The magic of the one-minute workout

THINK you don’t have time to exercise? Think again. Here celebrity trainer Adam MacDougall introduces the magic of the one-minute workout.

ARE you one of the many people who told themselves that 2017 was going to be the year that you got healthy and lost those extra kilos that had suddenly became your constant companion in recent times?

If you’re like most people, here we are nearly two months into the New Year and the scales have not shifted, nor have your bad habits.

Despite this, somehow your conscience feels nearly as comfortable as your waistline does in elastic pants thanks to the seemingly legitimate excuse of I don’t have time to exercise.

Let’s be frank. In today’s busy world, how many of us truly have the time to do the recommended 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise? I know my two kids always ensure I don’t.

If only we could fit in just a few minutes a day. Well, believe it or not, researchers from McMasters University in Canada have found you can and in just one minute.

Dr Martin Gibala and his team conducted one of the most rigorous studies ever on short intensity workouts.

The study subjects were broken up into groups. The first group followed the recommended health guideline workout of 50 minutes of moderate intensity exercise three times a week, by riding a stationary bike. The other group was also asked to ride a stationary bike, but had to peddle as hard as they possibly could for just 20 seconds.

They were then given two minutes of rest, before having to repeat this 20-second sprint effort a further two times, so a total of three repetitions, or just one minute of intense exercise.

At the end of the 12 week study, the results were nothing short of amazing. Both groups improved their endurance by 20 per cent and enjoyed huge improvements in muscle and blood sugar control.

It sounds too good to be true, but the proof is in the pudding. These research findings from Dr Gibala and his team are just some of the many that have recently been done around how little exercise can we get away with and still get healthy and fit.

Celebrity trainer Adam MacDougall is a fan of the one-minute workout.

It seems the secret in burning the most fat and getting fit is in not just how much energy we use during bouts of exercise, but the effects the bout of exercise has on our bodies once we have finished.

So while you may burn more calories during the 50 minute session than just working out for one minute, it is how much energy and the physiological changes you body undergoes during the next 48-72 hours that allows the one minute workouts to have a much greater effect on our health and fitness, thanks to the level of exercise intensity.

However, the problem for most of us is we have been programmed to believe the only way to lose weight and get fit is to slog it out for hours in the gym. So when we are told a whole different thing we instantly think “It’s too good to be true, so it must be false!”

But it is obvious that what we are doing isn’t working. There are more gyms and fad diets than ever, and we are still getting fatter, and sicker by the minute.

So the solution could lie in one-minute workouts and other fast exercise styles such as Tabata training, high intensity interval training, and snack exercising, which have been used by elite athletes for many, many years. These methods are now just becoming the go-to methods for the smart fitness enthusiasts and the everyday Aussies that are time poor like you and me.

Even more exciting, is that these methods do not require any expensive gym membership or fancy equipment. All you need is a clock and two arms and legs.

A workout you do even in the ad breaks of your favourite TV show three times a week could be sprint on the spot for just 20 seconds, then watch your TV show again and repeat this three times. Really, this is how simple it can be.

But remember, the key is intensity and feel free to use your imagination with exercise selection. The options are endless, from squats to burpees. You just need to go as fast as you can.

Before you think — “Yeah right that’s a load of BS” — I encourage you to give it a go because after 1 minute you will be sweating your backside off.

Or if you think “I can’t go fast because I am to old”, as long as you are going as fast as your body allows, you will still enjoy the same benefits as a spring chicken.

So time to finally get fit and health in 2017.

Adam MacDougall is the creator of The Man Challenge.