Fat loss lie – “It takes just minutes a day”
You hear them all the time… “2-Minute Abs”, “Just a few minutes in the morning!” and “Change your body in 30 minutes a week!” The latest infomercials say you can get in tip-top shape in just “minutes a day” by following their “secret” training program. The minimalist “less is more” approach is highly appealing because it represents the ultimate lazy man’s approach. And most of all, it SELLS!
What do I think about that? Well, you definitely don’t have to “live in the gym” or train for hours every day to get results. And you should always, look for ways get the most benefit from every minute you spend in the gym. That’s called “time efficiency,” and that’s a good thing. But be very cautious about claims of getting more results in less time. You CAN get more results in less time with higher intensity workouts, but “higher intensity” means “working harder.” If it sounds too good to be true…
Briefer and less frequent workouts are good to the extent to which they prevent you from overtraining and they optimize hormonal response to training. Minimalism as a marketing appeal is a completely different story. Make sure you recognize the difference between the two.
You can get health benefits from very small amounts of exercise. Even walking to work or class, or raking leaves in your yard provides health benefits. And you get even greater benefits from larger amounts of exercise. But, training for basic health and training for maximum fat loss and muscle growth are not the same thing. To get maximum changes in body composition, you need a much higher frequency, duration and intensity.
You can get a training effect (muscle growth and strength increase) in as few as two or three thirty-minute workouts per week, especially if you use highly time efficient training methods such as high intensity interval training for cardio and supersets, circuits and short rest intervals for strength training. However, you can’t expect to become super lean and highly muscular without putting in the time and effort.
Basically, you reap what you sow… The rewards you take out will always come in direct proportion to the work you put in. The best lean bodies with great muscle tone are built with high levels of physical activity. There’s simply no quick fix.
For great results, make sure you’re spending more days per week exercising than not exercising. Also, try to exercise at least an hour on each of those days. That’s only 1/24th of your whole day! You still have 23 more hours to work, eat and sleep and watch TV. Your body is begging for exercise – it’s an amazing machine that’s designed to be used often and vigorously. In fact, your body is the only machine that wears out faster when you don’t use it! So get working and start seeing greater results!