Get Fit in 7 Minutes Flat
The combination of a recent move, a succession of junk-food-filled holidays and an unusually harsh winter have wreaked havoc on this author’s exercise regime and fitness level. A couple weeks ago, I ran across an app called Quick Fit, which promises mobile-ready fitness in a mere seven minutes. After two weeks of contemplation, I finally took this short journey to a better body.
The app’s workout was called the “scientific 7-minute workout” by NY Times and was developed by the American College of Sports Medicine. The routine is based on the growing body of evidence that suggests intensity, not duration, is the key to improved strength and cardiovascular fitness.
The workout includes all the staples of unweighted exercise: pushups, crunches, lunges, plank poses, etc. The only piece of equipment is a chair. While some of the exercises might prove challenging to some, they can all modified for less intensity: bent knee pushups and planks, partial lunges, etc.
Again, the key to the workout is intensity. Each of the 12 exercises last 30 seconds with only a 10 second rest. I consider myself moderately fit, and by the middle of the workout my heart-rate had noticeably increased. Had I pushed myself harder, it would have been all the more effective. Adding one or two circuits would have made it an even more complete workout and still kept the duration quite short.
The app has a nice clean interface with a semi-robotic looking personal trainer doing the exercise along with you. It has an exercise tracker and voice prompting, which can be turned off. The app costs 99 cents on iTunes. There’s an ab workout that costs and additional $1.99 (all a lot cheaper than a gym membership). There is also a free web-based version (above) if you want to give it a try or just plan to do it on your desktop.
A quick search after I made my purchase shows that there are a number of similar apps, many of which are free.
While many, author included, actually enjoy exercising, sometimes we don’t necessarily do it with the utmost efficiency. Likewise, our routines often get derailed–we’re away from our park or gym, we are particularly busy, etc. Quick, intense workouts like the one Quick Fit provides can both streamline our normal routines and provide an easy way to maintain fitness when time and circumstances are less than cooperative.
via Swiss Miss