels. "Forget it. What are you going to burn? A hundred calories. A pound is 3,500 calories. I'm so tired of sending Americans a false message. 'Hey, just take the stairs."'


The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association recommend for adults under age 65 a minimum of 30 minutes of moderately intense cardio (such as brisk walking) per day five days a week or 20 minutes of vigorously intense cardio (such as running) three days a week. Strength training should be done as part of the routine twice a week.


To lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Still, micro-workouts are everywhere, from Jorge Cruise's "8 Minutes in the Morning" to Tracey Mallett's "Sexy in 6," a fitness program with six-minute workouts.


Studies show that breaking workouts into mini sessions is as effective as continuous workouts. And considering time is one of the biggest reasons people give for not exercising, the mini-sessions make sense.


"The key isn't really how long the duration or short," said Tamilee Webb, best known for "Buns & Abs of Steel." "It's the intensity and the consistency."


Over the years, efficient exercises have shortened workouts, said Kathy Smith, whose "Tummy Trimmers" DVD includes short ab workouts. For example, she said a squat with a bicep curl works more than one muscle.
The DVD method has also made it easier to package multiple workouts, said Denise Austin, who has more than 80 DVDs under her belt. People don't have to fast forward and rewind, she said. And the short workout means people can't make excuses.


"The nicest part about it is they are ready to do 10 but stay and do a little more," said Austin, whose newest DVD, "Best Belly Fat-Blasters," is a series of ab workouts. "'For 10 minutes I can do this.' The next week they can do 20 minutes and then they're on their way to a healthy habit."
For Hiu Chung So, 26, of Arcadia, Calif., breaking up her workouts works. She does 10 minutes of weights in the morning and another 20 to 30 minutes of cardio in the evening.


"It makes it a lot less daunting compared to saying you need to do an hour of exercise," she said.


The American College of Sports Medicine doesn't recommend mini sessions shorter than 10 minutes. And David Kirsch, author of the "The Ultimate New York Diet," questions how only eight minutes in the morning is enough to increase the heart rate, tone the muscles and bring about an overall feeling of wellness.


Ten minutes toning a muscle is long enough, said Ben Quist, founder of Form and Fitness in Grafton, Wis. But for someone who wants to get in shape, 10 minutes three times a week is probably not going to produce the change people are hoping to see.


And once you look closely at those 10-minute routines, some do require more than you'd think. With Mallett's, the idea is to do more than one six-minute session (three is ideal) plus cardio and change your diet. Austin herself said she does 30 minutes of straight cardio.


"10, 10, 10 is less than ideal," said Michaels. "You need a longer period of exercise to improve endurance."


But any exercise is better than nothing.


Katie Feuer, 35, of Summit, N.J. said her 12-minute abs routine works. She has been doing Denise Austin's "Super Stomachs" since high school and said when she stops, she gains weight.


"If I get lazy and haven't been working out, that's what I go back to," said Feuer, a mother of two, who also runs and bikes. "Maybe it's the familiarity of it. I know what to expect. When it's only 12 minutes, that's not bad."
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So far I've been shedding weight pretty easily and steadily without working out 60-90 minutes per day. My workout on weekdays is a mere 40 minutes, and I do one 60 minute workout a week on Saturday.
 
While I think Jillian Michaels is an absolute halfwit - she has somewhat of a point - I've come across countless people who think they're being good little campers by taking the stairs and parking a few extra spaces away... but they're missing the point where they have to also do something about nutrition.. taking the stairs is good... taking the stairs and rationalizing that you can have a big whopper isn't...

it's the consistent behavior over time that gets the results...
 
But Mal if I take the stairs clearly I've earned the right to that whopper becuase that's how it works. Any amount of exercise negates the calories in whatever I'm eating don't ya know.

I wish I could explain to some people that taking the stairs won't even cover the calories in a kitkat mini never mind make up for the " treat" you get for being good and exercising. Fuck I can DDR for an hour and not necessarily burn off my morning bowl of cereal never mind use it as an excuse for a bowl of icecream later.
 
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Those gimmicky workout tapes are stupid.

I do think that squeezing any exercise into your day is good though. It's the idea of "baby steps" that can get someone to start being more active. Starting off with mini workouts and also small mini nutrition changes could be a great way to ease someone into a healthier lifestyle.

