A typical day for most Americans might sound something like this: You wake up, head to work, pick the kids up or run a few errands and finally make it home with enough time to whip up dinner before trotting off to bed.
In a jam-packed day where you're rushing to catch your breath, how is fitting in a workout even possible?
But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's necessary. Adults should get 150 minutes of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of intense exercise) each week and strength train twice a week. If that seems impossible, you're not alone.
But what if there's a way to reap the same benefits without the massive time commitment? We've all heard about the lure of workouts that take 10 minutes or less. But do they really work? Can you truly see results in just a fraction of the time?
The simple answer is yes.
Are 7-Minute Workouts Effective?
The 7-minute workout, originally published in the American College of Sport Medicine's Health and Fitness Journal, is a great workout for anyone especially time-strapped, and it's been found to have overwhelming health benefits, including weight loss and increased endurance.
The 30-seconds on, 10-seconds off cycle of these high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts is epecially beneficial when it comes to fat loss, thanks to excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC. EPOC is just a fancy way of saying that HIIT workouts allow your body to continually burn calories even long after you've finished your workout--in other words, maximum results with minimal investment.
Other studies found similar benefits. A Public Library of Science research study, which looked at sprint-interval training, found that twelve weeks of brief intense interval exercises improved cardiometabolic health to the same extent as traditional endurance training, despite the lesser time commitment.