Review: 7 Minute Research Based Whole Body Workout

I recently came across an interesting article on lifehacker. It was a quick whole body workout based on scientific research. If you would like to read the original journal article you can here. I can see several benefits from the workout although it is lacking if you are in better shape.

I think the strongest point of the workout is that it can be done in only 7 minutes. The article states that the routine should be done for twenty minutes but going through once to get acclimated would work if you haven't exercised for a while. Each exercise is done for thirty seconds with ten seconds of rest in between exercises (this actually comes to more than 7 minutes but I guess it sounded cooler like that?). This kind of high intensity interval training has been shown to be great for you. The exercises are setup to work different muscle groups in rapid succession. The most common excuse for not exercising I hear is that people don't have time and since this can take less than ten minutes I think most people could fit it into their schedule.

Another great aspect of this routine is that it only requires a chair. I think the next biggest obstacle that keeps people from exercising is the cost of equipment and gym memberships. I myself have avoided joining a gym recently do to the high cost of all the gyms in my area. Also if for some reason you don't have a chair only two of the exercises in the routine require one and you may be able to find other objects to substitute for the chair if needed. This routine could easily be done in a hotel room or while traveling. It is always good to have an idea of an easy body weight routine you can employ if you want to exercise and can't get to the gym.

This workout is obviously targeted towards a person who is sedentary. This isn't a negative if it fits your current level of fitness but I would also imagine that this routine could become unchallenging in a short amount of time. If it serves the purpose of getting someone motivated to exercise again than that is all that matters. It would work to do more rounds of the routine but that also has limited potential. I couldn't imagine someone doing this for more than three rounds before they would get bored and the workout wouldn't be short then either.

I think the largest shortcoming of this routine is the lack of back exercises. I can understand why they are left out. The two most common and effective bodyweight exercises are pull ups and rows and both of those would require more equipment than just a chair. It is possible to do bodyweight rows with a table or two chairs but it is difficult to grip the edge of a table and chairs often lack the weight and balance to be safe to do a row with. Also most people who are sedentary would lack the strength to do pull ups and rows with proper form. A pull up bar and a chair can be used to build up strength until you are able to do pull ups without assistance but once again that requires more equipment which doesn't work with the concept of this routine.

Overall the 7 minutes research based workout is a great routine for a sedentary person to start getting back into shape. Quick simple routines that don't need much equipment and use bodyweight are an excellent starting point for most people who don't exercise. The lack of back exercises is the main flaw I find with this routine. A pull up bar is a small investment and pull ups and rows could easily be added in the routine. Exercise is very important and if you are short on time or have been putting in too many reps on the couch this could help you get back up on your feet and full of energy.

One last question though ... does anyone actually do crunchs anymore? (The abdominal crunch is exercise four in the routine if you haven't check it out yet).