The 10 Minute Workout That KICKED My Butt

Most notably for me in the last few years, time has become a huge factor, and trying to fit in a 1 - 2 hour workout per day just isn’t realistic.  Also, after working out for well over 30 years of my life,  it’s hard to keep motivated, especially if the workouts are long and boring, which is why I gravitate towards shorter duration, high intensity workouts.

Although I feel that it’s important to mix things up with longer moderate effort workouts once in a while, I find the shorter duration mentally easier as well…  Just to know that I can go into the gym or go out for a run and crank out a great workout in less than 30 min and still reap all the benefits of working out for an hour or more. 

In fact just the other day, I was stuck between appointments and I had just under 30 minutes to spare.  Not enough time to do anything or go anywhere and I knew that I wouldn’t have any other time to workout that day, so I decided to… what the heck!  I found a space outside where I wouldn’t be in the way of anyone or really be seen…  I mean, let’s be realistic I love working out and all, but I’m not about to bust out some burpees in front of a bunch of people staring at me as if I was on some MTV or VH-1 fitness reality show. 

I decided I had enough time for a 5 minute warm up and a hard 10 minute set, which gave me enough time to cool down before my next appointment.  (Luckily these were casual attire, no need to be dressed to impress types of meetings.)  And since I had nothing with me I decided to do as many burpees as possible in 10 minutes.  Wow!  Well let me tell you, after that I certainly wasn’t going to be upset over not being able to go to the gym.  100 burpees later, I definitely got my workout in for the day.  Even though I had sweat pouring down my back and probably looked like I just stepped out from some industrial washing machine after the spinning cycle, I felt great! 

The other cool “after effect” from the workout, after I caught my breath and settled back to my daily activity mode, was that I felt much more calm and relaxed.  This made the rest of the day go really smoothly.  I think it’s partly because, after exercising at such a high intensity, your body goes into a metabolic deficit, which forces your body to have to work harder to make up for it.  That extra energy required by my body to try and regain my homeostatic balance actually calmed me down and kept me at a steady state of mind.  It’s almost like I was in a meditative state. 

Considering I had multiple appointments, meetings and was running around carrying my computer and answering emails in between, it was a great be feeling calm and collected through out the day.  Plus, I didn’t have that guilty feeling of not being able to workout, which brings about that whole “I’ll make up for it by working out harder and longer tomorrow!” cycle, which can really start you down on the wrong path. 

Although the benefits are well known, with many studies done on the positive effects and benefits high intensity workouts have on individuals, for some reason there’s still a common belief that exercising with vigorous efforts is dangerous.  Perhaps the popularity of heart rate monitor training or the stigma that sedentary people shouldn’t push themselves because it’s too hard on their heart, may have contributed to it.  But either way, if you don’t have any serious issues with your health, especially your heart, exerting yourself for brief periods is actually good for you!  According to the latest study by British researchers:

“Rigorous workouts lasting as little as three minutes may help prevent diabetes by helping control blood sugar ...”

“You can make just as big as an effect doing this as you can by doing hours and hours of endurance training each week.”

“The simple idea is if you are doing tense muscle contractions during sprints or exercise on a bike you really enhance insulin’s ability to clear glucose out of the bloodstream…”

Diseases such as Type II Diabetes is the caused by the inability for your insulin to uptake glucose from your blood due to it’s insensitivity, which would make this type of workout very beneficial to those either suffering from it or are on the verge of getting it. 

Along with making your insulin more active, you already know the effectiveness of high intensity workouts when it comes to burning fat.  It also helps lower blood pressure and helps improve heart functions. 

So if your constantly battling with running out of time to workout, or you’re bored of doing the same ole’ workouts, or even if you’ve been leading a sedentary lifestyle and just can’t motivate yourself to go and workout at a gym, try working out for a short durations but with rigorous effort.  According to the study 3 minutes is all you need to begin with.  It takes longer to think about it then actually doing it! 

For those of you who workout sporadically, this is a great way to add some consistency into your routine.  And for the time starved people, this may be your saving grace.  And if your worried about sweating and getting all stinky!  According to the same researchers the time spent doing the vigorous exercises can be so short that you won’t even break a sweat!  How about that.  Short, sweet and dry… you don’t even need a change of clothes!  Well, just in case your workout lasts longer than 3 minutes and you do end up breaking a sweat, you may want to have something dry to change into. 

By the way if your up for the 10 minute burpee challenge, try it out and let me know how you do!

About The Author

Shin Ohtake is a widely recognized strength coach and fitness & fat-loss expert. His unconventional, no-nonsense approach to getting fit has made him the go-to source for fitness enthusiasts and trainers alike. Shin is also the author of the world famous, MAX Workouts book, which has transformed and reshaped the bodies of thousands of people across the globe - without requiring hours in the gym. To learn more about how MAX Workouts can help you achieve your fitness goals, visit maxworkouts.com.

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