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Photo By Brian Tietz
Photo By Brian Tietz

Dave Scott is an endurance sports practitioner and ambassador who first excelled at the combined discipline of swimming, cycling and long-distance running more than 40 years ago. The former collegiate swimmer and water polo player won many triathlons, including the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship six times.

Scott, now 69, thrived on all-day training seasons. And he still coaches and espouses the benefits of endurance workouts. But he’s also a realist. The Colorado resident was also an exercise pioneer in making good use of time. He often said, “If you only have 30 minutes, do something for 30 minutes and feel good about it.”

Often called mini-workouts, short durations of exercise—as brief as a minute and often practiced in 7-minute or 15-minute sessions—are beneficial.

“I’ve always been a big believer in ‘Every little bit counts,’” says Lisa Reed, owner of Lisa Reed Fitness in Naples. “If you have a lunch break when you can go walk for 30 minutes, great. Even if you can do 10 push-ups at your desk, it keeps you in a healthy lifestyle.”

A fitness, performance and strength and nutrition expert for more than 25 years, Reed was the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Florida and at the United States Naval Academy. She was also the personal trainer of Monica Seles, the retired two-time U.S. Open tennis champion.

Reed, who relocated to Naples in 2019, combines form, function and foundation of movement to strengthen the body. She stresses “training smarter, not harder.”

Smart training is optimal for all workouts, but it’s tantamount to the success of mini-workouts.

“You can do any exercise at any age and you can start to exercise at any age,” says Reed, who has a Master of Science in exercise physiology. “I am a big believer—and my whole business is making sure you warm up correctly. It’s integral to anyone starting an exercise program.”

She continues, “Don’t just jump on a treadmill. It may improve your heart rate, but it’s not going to do anything to activate your muscles. What’s important is agility, mobility, flexibility and muscle movement. You do the right form, so you feel the muscle when you do a squat.”

Reed’s enthusiasm for fitness benefits in restricted but efficient time capsules was recently further quantified in a study by researchers at the University of Sydney. The data details that three to four one-minute bursts of intense activity per day can improve overall health and reduce the risk of premature death by up to 40%.

According to medical experts, incorporating daily brief bursts of exercise may be inconsequential, but the exertion provided oxygen and nutrients to parts of the body not otherwise serviced. As such, toxins, debris and stagnant blood are eliminated and the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer is reduced.

Mini-workouts gained considerable attention a decade ago in the Health and Fitness Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. It recommended a 7-minute workout combining strength, endurance and aerobic training to support weight loss and improve metabolic health. The workout is a quick and convenient full-body workout that targets all major muscle groups while also raising a practitioner’s heart rate.

The best practice, according to the organization based in Indianapolis, is a high-intensity workout that alternates between 30 seconds of high-intensity exercise and 10 seconds of rest. It includes 12 key exercises that target major muscle groups using only body weight, a chair and a wall.

From the initial work, numerous varieties of the 7-minute workout have been developed including availability on several apps. If properly practiced, among other benefits, it promotes strength development in all major muscle groups and can easily be modified to increase or decrease the intensity.

Other fitness advocacy groups throughout the country also stress the benefits of mini-workouts. Shorter time frames of exercise are conducive to practitioners maintaining exercise commitments.

Exercise also produces endorphins, the chemical signals in the brain that block the perception of pain and increase feelings of well-being. Several daily boosts of endorphins can balance an exerciser’s mood throughout the day.

Common brief exercise routines such as running, jumping jacks, jumping squats, jumping rope, pushups and bodyweight squats are among popular mini-workout exercises. Various studies, in a report from the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, noted there’s no difference between continuous and accumulated patterns of exercise in terms of effects on fitness, blood pressure, lipids, insulin and glucose.

Further, the organization emphasizes that adults are likely to accrue similar health benefits from exercising in a single time frame of exercise or accumulating activity from shorter bouts throughout the day. So make the most of the time you have, even if it’s only a few minutes.

Copyright 2024 Gulfshore Life Media, LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior written consent.

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