If there’s one thing I learnt a long time ago about the Fitness Industry, is that there is very little room for innovation. Which is not a bad thing, it just is what it is. So when someone comes up with a 7 minute workout, it’s probably already been around the houses…
I got tagged on Instagram recently on the workout post featured above and immediately, I knew I recognised it. I did a quick search on the blog and I found this post, originally written back in 2013, so an update was due!
High Intensity Interval Training
I think many of us are now familiar with the acronym HIT or HIIT by now. This is because the science tells us that the benefits of High Intensity Training or High Intensity Interval Training can be on par with endurance training but can be achieved in a shorter time. And who isn’t short of time these days?!
“In 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall, it fulfils the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort — all of it based on science,”
G Reynolds, NY TIMES
Interval training is all about mixing some very intense activity with short periods of recovery. One method or protocol for HIIT you may know is Tabata training.
Measuring Intensity
And what is classified as ‘very intense’? Using a scale of 1-10 (aka RPE scale) on which you define discomfort / how hard you are working, ‘very intense’ would be around 8 or 9.
RPE, or rate of perceived exertion, is a way to measure the intensity of your workouts, no matter what type of workout you are doing.
How To Do The 7 Minute Workout
The full workout is 7 minutes in total made up of 12 body weight exercises and very little equipment. Specifically, a chair and a wall.
1. Jumping jacks
2. Wall sit
3. Push-ups
4. Abdominal crunches
5. Step-up onto a chair
6. Squats
7. Triceps dip on a chair
8. Plank
9. High knees, running in place
10. Alternating lunges
11. Push-ups with rotation
12. Side plank, each side
Each exercise is to be performed for 30 seconds hitting that 8 or 9 for effort. To see real benefits though, you need to repeat the circuit 2 or 3 times.
It’s recommended that you take 15 seconds or less (10 seconds suggested in the NY Times workout featured) between each exercise as recovery in order to maintain the appropriate intensity of the overall circuit.
Perform the exercises in the order given as they are ordered that way for a reason based on intensity and the effect it’ll have on your heart rate (decrease vs increase).
More About The Movements / Exercises
It’s also important to remember to keep good form and use correct technique when exercising. You can use these posts for guidance on how to perform many of the exercises in this 7 minute workout:
If you don’t have access to a wall, you can do a squat hold instead. And for the step up with chair, if you have no chair, substitute that with a reverse lunge and knee drive.
I’ve always been a fan of circuit training, functional training and HIIT and especially love teaching these formats. I used this session plan in a 30 minute online MetCon class recently to test it out and it was… sweaty!
If you’re new to exercise and want some in-person guidance, book yourself into one of my online classes. You can also check out this 30min HIIT workout, with video, available free of charge on the blog.
Give this quick workout a go, and see what you think. If you do just the 7 minutes, you could add it onto another workout at the start, in the middle or use it as a finisher.
Elle
This post was written using information from an article in the ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal referenced below:
Hey Elle, do you think investing in some resistance bands for home is a good choice to make? Since the gyms are closed I haven’t really been able to workout just with my body and I don’t room for weights in my flat. So was wondering what you thought. Really enjoy reading some of your blogs! 🙂
Hey Ali, 100% go for the resistance bands – they’re a cheaper and easy way to add some variety to your workouts that will use very little space! If you run or cycle too, they’ll be good for getting you stronger when you hit the road. I’d get some of the longer ones with handles / grips so you can do upper body exercises and a set of shorter looped pads which are great for lower body work.
This looks like a decent workout for that short break in between work. Especially now since everyone is pretty much at home. Im gonna give this a try 🙂
HIIT really helped me when I was training for my 1st half marathon last year. I also used HIIT workouts when I was training for tough mudder. HIIT for the win!
I'm with you there! It also makes for a more interesting session than going the same pace / speed the entire time! 🙂