The problem is that people are being led to believe that ALL the have to do is take the stairs and skip the mayonnaise and they'll be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
 
I guess it wont make a difference if you don't do it everytime. And you can take a 10 minutes exercise three times a day. That will give you the same result as a 30 minutes cardio
 
im ure if they did the 10 minute excersizes 3 or 4 times a day it would be somewhat effective. the problem is IMO its much harder to try to sqeeze in 3 or 4 10 minute sessions throughout the day than to knock out a full hour in one shot and your probably less likely to manage keeping on top of sqeezing them in consistantly. Also if you can't pull yourself to do more than 10 minutes at a time your lacking the motivation and will power needed to stick to it and pull off any significant weight loss anyway... but what do i know, i'm not a professional :sifone: lol
 
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maleficent said:
While I think Jillian Michaels is an absolute halfwit - she has somewhat of a point - I've come across countless people who think they're being good little campers by taking the stairs and parking a few extra spaces away... but they're missing the point where they have to also do something about nutrition.. taking the stairs is good... taking the stairs and rationalizing that you can have a big whopper isn't...

it's the consistent behavior over time that gets the results...
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Mal,
I agree with you that the real issue is the nutrition. I'm probably preaching to the choir here but people really need to understand nutrition is the key to weight loss.

I am a strong believer that these types of small changes can be benificial if they are accepted for what they are, mini-workouts. If someone takes the stairs, parks further away or walks on their 15 minute break and they use that as a motivator to eat healthier more power to them. Like you said, if they do these things to jusitfy a binge or crap food then that is the problem.
I was one that did these types of mini-workouts. Granted, i got a regular "gym" workout as well and watched my nutrition but i really felt good about walking on my break or taking the stairs. It was always more physcological for me.

Matt
 
You can definitely get in a great workout in 30 minutes or less but the intensity has to be increased. If you expect an easy 15 minute walk to make a significant difference in your weight loss, you are sadly mistaken. You have to increase the intensity of your workouts and focus on exercises that work the whole body. I'm a personal trainer and I encourage people to do my 30 minute workouts because they can get a great fat burning workout in short time and not have to be in the gym for an hour or more which gives them more free time to do stuff they enjoy. The most important thing though is the diet. If you eat more than you are burning, you are just going to keep gaining weight.
 
lol it's one of those "extreme" workouts... involving blow torches :D ;)

Any bit of exercise seems to be good for me. Just being out and about makes me feel a lot better than sitting around. However, for weight loss certainly longer and more intense sessions have made a big difference... well that and eating healthy... in fact I lost most of my weight with eating healthy and then added exercise that just helped tone. I certainly do all the tricks though: park farther, take stairs, walk to the store.
 
I must say that I was one of those that believed that I could lose weight with just a little work out here and there and still eating the same crap that I used. How could I have been so dense... Well after countless months of eating terribly and a very low amount of excersize I never lost any weight and rather gained.
 
Fat burning workout

The fat burning workouts I do with my clients consist of total body strength training focusing on compound movements. Compound movements are exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time, for example, squats, lunges, push ups, pullups,etc... I also add some high intensity interval training since it's been shown to be much better for burning fat and calories and moderate or low intensity cardio.

Carlos Torres
Personal Trainer
 
FitnessExpert said:
The fat burning workouts I do with my clients consist of total body strength training focusing on compound movements. Compound movements are exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time, for example, squats, lunges, push ups, pullups,etc... I also add some high intensity interval training since it's been shown to be much better for burning fat and calories and moderate or low intensity cardio.

Carlos Torres
Personal Trainer
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Those things are fueled more by the anaerobic lactic system than the aerobic (as in fat oxidizing) ya know?

Fat burning implies fat is the primary fuel substrate used to fuel the activity. Neither of those methods you outlines utilize fat as the primary fuel substrate.
 
Yes but you are burning more fat overall and more calories so it's better than doing low intensity cardio. Just because an exercise may not burn a higher percentage of calories from fat doesn't mean it's not burning more fat overrall. You also have to take into account the metabolic boosting effects for hours and sometimes more than a day after the workout. That is why high intensity interval training and high intensity weight training is far more effective for burning calories and fat than low intensity cardio.
 
