Every person has a different schedule. Work, obligations, studying, taking care of the children, the household. Sometimes you think that 24 hours is not enough and you wonder how it is possible and some people can include the exercise in their daily routine. You also wonder how much time per day it takes to get this amazing body as the woman next to you, that you admire on the beach in summer.
I have some good news for you! If you can find on a frequent basis 20 minutes for yourself and to exercise, not only will you get the body you want but at the same time you will have other benefits that only through exercise can become yours.
You will get the same benefits as long lasting exercise. A study conducted in 2016 involved 30 people. 15 people did a 20-minute program with 2 minutes of warm-up, 10 minutes of high-intensity exercises and as a burnout they did spinning . It was observed that they showed similar results in measurements made on their cardiorespiratory and insulin sensitivity. The other 15 people did, 2 minutes of warm-up, 45 minutes of moderate cycling on uphill and 3 minutes of recovery exercises.
You will become more perceptive. If you are struggling to concentrate on something, with frequent exercise you will notice that not only will you will not have such problems but also you will be able to finish a task faster.
You will feel happy! Exercise activates the famous "hormones of joy". You will notice that your mood will improve, since your depression levels will say goodbye!!!
What type of exercise can I choose to have all of those benefits in just 20 minutes?
High Intensity Exercise (HIIT). The simplest thing you can do is put on your sportswear, go the nearest park and run fast for 20 seconds with a 10 second walk, for 10 minutes in total. Do not laugh and do not think that it is simple... it is not!!!
EMOM. In this pattern you have one minute to do a certain number of repetitions, in a specific exercise. If you finish the repetitions earlier than one minute, you take a break. (until you complete 1 minute), then, proceed to the next exercise. You can choose 20 exercises (20 minutes) and try to combine both break and exercise within a minute.
AMRAP. In a 45 second window, how many repetitions of an exercise can you do? The harder you train in those 45 seconds, the better the results. For short time exercises, a program with 4 exercises of 45 seconds, a 30-second break in between and 3 cycles of repetitions is recommended.
ΤABATA. This is another type of HIIT exercise. Train for 20 seconds, following a specific exercise, take a 10-second break, repeat the exercise 4,6,8 times, take a break for 30 seconds and then move on to the second exercise. In this form of training you can have up to 8 different exercises with 8 repetitions in each. If you choose this example, the duration of your workout will be 45 minutes. But if you do 4 repetitions in 6 or 5 different exercises, then you will not exceed 20 to 25 minutes.
The next time you will think that 24 hours is not enough to find 20 minutes for you amd for yourself, for something that can only have a positive impact, think again and make it happen!
Tania L.
ISSA Certified Nutritionist
ISSA Certified Personal Trainer.