"Fitness" is an elusive term covering a vast array of
attributes: flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, muscular
endurance, strength, power, balance, coordination, body-fat
percentage and more. While its generally accepted that multiple
30-60 minute sessions per week are optimal for producing
results, the truth is that it's possible to do a great amount in
far less time.
EVERYONE has five minutes a day...the only question is, can
anything really useful be done in just 300 seconds?
The answer is a resounding "yes", but we need choose our
exercises carefully. If there is such a limited amount of time,
the best choice is to pick the most important muscle group.
Chest? Back? Shoulders? Legs? All wrong. The abdominals are the
most important muscles in the body. In no particular order, they:
1) Protect the low back.
2) Are vital to sports performance, transferring power from the
lower to upper body.
3) Aid digestion, and massage the internal organs.
4) Are important for proper, healthy sexual function.
5) Are "the window of health"--we judge fitness and health more
rapidly with a glimpse at the waistline than any other single
indication.
6) Are vital for posture, which increases physical energy and
mood.
7) Are the linchpin of your entire fitness program. You've never
seen someone with toned abdominal muscles and flabby arms and
legs, have you? The reverse is not true.
8) Are the most important muscle group for physical
attractiveness in men or women. No matter the wonderful
definition of arms or legs, if your gut is sagging, you have a
problem!
There are other reasons, but one of the best is the fact that of
all body parts, the abs tend to be the least favorite body part
to work. They're hard! That reason alone should be enough to
motivate you: anything other people don't like working is a
golden opportunity for you!
But how can you do anything useful in just five minutes? One
daily approach is to perform five minutes of the toughest ab
exercises you can find, and a fantastic tool for this is a
"Roller Wheel" available for five dollars at any sporting goods
store. Not the fancy ones, just the simple get-on-your-knees
variety. Try this: perform one rep, and take a breath. Then do
two reps, and take two breaths. Then three, and take three
breaths...and so on until you can't go any higher. Then, drop
back to one rep, and start climbing again. When that gets easy,
take one breath for every two reps.
An even better method is to break up your exercise into multiple
daily sessions. The roller wheel is useful here as well, but you
might want to investigate some of the powerful "Vacuum"
exercises from yoga, or the dynamic-tension style "stomach
flattening" exercises. In these, you exhale all air, and flex
the abdominal muscles for several seconds. Believe me, if you do
these properly, even without aerobic exercise your waistline
will decrease!
While there is no serious disagreement that longer sessions
produce better, and more balanced results, the busiest man or
woman on earth can find five minutes a day...and sometimes, that
toehold is what it takes to get you started on a new, healthier
lifestyle.
About the author:
Steven Barnes CST is a NY Times bestselling author, dual black
belt, yogi and Circular Strength Training instructor. He created
the Five Minute Miracle exercise program. Learn more at
www.lifewrite.com
