My genuine love of exercise goes way beyond the typical prescription of “it’s good for you.” I feel lucky and grateful that my dad was an athlete and encouraged me to exercise and play sports at a time when it wasn’t cool to be fit. So, it’s hard for me to understand not wanting to workout for an hour 5/6 days a week. But, I still like exercise “hater” type folks and I respect their willingness to try and get in the required weekly exercise minimum.
It’s super important! So, GOOD FOR YOU!
Are you that special person looking to exercise as little as possible? How does 4 minutes 3 times a week sound? Can you handle that? Hard to believe, right?
Recently, Dr. Oz was asked this exact question. His answer was published in The Huffingtion post. Read on…
How little exercise can I actually get away with?
I hear you — with our busy lives, finding time to squeeze in an hour at the gym can be more challenging than the workout itself. But it seems as if science has caught on to our dilemma: In the past few years, researchers have published several studies promising fast results from shorter workouts. A recent low is a four-minute routine that after ten weeks was shown to produce the same improvements in blood pressure, and blood sugar levels, as a 16-minute workout. But take note of the fine print: The participants in the study also completed a ten-minute warm-up jog and a five-minute cooldown walk, so the total workout clocked in at 19 minutes. Intensity mattered, too. The exercisers did that four-minute burst at 90 percent of their maximum heart rate — the equivalent of rapidly climbing six to ten flights of stairs. If that kind of routine doesn’t appeal to you, you’re not going to stick with it — in which case you won’t see any benefit. The important thing is to find an activity you enjoy. Aim for at least 30 minutes daily; if you’re pressed for time, consider splitting your workout into 15-minute blocks.
Always love & great workouts!
Allison
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