Endless work days, children, the house… the hectic daily life makes it almost impossible to find time to exercise. The expert in ‘fitness’ Chris Jordan, of the Human Performance Institute of Florida, set out to solve this problem and offer an effective way to get in shape in the shortest possible time.
This is how “the 7-minute workout” was born , which represents a real revolution for fitness.
This routine is the result of a study carried out by scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and it is summarized that a few minutes of high intensity training that is close to your maximum capacity, produces molecular changes in the muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or biking. The research, published in the Health & Fitness Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, establishes that with 12 exercises using only the weight of the body, a chair and a wall, the latest mandates for high-intensity effort established by science are met.The exercise table supported by science.
High-intensity interval training is proven to provide “many of the benefits of prolonged resistance training, but in much less time,” says Chris Jordan, the director of exercise physiology at the Institute of Human Performance in Orlando, Florida. It is the same base that HIIT and CROSSFIT training is based on, only on a smaller scale and with different objectives: to speed up the metabolism daily in those people who lead a sedentary life.
Activate fat burning
The objectives of this type of exercise are very specific: improve resistance, burn more fat (or rather, burn calories) in short intervals of time, but constant throughout the week. In addition, with these routines you can improve the body’s ability to oxidize both glucose and fat.
Standard guidelines for aerobic training recommend 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise (46% to 63% of maximal oxygen uptake, VO2max) for 30 to 60 minutes per session and/or 75 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise. vigorous intensity (64% to 90% VO2max) for 20 to 60 minutes per session (3). While these traditional protocols can be effective, they may not be realistic enough for adults stressed by their daily lives due to the amount of time required to complete each program, as well as some limitations to effectiveness that have been demonstrated .
Anywhere
To address the limitations of traditional exercise protocols and provide an effective and efficient program for their clients, one of the exercise strategies they use is High Intensity Circuit Training (HICT) using body weight as resistance. An approach that combines aerobic and resistance training in a single exercise that lasts approximately 7 minutes. Participants can repeat the 7-minute series 2-3 times, depending on the amount of time they have. Since body weight provides the only form of resistance, the program can be performed anywhere.
The circuit is as follows (12 exercises):
- Jumping in scissors 30 seconds + 10 seconds of rest
- Squats resting your back on the wall 30 seconds + 10 seconds of rest
- Elbow push-ups 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Abdominals 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Get on a chair 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Normal squats 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Triceps leaning on chair 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Plank holding a high position for 30 seconds + 10 seconds of rest
- Static trot raising the knees quickly 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Lunges 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Rotating elbow flexion (repeat on each side) 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest
- Side Plank (repeat with each arm) 30 seconds + 10 seconds rest.