People will discount this a pointless and "not enough". do something like this everyday for a month and you'll see that this type of exercise is very effective.
if this is the same scientifically proven 7 minute work out that was making the rounds a few months ago it's results were based on basically going hard enough to make yourself puke for the whole 7 minutes.
If you're not doing it at sufficient intensity it is probably fairly pointless.
The problem with these one-size-fits-all "exercise for N minutes" memes is that every person has different goals for what they want to get out of exercise.
They allude to what study[1] they refer to on the iTunes store page. But yeah, the landing page itself it too simple for its own good, made to attract people wanting a quick fix or a silver bullet.
As a professional Athlete, I'll tell you right now, 7 minutes isn't enough.
This will increase happiness and a general sense of well being for about 3 and a half weeks 'til your body adjusts to this level of 'stress'
(because it's the same routine every time)
The design is awesome. I could see a interface like this being very useful for elementary yoga poses but this is a far call from an AMAZING work out.
7 minutes isn't enough, but I think its pretty amazing what you can do in 7 minutes. While there was a good 30 minute of skill-building and warmups first, doing exercises like Fran in Crossfit (Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of: 95-pound Thruster, Pull-ups) is kinda neat.
But you need time for warmup, skill building, etc before that of course.
What if you programmed in a different programming language every week or so? Roughly the same result. You'd know a little bit about a lot of languages, but never enough to be very productive, and you'd never build anything worth using.
To be more specific, you need progressive overload to gain strength over time, and you also need more time if you hope to get positive cardio benefits [such as improved heart health and endurance]. The time affects your cardio, the load affects your strength gains.
AHA Recommendation
At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150
OR
At least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75; or a combination of the two
AND
Moderate to high intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 or more days per week for additional health benefits.
In addition, as your body gets stronger (or more used to a given exercise) you should increase the load, which means either more reps, more sets, or increased "difficulty" (which is usually adding weights, but could be a different bodyweight exercise that targets the same muscle areas but in different ways).
Doing this same set week after week will make you REALLY GOOD at those exercises, and you'll suddenly find yourself blasting through them, which is good. But then you're still weak in a number of other ways.
A discussion about working out... on hacker news.
I'm not sure such a discussion would net you very good information :)
Agree with Weatherlight, 7 minutes is much to short to do anything of value. Even if you did a round of Tabata training, I'd still say you need 5 minutes to warm up.
I'm watching this scream up the front page of HN. Again. It did the same when it became popular a few months ago, not least for all the apps that suddenly popped up. People quickly wrote an app over the weekend and told us about it here.
It seems perfect, doesn't it? Just seven minutes every day and you too can be amazingly fit. I wonder how many people actually stuck to it every day, and how good the results were. I doubt we'll ever know. But you know, it's only seven minutes.
This among other things got me motivated enough to start. Very happy with the results, a lot of everyday things become a pleasure (almost) like climbing stairs 2 by 2 like a kid ... I don't think I go 'full intensity', more deeply applied, for 3 sets. For unfit people in front of screens all day long I would highly suggest having a similar routine.
I bet most if not all professional athletes use periodization. At some point, the stimulus required to produce adaptations will overwhelm your recovery ability, and you need to start adding lower-intensity work.
If you actually read the article/paper from last year, it stated that you needed to do the 7 minute workout 2-3 times in a row in order to get the proper workout. The idea wasn't that you only needed to work out for 7 mins a day.
The original paper says that you can repeat the workout 2-3 times, time permitting, but does not state that it's required in order to get the benefits of the workout.
In fact, the NY Times article[1] from May 9, 2013 that introduced many to the workout says:
"Work by scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and other institutions shows, for instance, that even a few minutes of training at an intensity approaching your maximum capacity produces molecular changes within muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or bike riding."
I've been doing this exercise daily since about last August. One seven-minute session was great during the first month, when I was fresh off the couch. But ever since, I've been doing it at least twice in a row to really feel the burn.
