A three-minute workout that really works
Think “exercise” means spending painful hours in the gym?
Think again!
Think "exercise" means spending painful hours in the gym?
Think again!
The latest research shows you can get major improvements in your fitness and slash your heart risk at the same time.
And you can do it in just THREE MINUTES!
You don't need a gym. You don't need "workout clothes." You don't even need a single piece of equipment.
All you need is a staircase, because the new study finds that one of the best "workouts" you can get is climbing up and down those stairs for very short periods of time.
The workouts in the study were so simple anyone could do them: Climb up and down the stairs for 60 seconds. Rest for about a minute. Then do it again. Rest another minute, then hit the stairs one more time.
That's it, you're done.
Really.
You don't have to do it every day. In the new study, the women who took part repeated the workouts just three times a week.
With a short warm-up and cool-down, each session lasted only 10 minutes -- but just three of those minutes were spent doing the actual "exercise."
You'd think there wouldn't be much benefit to that.
After all, how much of a workout can your body get in nine minutes per week?
Turns out, quite a bit -- because after six weeks, these women had major improvements in their overall cardiorespiratory fitness.
That's a key measure of cardiovascular health.
The better it gets, the better your heart health. And the better your heart health, the lower your risk of heart disease, heart attack and heart failure.
And you can enjoy that in just THREE MINUTES of climbing stairs!
There is a catch here. There's always a catch, right?
You can't just leisurely stroll up or down the steps like you might in the department store.
You need to put a little effort into it, like you're in a department store on sale day.
Don't go crazy and risk hurting yourself. The last thing I want is for you to fall on that staircase.
But push yourself a little. It might be tough, but you're only doing it for a minute at a time.
If that's all you do, you're already doing more exercise than the average American -- and, as the new study shows, you'll enjoy big benefits, too.
But why stop there?
To maximize your health, spend a little time active and on your feet every day -- because daily movement is the best way to protect your heart, slash your risk of stroke, prevent cancer and even cut your dementia risk.
And you can do it one step at a time.