Yesterday, while I was catching up on www.pbfingers.com, I was reminded of the Seven Minute Workout. I had heard of this trend a few months ago and done some reading on it, but it just sort of slipped my mind. I was pretty intrigued in the early reading, particularly this article. In a nutshell:
"In 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall, it fulfills the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort — all of it based on science." - NY Times
A new app for the workout came out, so I downloaded it and decided to give it a try last night. The point of the workout is to work as hard as possible (and be as uncomfortable as possible) for the whole 7 minutes. Then you're done! The app is very simple but really helpful. Each move is listed with a separate page where you can read about form or watch a video. When you press start, a big timer pops up and the app speaks to you. It tells you when to start a move, when to rest, and what move is coming up next.
You spend 30 seconds on each exercise and have 10 seconds of rest -- really just enough time to take a breath and switch into the next position. Here are the 12 moves:
1. Jumping jacks
2. Wall sits
3. Push-ups
4. Abdominal crunches
5. Step-ups onto a chair
6. Squats
7. Tricep dips on chair
8. Planks
9. High knees running in place
10. Lunges
11. Push-ups and side rotations
12. Side planks
I ended up doing two rounds of this with 2 minutes of rest in between. It was tough! My heart was pounding and I was sweating after each round. I hate tricep dips so much! They are so freakin' hard, even for just 30 seconds.
The best part about the workout was that I did it in my living room without sneakers on! There's no reason on any given day that I can't throw on a sports bra, head into the living room and dedicate 7 minutes to this.
Yay for new, quick workouts!
Awesome! I'll have to try this out
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