The results have been great. I'm not bounding with muscle or anything, but it's now a lot easier for me to throw my kids around, etc.
7 min is a great warmup, use this app or any other of them to start your gym routine. Tack on another 30 minutes of work and you now have a very effective workout.
There's a huge spectrum of what a "workout" can be depending on your goals. The original title of the post said it was "amazing" and "beautifully designed", which is a bit of an overstatement. It's a fine low-impact beginner's workout, and if you just want to sweat a bit each day it's fine. If you're looking to become a competitive athlete or get totally jacked, this isn't worth anything to you. There's no one-size-fits-all.
Working out isn't hard. Figure out what your goals are, pick a selection of exercises that fit that goal, and do them. Forget gimmicks, train yourself to want to work out and it's much easier. And don't forget to pay attention to what you eat, that can make or break your workout.
As an avid weight lifter out on a two month backpacking trip, this is just what the doctor ordered. Ya I could always just do the moves on my own but I am not as comfortable with body weight stuff as I am with a bar. 99¢ well spent!
I think a 7-minute workout is better than nothing, but if your day is so packed that you can't cut out an hour for the gym you should probably rethink your schedule.
I can't speak for anyone else, but making time for the gym has always felt like a significant commitment and even sacrifice.
My gym time is typically ~2 hours, almost half of which is logistics : transportation to-from, showering, packing gym bag, etc. Of course there are theoretical means to optimize this time, but for the moment let's assume that's not an option.
That's basically 12.5% of my waking day. My schedule is tight, but not as tight as some others - and yet my gym days always feel like they're getting in the way of some other potential task (work / school). I can't even imagine what a 2 hour commitment will feel like once I have children.
I say this as someone who does head to the gym regularly, and I get why going to the gym is probably a better idea than watching television for an hour, but... why would an hour at the gym be in any way superior to any number of inspiring and invigorating activities such as playing a musical instrument, learning a new language or learning how to draw, volunteering and so on? And you can't do all of those things at the same time, so something's gotta give.
Some might think health should be everyone's top-most concerns, and many others don't think that way and live perfectly satisfying lives too.
> ...why would an hour at the gym be in any way superior to any number of inspiring and invigorating activities such as playing a musical instrument, learning a new language or learning how to draw, volunteering and so on?
...or playing with your kids. Or helping them with their homework. Or taking your SO on a date.
Let's be honest, especially for people with families, an hour is a decent-sized chunk of discretionary free time.
Any exercise is better than no exercise. Short amounts of exercise at high intensity is probably better than medium length exercise at low intensity. Anything that makes more people want to do more exercise is a good thing. Anything that makes it clear that a little exercise is better than no exercise is a good thing (this seems obvious but you'd be surprised how many people think that if they can't get 30-60 minutes in, why bother?).
All that being said, doing this every day for 30 days will eventually result in your body acclimating to the external stress and you will begin to see fewer and fewer benefits. Same thing happens if you run 30 minutes every day or do the exact same lifts for a month. For optimal results (where results might equal strength gains, weight loss, cardiovascular endurance or anything else), you have to regularly vary the training by time, exercise and intensity. I think this is awesome for a whole bunch of people I know who don't do ANY exercise. I'm just not sure it's going to have long term effects because there just isn't enough variability.
If I have the level of fitness I need to be haelthy and enjoy all the activities that I want, and I am in good health, and as you said, my body is used to it, so I am maintaining my fitness level... What is the problem?
Of course, high intensity exercise will make people want to do less of it. So it is of extremely questionable value to those that start out from doing no exercise at all, and must still be carefully rationed for all others.
That said, as usual, there is no free lunch, and the belief you only need to do this 7 minute workout is the equivalent to "this one weird trick".
Actually, "muscle confusion" is a myth. As you get stronger/fitter, you need to increase intensity, whether it be by lifting more, running faster, etc. There is no need to change the exercises or the time you spend doing them.
