Seven Minutes.
To all like-minded people! By that I mean those who, whenever they think of exercise, think of excuses or pain…
I’m excited, I think I’ve found something new that can overcome your resistance!
For most of my life, I have done well with overcoming resistance to physical exercise. Years of gym memberships, exercise buddies, after work group classes, loving zumba, discovering yoga, obsessing over surya namaskars…
Really, when I look back, I have done well [pat on my back].
But. For the past two years, during a time when I needed it more than ever before, I’ve slacked off. Yes, I restarted a regular 15 minute yoga routine every morning but still, I’ve slacked off in general, and I can feel it.
Between work, travel, and commuting between two homes in two cities every week, time has been at a premium. Yes, I know – what a mundane, overused excuse that is! But it’s worked for me (or not worked, depending on how you look at it). 😦
Then, a couple of months ago, I read a NY Times article on the seven minute scientific workout. My eyes and brain focused and attached themselves to two things:
1. SEVEN MINUTES
2. SCIENTIFIC
(The second one was important, but it stuck out to a much lesser extent than the #1 benefit above)
I decided to myself that even I could commit to this. How can anyone come up with a plausible excuse for giving up seven minutes out of a 24 hour day? Even I couldn’t get that creative!
Still, it took me a couple of months to do anything about it.
Of course, there’s an app for it! Actually, there are a bunch of apps. Just go to your app store and search for “7 minute workout”.
I found my app through a facebook targeted ad. Imagine that! I tell you fb is big brother watching over you…how did they know??! On the other hand, if you are a shareholder of fb, hey, these targeted ads do work! Hold on to that fb stock, this can only get better and more profitable for them over time.
Anyway, the reviews on this particular app were so off the charts, I relented and plonked down a hefty fee of $1.99 for it. [It’s this one, btw. After my heavy investment, I actually found a free app that had even better reviews].
I’ve now been using it for only just over a week so I am probably not the best one to review it. All I can say is that it is an extreme, hard workout for seven minutes. And it makes me feel great once I’m done. Like I’ve really accomplished something.
The theory behind this international hit/fad/workout is as follows.
It all appears to have started with this research article in the American College of Sports Medicine. [You can click on the picture below to read this paper].
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Here is the condensed version, quoted from this paper:
Time and access to facility constraints can be a concern when it comes to getting people to exercise. High-intensity circuit training (HICT) seems to deliver numerous health benefits in less time than more traditional programs that are recommended. Furthermore, body weight can be used as resistance, eliminating the need for specialized facilities or equipment.
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Some of the specific benefits of HICT (again, quoted from the paper) are these:
- HICT can be a fast and efficient way to lose excess body weight and body fat. Research has found that these metabolic benefits can be present for up to 72 hours after a high-intensity exercise bout has been completed.
- HICT may be an extremely effective and efficient means by which to increase an individual’s V˙O2max, a well-established marker of cardiopulmonary health.
- HICT can be an efficient approach to decreasing insulin resistance as well — a major factor in developing type 2 diabetes
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And finally, also according to the paper with my highlights:
To address the limitations of traditional exercise protocols and provide an effective and efficient program for our clients, one of the exercise strategies we use is high-intensity circuit training (HICT) using body weight as resistance. Our approach combines aerobic and resistance training into a single exercise bout lasting approximately 7 minutes. Participants can repeat the 7-minute bout 2 to 3 times, depending on the amount of time they have. As body weight provides the only form of resistance, the program can be done anywhere.
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HICT is not a new concept, but it is growing in popularity because of its efficiency and practicality for a time-constrained society. The combination of aerobic and resistance training in a high-intensity, limited-rest design can deliver numerous health benefits in much less time than traditional programs. When body weight is used as resistance, it eliminates the limiting factors of access to equipment and facilities.
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To understand the benefits, methodologies, and supporting research with regard to HICT, I suggest that you read this paper in its entirety (it’s not that long or complicated).
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And finally, here are the actual twelve exercises (picture reproduced from the NY Times article on this topic). There are twelve in all, and for those seven minutes, it will be beyond tough. It is tortuous. But worth it, I hope and certainly from what I have read so far.
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Try it out, why don’t you? Seven minutes. How can you say no? If I can do it, anyone can.
Let me know how it goes!
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Got a Problem? No Problem.
It’s what I call my lazy post. Instead of thinking really hard about what to say or waiting for my brain to involuntarily become active and wise during a lazy Labor Day weekend, why not spend time writing about something seen or something read? Something worthwhile, that is.
This is dedicated to all those times when you have encountered a problem, any problem. A time where you have examined it, pondered it, wondered what you should do, felt frustrated and finally defeated by it.
My recommendation is very simple, it’s for you to read a fairly recently published book called:
The Obstacle is the Way : The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumphs.
It presents a different way of looking at life and all the problems that you may face. In other words, it’s another way to look at the cards that you are dealt and how you go about making them work for instead of against you .
A few of the precepts of this book and I quote (some of my favorite bits that I highlighted as I read it), starting with the most profound one –
Impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
…individuals, like great companies, find a way to transform weakness into strength. It’s a rather amazing and even touching feat. They took what should have held them back—what in fact might be holding you back right this very second—and used it to move forward.
As it turns out, this is one thing all great men and women of history have in common. Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles became fuel for the blaze that was their ambition. Nothing could stop them, they were (and continue to be) impossible to discourage or contain. Every impediment only served to make the inferno within them burn with greater ferocity.
Turn it around. Find some benefit. Use it as fuel. It’s simple. Simple but, of course, not easy.
This book shares with you their collective wisdom in order to help you accomplish the very specific and increasingly urgent goal we all share: overcoming obstacles. Mental obstacles. Physical obstacles. Emotional obstacles. Perceived obstacles.
We face them every day and our society is collectively paralyzed by this. If all this book does is make facing and dismantling such stumbling blocks a little easier, it will be enough. But my aim is higher. I want to show you the way to turn every obstacle into an advantage.
…this will be a book of ruthless pragmatism and stories from history that illustrate the arts of relentless persistence and indefatigable ingenuity. It teaches you how to get unstuck, unf**ked, and unleashed.
To steal good fortune from misfortune.
It’s not just: How can I think this is not so bad? No, it is how to will yourself to see that this must be good—an opportunity to gain a new foothold, move forward, or go in a better direction. Not “be positive” but learn to be ceaselessly creative and opportunistic.
All great victories, be they in politics, business, art, or seduction, involved resolving vexing problems with a potent cocktail of creativity, focus, and daring. When you have a goal, obstacles are actually teaching you how to get where you want to go—carving you a path.
Our generation needs an approach for overcoming obstacles and thriving amid chaos more than ever. One that will help turn our problems on their heads, using them as canvases on which to paint master works.
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Enough said. Hopefully, just enough to get you to pick up the book. Understand that these are merely a few nuggets and that too from just the early chapters. The rest is there, just waiting to be discovered by you…
I encourage you to read it. The Obstacle Is The Way – I can see the skeptic in you saying, how is this possible?
I’m telling you, it completely altered the way I think about and approach problems and challenges! I devoured what it had to say and I’ve been putting these thoughts/ideas/beliefs to work ever since. Effectively. Meanwhile, the book is still there, waiting on my kindle to be re-read – if ever I face that daunting challenge willing me into submission and defeat where I forget the simple (not easy) teachings that I lapped up the first time I read it.
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“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 