Could Ten-Minute ‘Micro Workouts’ Be The Key To Building The Best Physique of Your Life?

I think the overall culmination of time over a week is more important than having block sessions of 30/40 minute workouts, the main key being, getting the heartrate up for a decent period of time (assuming goal is general CV fitness) or progressive overload (assuming goal is muscle growth).
 
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Everyone looking for a quick fix these days. There's a place opened up near me does those electrode workout things where they put the little pads on you and fir a current through them. This place is in a retail tenancy on a main high st with big clear windows, these people using it are in full view and still have no shame. :D
 
SixTwoSix said:
I think the overall culmination of time over a week is more important than having block sessions of 30/40 minute workouts, the main key being, getting the heartrate up for a decent period of time (assuming goal is general CV fitness) or progressive overload (assuming goal is muscle growth).
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An article I came across recently was discussing a problem with the high intensity workouts.

The general topic was that we're recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week, and it was some stupidly high percentage of adults that barely get anywhere near that. - a myriad of reasons but time being probably the biggest.

So if time was an issue, you could shrink the recommended 150 minutes quite significantly with high intensity workouts. The problem is most people can't sustain the duration of a high intensity workout, it requires quite a level of fitness and obviously doing it frequently. Neither of which is really achievable by someone who can't spend anywhere near 150 minutes a week doing some form of exercise.
 
Where did the 150 minutes come from though? Is it the same as the 10,000 steps a day thing that was a marketing campaign for a step counter...
I do the 10k steps thing every day, but for all I know I'm getting trolled...
 
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Best thing I've done since working from home is getting an exercise bike, usually do 3 x 10 minute blasts on it, 1 before work, 1 at lunch and 1 right after finishing. Feel much better both mentally and physically.
 
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The Workouts​


The three ten minute protocols below target your chest, shoulders, legs and back — building express full-body muscle. Grab your dumbbells and start a running clock. For each micro workout, perform the prescribed reps of movement one at the beginning of each minute, for five minutes, before immediately beginning five minutes of movement two.


Spread the three workouts throughout your day, ideally aiming to complete them around meal times.


When you can easily complete each five minute blast without breaking a sweat, it’s time to upgrade those dumbbells.
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Micro Workout One ​



1. Push Press x 10-15 reps every minute for five minutes

Clean your dumbbells onto your shoulders, palms facing in. Take a breath and brace your core. (A) Dip at the knees and use your legs to help (B) press your dumbbells overhead.





2. Push-up x 10- 20 reps every minute for five minutes

Drop into a strong plank position, with your core tight and hands on your dumbbells (A), bend your elbows to bring your chest to the floor (B). Keep your elbows close to your body as you push back up explosively
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Micro Workout Two​



1. Front Squat x 10-15 reps every minute for five minutes​


Clean your dumbbells up and secure them on your shoulders (A). From here, drop into a front squat, until your thighs pass parallel to the ground (B), before driving back up. By this point fatigue will be setting in, but focus on your breathing and keep your form tight.

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2. Dumbbell deadlift x 10-15 reps every minute for five minutes​


With your dumbbells to the floor just outside of your feet, hinge down and grip them with a flat back and neutral spine (A). Engage your lats and stand upright, pushing the ground away with your feet, keeping your chest up and black flat throughout (B). Lower them back to the ground in a hinging motion and repeat.
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Micro Workout Three​



1. Bent Over Row x 10-15 reps every minute for five minutes​


Hold your dumbbells at your sides and hinge at the hips until your chest is parallel to the floor, dumbbells hanging below your knees (A). Keeping your elbows close to your body, row both dumbbells towards your hips (B), squeeze your shoulder blades down and together and lower under control to the start before repeating. Avoid using momentum from your torso and focus on squeezing your back, hard.


2. Hang power cleans x 10-15 reps every minute for five minutes​


Stand tall with your dumbbells, holding them at your sides. Hinge at the hips to lower them to your knees (A). Stand back up with a slight jump, using the momentum to pull the dumbbells up on to your shoulders (B). Stand up straight, then lower under control to your sides and repeat. Keep this fast and explosive; if your heart rate doesn’t hit the roof, you’re doing them wrong.
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Uther said:
Where did the 150 minutes come from though? Is it the same as the 10,000 steps a day thing that was a marketing campaign for a step counter...
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150 minutes is the UK guideline which is the lower limit of the WHO's recommended amount of 150-300 minutes of moderate exercise (or 75-150 of vigorous exercise). I haven't delved into the sources on that, but it seems to be pretty evidence based.
 
=XDC=FluphyBunny said:
Good rule of thumb. If it’s in Men’s Health it is bull s***

As for 10 minute workouts, it takes me 15 minutes to warm up.
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There's not been many advances for decades in health and fitness but this is a weekly/monthly magazine, need something to write about so just pump out any old nonsense.
Any exercise is better than no exercise but your not going to find anyone who takes fitness serious doing this (unless it's all the can fit into their schedule )
 
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