How to get fit in 20 minutes
It’s not what you do that matters, it’s how you do it
Think about your day. Can you unearth a spare 20 minutes? They may be masquerading as Internet-surfing or lurking within the commercialsskipped sitcom you record and watch every evening.
This search comes with a caveat: when you find those wayward 1,200 seconds, you lose your no-time-to-exercise excuse. Because though most health recommendations are for a half-hour workout daily, a concentrated 20 minutes can suffice quite nicely.
“Do as much as you can in that 20 minutes,” says Jakob Vingren, assistant professor in the department of kinesiology, health promotion and recreation at the University of North Texas. “Get as much work done as possible in the allotted time.”
At Mcmaster University in Hamilton, Ont., researchers studied the effect that intervals — short bursts of intense exercise — had on various groups of people. They found that a 20-minute workout consisting of one minute of strenuous activity alternated with a minute of easy recovery, had significant health and fitness effects on unfit volunteers, cardiac patients and, in later research, diabetics.
“There’s a lot of benefit in 20 minutes if done the right way,” says Bobby Patten, co-founder and head coach of Dallas Aquatic Masters. “If you go for a leisurely walk for 20 minutes, that’s better than sitting. If you upped the intensity, it’s better than a stroll. If you walked up and down hills, that’s even better.”
Working hard in bursts of intensity helps improve VO2 max, which is a measure for cardiovascular endurance. How to spend those 20 minutes? “We can make a simple answer, but it’s not always simple,” says Vingren, who has a doctorate in exercise physiology. “It would be like going to the doctor and saying, ‘I’m sick. I need to take a pill.’ It depends on your goal, current level of training, risk factors. It should all be done on an individual basis.”
He recommends a “super-set workout” — moving from one strength-training exercise to the next without stopping, then repeating at least one more time. For example, do a set of squats (lower body, abs and core) followed by bench pressing (arms and chest) and row exercise (back).
One of the Ontario researchers suggested a 20-minute workout that alternates one minute of running or cycling hard with one minute of decreased intensity, done a couple of times a week, after clearing it with your doctor, of course. Here are two more ideas:
SWIMMING
The expert: Bobby Patten, head coach of Dallas Aquatic Masters
The advice: “Play for effort over distance: short distance fast, short easy.”
He suggests “pyramid sets” — 25 yards fast, then 25 yards easy. Increase distance: 50 fast, 50 easy; 100 fast, 100 easy, resting 10 to 20 seconds between each set.
“You’re increasing your metabolism more that way than by just going at 70 per cent for a longer time,” Patten says.
Every mile of swimming is equal to about four miles of running, he says. People run two or three miles and think it’s “a good enough workout. Swimmers get a mindset of ‘only 1,000 metres’ being not any good. But if you do it as intervals, that’s a good workout.”
CALISTHENICS
The expert: Kristin Moses, coowner of Body Bar fitness studio, Dallas.
The advice: Start with a threeto four-minute warm-up by doing 30 seconds of jumping jacks, 30 seconds of high knees, 30 of glute kicks, 30 of jumping jacks.
“That gets you moving, gets the oxygen moving,” she says.
From there, go into a series of squats and lunges: 15 squats at moderate tempo, 15 lunges with your right leg and 15 with your left.
“Come to the floor and do 20 to 25 full or modified pushups. You’re moving from your legs, big-muscle groups, to upper-body big muscles and chest, which builds your heart rate and puts you into fat-burning zones.”
Next, turn over and sit, hands on the floor behind you. Raise your hips off the floor for 20 to 25 triceps dips.
Repeat the sequence, and this time “pick up your pace, get your butt moving,” Moses says. “Do the leg sequence again. You’re building stamina.”
The third go-round, make it a sprint: “Do jumping jacks as fast as you can, high knees as fast. You’re starting to spike.”
Finish with ab work, she says. Come to the floor and do a plank for 30 seconds to a minute.
From there, turn onto your right side and do a side plank. Repeat with the left side.
“Voila!” she says. “You’re done, and you’re in amazing shape.”
FAST WORKOUT ADVICE
Mix it up: If you do 20 minutes of cardio one day, do strength training the next time.
Make the most of your time: “Some people do 100 bicep curls with the same little dumbbell,” Vingren says. “That’s not really resistance training. The benefits aren’t there. Plus, you’re wasting your time. It takes forever and is not efficient.”
Gear your workout to your lifestyle. “What else are you doing that could be counted toward a workout?” says Craig Leverette of Collin College. For people on their feet all day, he suggests doing a 20-minute workout focusing on flexibility or strength training. For someone doing a lot of lifting, use the time for cardio.