You might be surprised to realize how little exercise is required in order to detect physiological changes in the body.
And this is important because often times a common complaint to performing exercise is not having enough time. I know there are days when I don't get in a workout because I feel swamped with many other 'priorities' and therefore convince myself it simply doesn't work with my schedule on that day to find time to exercise.
I may think differently in the future knowing the following bit of research.
10 minutes of exercise is all it takes for there to be metabolic changes in the body. With just this small amount of time it can take upto to an hour for your body to return to a pre-exercise condition.
This means enhanced circulation, ventilation and caloric burn that extends well past the moment we stop exercising.
So this in itself should be reason enough to step away from the computer every couple of hours and do 10 minutes of jump rope, running stairs, jumping jacks or swinging a kettlebell. There are endless options. The point being that if all it takes is 10 minutes than we really can't use a lack of time as an excuse.
But here's where things get interesting.
Do you think this investment in exercise is the same for everyone? I mean does 10 minutes in exercise have the same results for two people of the same size, age and sex?
We might assume that it does but we'd be wrong.
Leaner people have increased levels of a metabolite called niacinamide, a nutrient involved in blood-sugar control. It comes from the group of B vitamins and has a number of health benefits.
When researchers measured this compound at the end of the Boston Marathon, the more fit people had levels ten times higher than their less fit counter parts.
There are over 20 metabolites that change in concentration when we exercise. Researchers are only begin to discover what some of these metabolites are, how much they change and what implications they have on our health.
So does that mean we only have to do 10 minutes of exercise?
No, what it means is that benefits can be measured in your body with as little as this much time invested.
But don't be the person that thinks more is better. We still want to try and keep our workouts under an hour. If you find you have difficulty doing so than you need to up the intensity of your workouts. There is no way anyone can push that hard for a full sixty minutes.
To shave time off your workouts:
* Use a journal and record the time you start and end as well as all the sets/reps/weights you use.
* Use a watch to track the length of your rest breaks. They should be less than 60 seconds (unless you are performing a power movement).
* Wear ear buds so others are less likely to talk to you. Just make sure they are plugged into your ipod so you're not just being rude or look weird.
* Do the most important elements first and when pressed for time you cut out the non-essential stuff.
****update regarding the Year Long Training Program 2.0 give away***
Make sure to leave a comment telling me why you deserve this program for FREE. I am really inspired by the comments so far and look forward to reading yours.***
All the best,
Chris okanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'