7-Minute High Intensity Workouts You Can Do Anytime, Anywhere
7-Minute High Intensity Workouts You Can Do Anytime, Anywhere
By Alisha Cheney
These days, getting a workout in can be a challenge. Not only are we facing a global health situation, with gyms and fitness studios like Hit House being inaccessible, but we're also busy working to make ends meet. For busybodies, finding the time to work out is definitely a challenge — but fortunately, even the busiest of people can make time for a 7-minute workout.
As the name suggests, this program, designed by exercise physiologist Chris Jordan, lasts only 7 minutes, but can get your heart racing and help build muscle nonetheless. They are basically an offshoot of interval training (only shorter), and they work because you'll ratchet up the intensity, with just quick breaks in-between. The best part is that they don't require any gym equipment, and can be done pretty much anywhere and anytime.
While short, such workouts will nonetheless have you expending lots of energy — which is why it's important to be prepared. A Harvard Health article on boosting energy recommends eating energy-boosting food and drinks. Aside from eating food like banana or eggs, you can also consume caffeine, a well-known energizer. But if coffee packs too much of a punch, writer Sheena Dizon recommends taking healthy coffee alternatives, as they can boost your energy, just like regular coffee, enhance metabolism, and even remove toxins from your digestive tract. Other energy-boosting drinks you can try include smoothies, coconut water, and green tea, which you can take in conjunction with food energizers such as bananas, avocados, berries, and fatty fish. Then, when ready, give the following workouts a shot:
P.A.U.L Method
Developed by certified personal trainer Dani Singer, the P.A.U.L Method involves choosing 1 plyometric exercise (e.g., jumping jacks), 1 ab exercise (e.g., crunches), 1 upper body exercise (e.g., push-ups), and 1 lower body exercise (e.g., squats). Perform the 4 exercises in succession without rest, doing each one for 30 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds, then repeat the circuit. Rest for another 30 seconds and do the same circuit again. Aim for 2–3 sets.
7-Minute Tabata Workout
This one modifies the Tabata routine suggested by personal trainer Will Lanier: Run in place for 3 minutes as warm up. Next, do the following exercises one after the other: squats, burpees, and sit-ups. Perform as many exercise in 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds rest. Look to perform 2–3 sets. For sets 2 and 3, you can skip the 3-minute warm up and just do 2 circuits in succession.
The Gauntlet
Here's a circuit that's sure to fire up your whole body: Start by jogging in place for 30 seconds to get your heart rate up and prepare your body. Follow it up with 30 seconds of push-ups, knee tucks, squat to explosive jumps, burpees, and plank performed one after the other in rapid succession. Rest for a full minute, then repeat the circuit from the top.
Shadowboxing
Muay Thai expert Tyler Scott previously detailed how shadowboxing is integral to keeping you fit and sharpening your kickboxing skills. The best part, aside from the fact that you can do it anytime, anywhere, is that you're free to whip up your own combinations of punches, elbows, knees, and kicks. Tyler suggest 20 minutes of shadowboxing per day for optimal results, though you can shorten it to 7 minutes when you're pressed for time.
Conditioning Circuit
To enhance your conditioning even more, try a more challenging variation of this circuit common to MMA fighters: Instead of doing 5 exercises (push-ups, mountain climbers, plank, burpees, and crunches) for a minute each with rest afterwards, look to perform 6 or 7 exercises one after the other while adding a final, high-intensity workout before ending your set. For instance, you can add running in place at the start and squats at the end, or jumping ropes and lunges.
The above workouts figure to keep you sharp and in good shape — at least until it becomes safe to go to the gym. In the meantime, do make sure you keep grinding. You can even sign up for Hit House's new normal programs that take into account today's fluid health situation.