It’s been a while since I thumbed through a fitness publication by a newsagent magazine rack. Not that it really matters in fact, because the headlines don’t seem to have changed all that much over the years.
It seems there really is no sense in changing a formula that so clearly works, and fitness magazine headlines have remained virtually unchanged since the humble beginnings of the health and fitness industry itself.
Whether it’s a five-minute blitz or a 10-day countdown, magazines like to sell fitness neatly packaged into seemingly impossibly short time-frames. A captivating headline can actually serve as a catchy call-to-action, and provide a useful sense of urgency to any prospective fitness endeavour targeted at ‘blasting’ stubborn body fat, ‘chiselling’ rock-hard abdominals, or building ‘sleeve-stretching’ biceps. Most of us could use a little motivational boost every now and again, and whatever successfully provides it is fair game in my book.
Caution should be exercised though, to stop the content sprawled across newsfeeds or glossy pages from crossing that fine line into the dubious realm of misinformation. I urge this caution because of the amount of questions I tend to hear from would-be fitness enthusiasts along the lines of, “How long does it take to get washboard abs? How quickly until I see results? Is it true I can lose weight in just five minutes a day?”
Today we can lay some of the confusion surrounding such questions to rest, and make sense of the numbers and time-frames representing fitness results that are fact and not fiction. The most confusion of all seems to centre around how short a workout can actually be while remaining productive. We see claims that workouts as short as just a few minutes can still be effective, so could this possibly be true?
An exercise programme is like a bank account. While some accounts have better interest rates than others, you will generally enjoy returns proportionate to the amount you pay in
The short answer is, yes. Much research has been done into the efficacy of abbreviated workouts, most notably in the investigation of high intensity interval training that comprises very intense bursts of activity interspersed with periods of rest and recovery. There is an operative word here, however, that should indeed be clearly noted: intensity. Intensity and duration have an inversely proportional relationship. The less time spent engaged in an activity, then the greater the intensity of effort has to be. Very short, very intense workouts can indeed be very effective, however they simply will not work if such intensity is lacking.
As a result, such methods are not entirely suitable for beginners, as it takes time to build up the fitness and proficiency required to perform them effectively. Building a base of fitness therefore is a factor that should most definitely be considered when choosing this style, adding on weeks or even months to the overall process. This brings us to the next salient question: how long before a given programme yields observable results?
It does depend on your starting point and where you want to get to, but generally speaking there is good news here too. Results happen in real time, however small. While the cumulative effects become more evident over time, if your programme is sound, rest assured it will start working with immediate effect. Effective programmes are always true to the fundamental principles of training and programming, like the principle of progression which states that overload needs to be continuously increased while the body adapts in small incremental steps. Effective programmes can assume a wide range of shapes and forms, so claims of fast-acting plans need not necessarily be unrealistic or over the top.
Just like abbreviated workouts, overall programmes only work subject to sufficient investment of time and effort, bringing us back to the idea of duration and intensity. An exercise programme is very much like a bank account. While some accounts have better interest rates than others, you will generally enjoy returns proportionate to the amount you pay in. In short, the more time and effort you invest into your programme, the more you get and the faster you get it.
So while short time-frames aren’t complete fiction, their most interesting messages are often those that can in fact be read between the lines. It’s easy to get the impression that shorter programmes are somehow easier. This, however, is most certainly not the case.
In addition to investment, commitment is an important factor worthy of consideration before you start. Switching programmes without seeing them through, however advanced they may be, will eventually take more time over the long term than following a more basic programme diligently and consistently. So if you feel you’re being taken in by a snazzy headline, here are a few practical tips to help you.
If a programme looks so easy that it seems too good to be true, it probably is. No meaningful and lasting results have ever been obtained in return for little to no effort. If a workout is brief then it’s going to have to contain bouts of very intense effort or involve exercises that recruit multiple large muscle groups simultaneously. Failing these criteria, it is unlikely to work. And finally, if a programme claims to shed large amounts of fat, remember that this is only possible by creating an overall energy deficit, which is difficult to do without some sort of accompanying healthy eat plan.
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