Fitness Tips from Fitness 2J2: Getting a workout in just 10 minutes
- Joel Pedersen | November 18, 2014
This month we are headed up to Fond Du Lac for a week of programming with youth and community. Functional Fitness is on the move and we are glad to be able to provide programming for community. When I explain a 10 to 20 minute workout to new people in a class, they often ask, how is that going to do anything? Is that even possible? You don’t need to change the exercises you do in a typical workout, just the speed you do them.
Moving from slower to a top speed engages muscles called fast and super fast twitch muscles, that sends a “fight or flight” message to the brain. This engages a gland called the pituitary that releases natural growth hormones that speeds both fat burning and muscle building. When we program in a series of higher intensity exercises such as body weight burpees, mountain climbers, or Muskwa crawls. Moving your body at a top speed for 20-30 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, which we program in as a Tabata type workout. It can produce up to 10 times the calorie burn benefit.
Body weight training has some great advantages, first of which you can do it anywhere, and it's safe. The functional movements ensure we work on the accuracy of the movement. An example would be the shoulder press, the movement with free weight does help you progress quicker; however, it could be at a cost from sloppy form and that is injury. With body weight training we can achieve similar effect and even added to free weight training. By changing some angles of our bodies to increase the difficulty of an exercise, you can instantly feel a greater challenge. So you may feel a bit silly getting down and doing Muskwa crawl or crab walk, but you will have fun doing them, and still get as much of a workout as doing shoulder press.
Here is a shoulder program you could try out either as a 10 minute "as many rounds as you can do," or a 20-30 second work, 10 second rest, 8 rounds each:
- Elevated feet Pike push-up progression.From a plank or pushup position with your feet on a chair or bench. Bend at the hips, raise your butt in the air, so your stomach is vertical, lower your body to the ground, and press back up.
- Inverted row wide grip progression. Set a bar/pipe or a hockey stick, securely at hip height. Hang below it flat back, wide grip, squeeze your shoulder blades together pull your body up to the bar, and lower.
- Leg Raise Progression. Lay flat on your back, lift one leg straight up so it is vertical and keep the other one on the ground, lower and switch legs. Place your hands to your side for support.
A shout out to SIIT, and UofS Aboriginal Initiatives & Community engagement, for inviting us in to speak on healthy lifestyles and functional fitness. Keep up the good work team.
Check out more Fitness Tips from 2J2 in our Health Section.