The Scientific 7-Minute Workout
May 24, 2013
Story at-a-glance
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Exercise is a key factor of optimal health; it's particularly
important for controlling your blood sugar and normalizing your
insulin levels. When done correctly, exercise can oftentimes act
as a substitute for some of the most common drugs used today for
things like diabetes, heart disease and depression
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Compelling and ever-mounting research shows that the ideal form
of exercise is short bursts of high intensity exercise
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Not only does it beat conventional cardio as the most effective
and efficient form of exercise, Peak Fitness exercises also
provide health benefits you simply cannot get from regular
aerobics, such as a tremendous boost in human growth hormone
(HGH), aka the “fitness hormone”
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A recent article by the Human Performance Institute shows how
you can fulfill the requirements for a high intensity exercise
using nothing more than your own body weight, a chair, and a
wall
By Dr. Mercola
Exercise is a key factor of optimal health; it's
particularly important for controlling your blood sugar and
normalizing your insulin levels. I often recommend viewing
exercise as a drug that needs to be properly prescribed and
"taken" at a proper dosage.
When done correctly, exercise can oftentimes act as a
substitute for some of the most common drugs used today for
things like diabetes, heart disease and depression.
All of these conditions will improve with exercise and the
help of an experienced natural health care clinician.
High intensity interval training (HIIT), which is a core
component of my
Peak Fitness program, is key for reaping optimal results
from exercise.
There are many versions of HIIT, but the core premise
involves maximum exertion followed by a quick rest period
for a set of intervals.
My Peak Fitness routine uses a set of eight 30-second
sprints, each followed by 90 seconds of recovery, as taught
by Phil Campbell who is a pioneer in this field. Also, while
I typically recommend using an elliptical machine or
recumbent bike, you can just as easily perform a high
intensity routine without any equipment at all.
The Scientific 7-Minute Workout
A recent article in the American College of Sports
Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal1
shows how you can fulfill the requirements for a high
intensity exercise using nothing more than your own body
weight, a chair, and a wall.
Best of all, this science-backed routine only requires a
seven minute investment, as the program calls for as little
as 10- to 15-seconds of rest between each 30-second
exercise, which should be performed in rapid succession.
As reported by the New York Times2:
“'There’s very good evidence that high-intensity
interval training provides “many of the fitness benefits
of prolonged endurance training but in much less time,'
says Chris Jordan, the director of exercise physiology
at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla., and
co-author of the new article.”
The health benefits of high intensity
interval training are well-established at this point,
and include:
Significantly improving your insulin sensitivity,
especially if you're on a low-processed food-,
low-sugar/low-grain diet |
Optimizing your cholesterol ratios, when combined
with a proper diet |
Boosting fat metabolism and optimizing your body fat
percentage (as a result of improved conservation of
sugar and glycogen in your muscles) |
Virtually eliminating type 2 diabetes and high blood
pressure |
Naturally boosting your levels of human growth
hormone (HGH) |
Increasing your aerobic capacity |
One of the added boons of this 7-minute program is that
since you don’t need any equipment, you can easily take this
routine with you when traveling. You’d be hard-pressed to
find a hotel room that doesn’t at least have a chair in it.
When done at the appropriate intensity, which should hover
around 8 on a scale of 1-10, the following 12 exercises,
which are outlined in the report, equate to doing a long run
and a weight-training session.
The exercises are ideally done in the following order, as
this allows for opposing muscle groups to alternate between
resting and working in each subsequent exercise.
Contraindications
I believe most people can perform high intensity
exercises, provided you listen to your body and work out
according to your current level of fitness and ability. I
personally modified the Peak 8 to a Peak 6 this year as it
was sometimes just too strenuous for me to do all eight
repetitions. So by listening to my body and cutting it back
to six reps, I can now easily tolerate the workout and go
all out. That said, the authors stress that there are some
contraindications for their program:
“Because of the elevated demand for exercise
intensity in high intensity circuit training protocols,
caution should be taken when prescribing this protocol
to individuals who are overweight/obese, detrained,
previously injured, or elderly or for individuals with
comorbidities.
For individuals with hypertension or heart
disease, the isometric exercises (wall sit, plank, and
side plank) are not recommended. The isometric exercises
can be substituted with dynamic exercises.
For all individuals, the Valsalva maneuver should
be avoided, particularly for the isometric exercises.
Proper execution requires a willing and able participant
who can handle a great degree of discomfort for a
relatively short duration. It is also essential that
participants in an HICT understand proper exercise form
and technique. As with all exercise programs, prior
medical clearance from a physician is recommended.”
