Is A 10-Minute Workout Worth It?

According to the World Health Organization, you need between 150 and 300 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of intense exercise every week. If you only have time for a 10-minute workout, do it, but make it count. Focus on doing an intense workout, make it Tabata or another high-intensity workout. You don’t have to spend hours at the gym to get the results you want. It’s all about maximizing the results and using the latest science-based techniques.

Intensity determines how much time you spend.

HIIT—high intensity interval training—alternates the intensity of the workout between high-intensity and moderate intensity. It allows you to workout at peak performance longer than you would be able to do if you stayed at peak intensity throughout the workout. Tabata, a form of HIIT, takes it a notch up and the routine is just four minutes long. In a Tabata workout, you work out at peak intensity for 20 seconds, putting all of your available energy into the task. Then you get 10 seconds of rest. This process repeats eight times–comprising a four-minute cycle.

You don’t have to do your entire workout at one time.

If you only have ten minutes, use it! Maybe you’ll find another ten minutes later that day to add to that first ten minutes. It could be something as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or doing power walking during your lunch hour to your favorite restaurant. You’ll be more focused on the workout if you know you only have ten minutes. The more time you have to workout, the more time you tend to waste unless you have a well-planned workout.

One research study checked the benefits of just 10 minutes of exercise can provide huge benefits.

One study found that exercising for ten minutes and making one minute a high-intensity workout can provide the same benefits as jogging for 45 minutes. It can improve your strength, flexibility and endurance. It protects the joints, improves your mood, helps lower blood pressure, aids in weight management, improves sleep and helps reduce stress.

• Is high blood pressure a problem? One study found that training for 10-minute intervals done consistently could lower blood pressure as well as a 30-minute workout.
• Knowing you can finish a workout in just ten minutes can give you the incentive to work out more. Often the problem is getting started and procrastinating because it takes so long. If you know it’s short, you’re more apt to do it and may even extend the time.
• Some short workouts are designed to supplement a more traditional program of exercise. The nitric oxide dump by Dr. Zachary Bush is one example. It only takes four minutes and can be done anywhere.
• If you work out for just ten minutes, make sure you include at least one minute of high-intensity exercise. Do 3-three minute sets and make the last set one minute, but do it at maximum intensity.

For more information, contact us today at UpFit Training Academy