In the case of this 7 Minute Workout, just keep going harder - add a weight belt, incline the pushups and work towards full handstand pushups, etc.
>In the case of this 7 Minute Workout, just keep going harder - add a weight belt, incline the pushups and work towards full handstand pushups, etc.
I think we must be in violent agreement since this is the very definition of variability. Incline pushups are a different exercise. So are handstand pushups. Also there is some limit that you will reach if you go balls to the wall for 7 minutes as it relates to intensity. Increasing time at the same level of intensity necessarily means you do more work and get more benefit. You can't increase intensity doing the same exercises all the time as there is a finite limit of how much stuff you can do in 7 minutes.
>All that being said, doing this every day for 30 days will eventually result in your body acclimating to the external stress and you will begin to see fewer and fewer benefits. Same thing happens if you run 30 minutes every day or do the exact same lifts for a month.
I have some disagreement. Admittedly semantic, but I think important.
If you are consistently exercise the same way - you will stop observing improvements in your fitness (as you reach an equilibrium) but you will still have access to the same benefits, i.e. improved overall fitness and physical and mental health.
An appropriate mixture of strength training and cardiovascular exercise is ideal, even without changing it. What's important is that you actually do it.
Exercise is always a positive thing to do: for many people, it will be better to keep doing it in a way which they enjoy rather than change for the perception that they are challenging themselves more.
I'm just not sure it's going to have long term effects because there just isn't enough variability
There's still all sorts of positive effects it could have. For example, someone who does it, and feels better because of it, might be motivated to delve deeper into fitness. Or, it might provide very accessible "conditioning-lite" to make the experience of starting a more intensive routine more pleasant.
Taken exactly as-is, repeated forever- you will absolutely plateau. But it could still have indirect positive long-term effects.
I use http://www.7-min.com/ as the bare minimum workout on days when there's not time or I'm too lazy to do anything else.
The most important thing I've found in getting more fit is to consistently do something every day. Getting started is the hardest part. Having something that only takes 7 minutes, and requires no more equipment than a chair, takes away a lot of excuses and makes that bare minimum easier. Once that's a habit, throwing in longer workouts isn't so hard.
You know a great way to get a good workout in a short period of time is? Running. You should run for 25 minutes 3 to 4 times a week. There are three types of workouts you should do within this time. Long Slow Distance (LSD), Continuous High Intensity (CHI), and Interval (INT). For LSD, you run the entire time for a long distance slow enough such that you can talk comfortably the entire time. For CHI, you run 15 minutes at 90-95% of your maximum speed and then recover. For INT, you run for 2.5 minutes at maximum speed followed by 5 minutes of recovery, repeating until done. Congratulations, you're now more physically fit than most of the population in less time than the typical nerd spends caffeinating each week.
Yeah, I don't stretch much. It's mostly about warm-up movements like marching/running in place, jacks, arm circles, back movements etc... Then some ballistic stretches and a few limited static stretches.
I tried the 7 minutes workout for a few weeks and I noticed significant weight loss and energy gain. The only problem is that my back started to hurt so much that I had to stop. It took me several weeks to recover.
I like this, but having an ultra fit guy do it, and throwing out the words "Scientifically proven" in a work out routine are just huge red flags for me.
I'm fine with using it, what I'm not fine with is if someone finds out that I'm using something with such obviously bullshit marketing tactics, and thinks I fell for it. How am I supposed to explain "No, no, honestly! I just think it's a decent guide and a good pacing tool. I'm not under the delusion that I'll look like that, I swear!" ^eyes roll^
Why do all these tools have to market themselves as that "one wierd trick that's scientifically proven, gyms hate him!"?
I can kind of see the concern. There's just a category of offerings that scream "bullshit", and it really doesn't make you look very good when you subscribe to them...
Or at least, that's the best way I can express my feelings regarding it.
It's a mix. I don't like that it looks like I'm a sucker, but I can't shake the feeling that the BS is working.