I firmly believe that most people would benefit from high
intensity exercises but the key is to start very slowly if
you have any of the risk factors listed above. You might
actually require several months to work up to a high
intensity level. But as long as you start at a safe level
and continue to push yourself to progressively higher
levels, you will eventually reach a level of intensity that
will provide the benefits.
Remember, while your body needs regular amounts of stress
like exercise to stay healthy, if you give it more than you
can handle your health can actually deteriorate. So it’s
crucial to listen to your body and integrate the feedback
into your exercise intensity and frequency. When you work
out, it is wise to really push as hard as you possibly can a
few times a week, but you do need to wisely gauge your
body's tolerance to this stress.
Why High Intensity Interval Training May Be Ideal for Most
Contrary to popular belief, extended extreme cardio, such
as marathon running, actually sets in motion inflammatory
mechanisms that damage your heart. So while your
heart is indeed designed to work very hard, and will be
strengthened from doing so, it’s only designed to do so
intermittently, and for short periods—not for an hour
or more at a time. This is the natural body mechanics you
tap into when you perform HIIT.
Repeatedly and consistently overwhelming your heart by
long distance
marathon running, for example, can actually prematurely
age your heart and make you more vulnerable to irregular
heart rhythm. This is why you sometimes hear of seasoned
endurance athletes dropping dead from cardiac arrest during
a race. I ran long distance for over four decades. So please
learn from my experience and don’t make the same mistake I
did.
Compelling and ever-mounting research shows that the
ideal form of exercise is short bursts of high intensity
exercise. Not only does it beat conventional cardio as the
most effective and efficient form of exercise, it also
provides health benefits you simply cannot get from regular
aerobics, such as a tremendous boost in human growth hormone
(HGH), aka the “fitness hormone.”
What Makes HIIT so Effective?
Your body has three types of muscle fibers: slow, fast,
and super-fast twitch muscles. Slow twitch muscles are the
red muscles, which are activated by traditional strength
training and cardio exercises. The latter two (fast and
super-fast) are white muscle fibers, and these are only
activated during high intensity interval exercises or
sprints. The benefit of activating these fibers is that they
will produce therapeutic levels of growth hormone, which
many athletes spend over a $1,000 a month to inject
themselves with. So there is no need to pay the money or
take the risks when your body can produce growth hormone
naturally through high intensity exercises.
Getting cardiovascular benefits requires working all
three types of muscle fibers and their associated
energy systems -- and this cannot be done with
traditional cardio, which only activates your red,
slow twitch muscles. If your fitness routine doesn't work
your white muscle, you aren't really working your heart in
the most beneficial way. The reason for this is because your
heart has two different metabolic processes:
- The aerobic, which requires oxygen for fuel, and
- The anaerobic, which does not require any oxygen
Traditional strength training and cardio exercises work
primarily the aerobic process, while high intensity interval
exercises work both your aerobic AND your anaerobic
processes, which is what you need for optimal cardiovascular
benefit. This is why you may not see the results you desire
even when you're spending an hour on the treadmill several
times a week. So when it comes to high intensity exercises,
less really is more...
For Optimal Health, Add Variety to Your Exercise Program
In addition to doing HIIT a couple of times a week, it’s
wise to alternate a wide variety of exercises in order to
truly optimize your health and avoid hitting a plateau. As a
general rule, as soon as an exercise becomes easy to
complete, you need to increase the intensity and/or try
another exercise to keep challenging your body. I recommend
incorporating the following types of exercise into your
program on days when you’re not doing high intensity
anaerobic training:
- Strength Training: If you want, you
can increase the intensity by slowing it down. You need
enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight
should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer
than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of
four repetitions. It is also important NOT to exercise
the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two
days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild.
For more information about using super slow weight
training as a form of high-intensity interval exercise,
please see my interview with
Dr. Doug McGuff.
- Core Exercises: Your body has 29
core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and
pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation
for movement throughout your entire body, and
strengthening them can help protect and support your
back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and
help you gain greater balance and stability.
Exercise programs like Pilates,
yoga, and
Foundation Training are great for strengthening your
core muscles, as are specific exercises you can learn
from a personal trainer.
- Stretching: My favorite type of
stretching is Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) developed
by Aaron Mattes. With AIS, you hold each stretch for
only two seconds, which works with your body's natural
physiological makeup to improve circulation and increase
the elasticity of muscle joints. This technique also
allows your body to repair itself and prepare for daily
activity. You can also use devices like the
Power Plate to help you stretch.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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