Are you a busy individual, who nevertheless is concerned about your health and well-being? Do you wish you had more time to do all of those great body workouts that will help you lose weight, tone up your muscles or just distress and release some energy?

This 7-minute workout could help you achieve this.  And what’s great is that it only takes 7 minutes!  You don’t need any special equipment and you can easily do it in the comfort of your own home (especially during those cold and rainy winter days). In just 7 minutes you will have worked on nearly every muscle of your body.

Background:

A study published in the ACSM’S Health & Fitness Journal showed that this workout can be highly effective as it combines aerobics and weight resistance in a high-intensity circuit training (HICT) programme, with brief rest between exercise sets to allow for recovery. Because it only uses body weight as resistance, it can be done anywhere (home, office, hotel room etc.).

The benefits of this workout are that not only it is great for time-constrained people, but it also provides an efficient way of loosing excess body weight by burning fat and eliciting metabolic benefits. Moreover, the programme exerts other potential health benefits such as improved VO2 max (associated with better cardiopulmonary health) and muscular fitness, as well as protection against type 2 diabetes by decreasing insulin resistance.
                                                          The Scientific 7-Minute Workout

Instructions:

Do each exercise set for 30 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest.

The circuit can be repeated 2 to 3 times. If you are feeling energetic you can do a 21 minute session, but I personally like to spread them throughout the day by doing one 7-minute session before breakfast, one before lunch and one in the late afternoon before dinner time.

Feel free to try this interactive on-line application to get yourself started. The workout is also available for download on iPhone and Ipad.

Precautions: Due to the nature of these high intensity exercises, individuals who are overweight/obese, have been previously injured, the elderly and those with additional health conditions should take caution. Moreover the wall sit, plank and side plank are not recommended for people with hypertension or heart disease.