30-MINUTE EXERCISE ROUTINESThink you need hours of painful exercise everyday to lose any weight? Think again.
Recent research shows that fitness benefits can be gained with no pain. Even inexperienced exercisers see results exercising at a comfortable intensity. When it starts to hurt, the optimal heart rate has already been reached.1
And you can benefit in less time. Frequent short exercise sessions can reduce the risk of heart disease.2
That may explain the success of 30-minute routines. With equipment designed for express service, busy people can complete an effective exercise routine during lunch hour.
How it helps
Thirty-minute routines can tone muscle, increase energy, burn fat and raise your metabolism so your body burns fat more efficiently.
Express routines do fall short of optimal recommendations and are not suited for building muscle mass. But a quick routine that you’ll consistently do has more benefits than a complete routine you’ll skip due to time constraints.
Patience is key. Weight that wasn’t gained overnight won’t be lost overnight. If you’re weight’s been slowly changing anyway, you might as well have it change in the right direction.
How it works
To assure the time limit, clubs arrange exercise machines into a sequential circuit. Each person moves through the circuit doing just one set per machine with little or no rest to eliminate downtime, keep heart rates up and keep the line moving.
Some facilities even schedule group classes, then provide a trainer to monitor the pace and motivate the group.
Many circuits use hydraulic resistance machines, which match each exerciser’s effort rather than requiring a specific weight selection. This adaptability minimizes joint stress and eliminates muscle soreness, making hydraulic machines suitable for most fitness levels.
Clubs often include cardio equipment (such as treadmills or stationery bikes) to add the aerobic benefits of interval training (i.e. alternating high- and low-intensity exercise).
Express exercise routines are offered at smaller, no-frills clubs, at mirror-free women-only facilities and at many larger clubs as an alternative to their traditional equipment.
Sources: GlobalFit.com
1 Preventive Medicine, February 2004
2 Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association, Aug. 2000