FitnessExpert said:
Yes but you are burning more fat overall and more calories so it's better than doing low intensity cardio. Just because an exercise may not burn a higher percentage of calories from fat doesn't mean it's not burning more fat overrall.
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When did I suggest otherwise, Mr. Expert? I wasn't talking about net caloric expenditures. I was talking about your terminology with regards to "fat burning workouts."

You also have to take into account the metabolic boosting effects for hours and sometimes more than a day after the workout.
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You haven't stayed up to date on current EPOC research, have you?

That is why high intensity interval training and high intensity weight training is far more effective for burning calories and fat than low intensity cardio.
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You should read more than internet articles.
 
What is your problem Steve? I'm not on here to argue with you. I guess you are trying to show off how educated and intelligent you are? It's people like you that make me tired of getting on discussion forums.

Yes you are right it's not the exact terminology but who cares? People on these forums want to know what is the most effective workout in a short amount of time. They don't need alot of complicated terminology and research. Nothing wrong with calling them fat burning workouts when they do burn alot of fat even though it may not be the primary substrate. When I called them fat burning workouts, I wasn't trying to use exact terminology.

I can just imagine making a flyer saying "Do my anaerobic lactic system burning workouts" . Sounds very catch doesn't it? lol
 
FitnessExpert said:
What is your problem Steve? I'm not on here to argue with you.
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No argument.

Integrity of sound advice and information is all.

Does that not suit your motives?

I guess you are trying to show off how educated and intelligent you are?
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Exactly.

It has absolutely nothing to do with someone calling him or herself a 'fitness expert' and handing out advice that I don't necessarily agree with without further explanation.

Appeals to emotion do nothing but make you look like a) you don't know what you're talking about and b) a big baby.

It's people like you that make me tired of getting on discussion forums.
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That's a real shame too.

If what you expect is the ability to come on to a message board and post whatever it is you feel like b/c you're a self proclaimed exert without being critically responded to, yea, you're probably not going to enjoy message boards.

I'm not sure what you expected.

Yes you are right it's not the exact terminology but who cares?
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I do.

Use loose terminology and people get the wrong impressions. Most experts are selling snake oil to begin with so if they're not being precise with their wording, it simply magnifies the snake oil.

Again, it's all about maintaining integrity of not only the information for people to digest, but also of the fitness industry.

People on these forums want to know what is the most effective workout in a short amount of time.
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Oh.

lol

They don't need alot of complicated terminology and research.
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Many educated members have presented accurate information on these boards without being excessively complicated.

That's my point.

I think I know what people want.

Nothing wrong with calling them fat burning workouts when they do burn alot of fat even though it may not be the primary substrate. When I called them fat burning workouts, I wasn't trying to use exact terminology.

I can just imagine making a flyer saying "Do my anaerobic lactic system burning workouts" . Sounds very catch doesn't it? lol
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You do realize I would not have replied to you in the first place if you weren't wearing the hat of an expert, right?

You realize I communicated with you on this level with this terminology b/c you are a supposed expert, right?

You realize I'm all about simplicity and regurgitate the tougher aspects of these sciences to the masses for a living, right?

Again, my intent wasn't to educate novices in this thread. It was to make sure you were who you said you were so, as a moderator, I'm aware of who's who among the supposed experts here. We get a lot of schlups calling themselves experts here and if we simply let them march to the beat of their own drums, this place wouldn't be near the place it is today.

If you can't see things in that light, I'm not sure what else to say.
 
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As far as I know I have seen the latest research on high intensity training and yes the latest studies did show that it didn't burn as many calories as previously thought but it's still better than low intensity for the same amount of time. Like I always tell my clients too is that your main concern should also be the change in your body composition and not so much the weight scale. Since doing alot of cardio with no strength training will make you lose fat but it will also cause you to lose muscle.

I was going to post some links on some studies but it won't let me on this forum.

The research does show as far as I know that combination strength training especially moderately heavy like close to 8 rep max with HIIT does seem to be your best bang for your buck.

If you have other studies that suggest otherwise, I would like to see it.
 
FitnessExpert said:
Yes you are right it's not the exact terminology but who cares? People on these forums want to know what is the most effective workout in a short amount of time. They don't need alot of complicated terminology and research.
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Don't talk about us like we're not here, and certainly don't try to generalize us as a bunch of idiots who are not capable of learning.
 
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