Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Short Workout Research

She broke my heart. Kicked me while I was down. Rubbed salt in my wounds.
 
That's how I felt when a TT reader asked:

"What's the least amount of exercise I can do to get back in shape? I don't like working out."
 
Who doesn't like working out? :)
 
Uh, I felt like that guy that gets his heart ripped out in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Hmm, okay, weird analogy...but I went and did some research and stumbled across some interesting results.
 
I have great news for you if you hate to workout OR if you are just so darn busy that you can't even do more than a few minutes per session.
 
In one study, Norwegian scientists found that 4 minutes of interval training was just as effective as 16 minutes of interval training for boosting fitness and reducing resting blood pressure over a 10-week training program.
 
(Reference: Tjonna, A., E., et al. Low- and high-volume of intensive endurance training significantly improves maximal oxygen uptake after 10-weeks of training in healthy men. PLoS One. 2013 May 29.)
 
Unfortunately for fat loss, this study found that 16 minutes of training worked better than doing just 4-minutes. 
 
So, if you want to get fit and burn belly fat, you're probably better off doing four different 4-minute miracle workouts, three times per week.
 
But wait, there's MORE great news...
 
Another research study discovered that you can gain strength and lose belly fat with just ONE set per exercise. This could allow you to cut back your 30 minute TT workouts to just 10 minutes.
 
Researchers from the UK had subjects perform either THREE sets of 6 repetitions or just ONE set of 6 repetitions. 
 
(Reference: BioMed Research International Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 615901, 6 pages)
 
Both workout groups trained 3x's per week for 8 weeks. The workout consisted of nine UPPER-body exercises only. (I'm not sure why they only used upper body exercises...just imagine the results they would have got using a superior, total-body Turbulence Training workout!)
 
At the end of the study, both groups gained the same amount of strength (20%) and lost fat.
 
The workout used in this study could have been better, but I'd love to hear the results you get if you use just one set per exercise of Turbulence Training.
 
Get the Best Fat Loss workouts here <= try just 1 set per exercise
 
Either way, using short bodyweight workouts or 10-minute dumbbell workouts is much better than doing slow, boring cardio.
 
Train hard, skip the cardio, and get your workouts done fast!
 
Let me know the results you get with short workouts,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
 
PS - Wait, you want even more advice on how to get more out of life?!?!
 
Don't worry, I've got it right here for you. 
 
Just read this article:
 

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