Happy Hump Day! On Wednesdays, I wish I was a camel just so I could be thrilled it’s Wednesday. But I’m pretty indifferent. This morning has already started off with a bang though! In a good way!
Mondays and Wednesdays I start off very early in the morning. As in alarm goes off before 5am and I’m at the gym by 5:15. You see, for the past several weeks I’ve been working with a personal trainer. He’s fantastic. The best part? He’s not training me to help me get in shape, though it’s definitely not hurting. He’s training me to become a trainer, teaching me his ways and helping me get to where I want to be. If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is.
This morning he had me on the TRX bands. I had never done them before and they are tough but really neat. Definitely to be used for more advance clients, but neat nonetheless. After our 30 minute session, I jumped on the treadmill for an easy run. I was given a PearSports Training System for my iPhone through FitFluential. This morning was my first time to try it out and I did an easy calibration run. Basically I ran based on perceived effort and PearSports calculated my heart rate zones. I can’t wait to test more workouts! I’ll have a full review on here soon!
Seven Minute Workout
On Monday, my trainer gave me this article on the Scientific 7-Minute Workout. This was an article featured in The New York Times health and wellness section and was originally introduced by the American College of Sports Medicine (ASCM). Essentially, this workout is made up of 12 different exercises to be performed at 30 seconds each with 10 seconds rest between each. Hence the 7-minutes! Take a look at the exercises.
There is also a nifty timer built for this workout to help you know which move is next and when to switch. Pretty neat right?
Now you’re probably wondering, is this a gimmick? What else do I have to do? Is this really proven? Only 7-minutes?
My thoughts on this workout.
There is a lot of talk around this workout and its effectiveness. Trust me, I’ve been reading up on it. Everyone seems to have their own opinion. Since I love sharing mine, here is my two cents…
High intensity circuit training (HICT) has been around for a while. It’s not easy and it should be tough as the article suggests. What you don’t see right up front from it’s catchy name is that the circuit should really be performed 2-3 times for optimal performance. Some exercises is obviously better than no exercise, so powering through this circuit will help your fitness levels. You will not have instant gratification, like all workouts, and performing this once will take much longer before you see any results. So my suggestion is to give it a go! It’s only 12 exercises that can be performed in your home! You can choose how many rounds you do. Are you a beginner? Start with doing it once 2-3 times per week. Then move up to 2 rounds then 3! It’s better than nothing and these exercises provide a full body workout.
While it’s far from a miracle workout and should probably be done more than once, it’s a great option to add into your weekly rotation! I’ll be giving it a go tomorrow!
Here are a few other bodyweight workouts that you can do anywhere!
References:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/?_r=0
http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2013/05000/HIGH_INTENSITY_CIRCUIT_TRAINING_USING_BODY_WEIGHT_.5.aspx
Would you be willing to try out the 7-minute workout? {If you do, let me know how it goes!}
What is your favorite type of workout? I.e. circuit, running, biking, weight training, etc.
Until next time…
