(@lindseyvonn) What if you could get all the benefits of a sweaty bike ride and a trip to the weight room in 7 minutes?
There's an app for that — and it's the best one we saw this past year.
Originally envisioned by a personal trainer and an exercise physiologist, the 7-minute workout app builds on new research suggesting that short spurts of intense exercise can provide long lasting benefits comparable to longer, more grueling regimens.
Anyone can use the app — all it takes is a smartphone, a spare wall, and a chair.
The Workout
The 7-minute session (which was so successful it inspired the New York Times to release their own version of the app a few months after the original came out) consists of 12 relatively standard exercises like jumping jacks, sit-ups, and push-ups. Ten of them require nothing but your own body (you’ll need a chair that can support your weight for the other two).
(Screenshot) Here's the Times app counting down: 18 more seconds of jumping jacks.
Here's the full set of exercises, which I tried out myself:
1. Jumping Jacks
2. Wall sits
3. Push-ups
4. Crunches
5. Step-up (on chair)
6. Squats
7. Triceps dips (on chair)
8. Planks
9. High knees/running in place
10. Lunges
11. Push-ups and rotations
12. Side planks
Between each exercise, you rest for 10 seconds.
Worth The Hype?
The workout is quick, unpleasant (in the way only a good workout can be), and came with some pretty quick results — I was slightly sore in two areas of my body that my 5-day-a-week yoga regimen hasn’t seemed to have reached. I also noticed a little bit of extra mental clarity and decreased anxiety (which is why I do yoga) immediately after the workout.
Another plus to the 7-minute-regimen: I live in a New York apartment with very little extra space, but I was nevertheless able to do the whole workout in a corner of my living room using just my phone, a yoga mat, and a fold-up chair.
A Few Caveats
(Screenshot) The Times app illustrates how to do a wall sit.
As expected, the physical benefits didn't seem to last quite as long as my 1.5-hour yoga sessions. While my heart raced and my mind cleared for a few minutes immediately after the workout, those side effects wore off within a few hours. I only did it twice, though, so perhaps if I committed to a daily 7-minute workout the benefits would persist.
Also, since this specific workout is so new, there are no long-term studies comparing its results to those of longer cardio and weight-training workouts. In general, though, the evidence researchers do have supports the benefits of high-intensity intervals, both in terms of building muscle mass and improving heart health.