Am I valuing it because it's "scientifically proven" and "the guy doing it is muscular therefore it works"? Certainly not consciously, but subconsciously it could color my decisions. That's an uncomfortable thought.
Further, if I buy into it, will I contribute to another statistic that gets flashed around business meetings that demonstrate that slimeball tactics like this work? I hate these techniques, am I making them more popular?
Maybe there's a tool out there that doesn't do stuff like this, and I'm not aware of it. I could be contributing to that tools growth rather than this ones. edit: there is. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7152886
Do I become a hypocrite for using it?
To be blunt, this is sort of a post hoc rationalization of why I don't like it.
>The negativity in the comments around here astounds me.
Body training receives so much criticism because this is a category of self improvement that truly deserves it. So much snake oil. So much "science". The bar must be set very high after such a sordid history.
So if I can paraphrase, you really want to be "voting with your dollars", when it comes to which apps to use, and for you, theis segment of the industry has a poor track record, so when you see marketing that lacks integrity, you do not want to offer that support to it.
That makes sense to me, and sounds more reasonable than saying you are worried about what other people think. Is that a fair way to rephrase where you are coming from?
well. Since I'm not spending dollars, I'd be more accurately voting with my statistics.
but Yes, Voting with my statistics was sort of a post hoc rationalization of what I didn't like the app.
Like I said, it was a mix.
To be truthful, I didn't like it because it had red flags. That's really the end of my rational. I feel that's valid enough, because there's another site that does the same thing sans the red flags.
Like other people have said, this is better than nothing, but I think the real direction workouts should go is towards being fun. I never workout per say, but I spend a good share of my free time doing fun stuff (in my case mostly bouldering) that I can't wait to do again when I'm finished, and the only reason I stop is because of physical exhaustion (and lack of skin). If the growth of climbing gyms is any indication, there is a huge market for fun, social workouts, which seems obvious enough. Although I haven't tried it personally, it appears as though Crossfit is also trying to make physical activity fun.
If you do stuff that's fun then you won't care anymore how long it takes.
The exercise itself doesn't have to be "fun". Barbell isn't "fun", but I keep going back for the social aspect, spending time with my gym friends. Well, that and the moment of euphoria after deadlift.
That's the thing, in all my stints in regular gyms I never made friends. It isn't normal to strike up a conversation with the guy (or even worse the girl) lifting next to you. I can see the motivation if you have a group of friends that are all working out together. In comparison, it is hard to be antisocial in a climbing gym. People will talk to you.
I'd still argue that fun is better. I can do mundane things that make me a stronger climber, but there is an end-goal, and the bulk of my time is spent having a good time. When I was lifting for the sake of lifting I could never make it more than 6 weeks or so.
Oh, sure, it's hard to establish friendships at the gym. We established our partnership outside the gym; we are lifting buddies. The gym is the main place I see them.
Guys and gals. If you don't do any exercise or do very little then this comment is for you.
Forget about all this crap out there about how to get results with the least amount of work. Instead, just go do something active that you ENJOY and can repeat. Health is about a LIFESTYLE change that you can persist.
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[ 0.28 ms ] story [ 133 ms ] threadIf you're not doing it at sufficient intensity it is probably fairly pointless.
The problem with these one-size-fits-all "exercise for N minutes" memes is that every person has different goals for what they want to get out of exercise.
[1] http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-mi...
This will increase happiness and a general sense of well being for about 3 and a half weeks 'til your body adjusts to this level of 'stress' (because it's the same routine every time)
The design is awesome. I could see a interface like this being very useful for elementary yoga poses but this is a far call from an AMAZING work out.
But you need time for warmup, skill building, etc before that of course.
The minimum amount of time you need for good heart health is listed here: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivit...
In addition, as your body gets stronger (or more used to a given exercise) you should increase the load, which means either more reps, more sets, or increased "difficulty" (which is usually adding weights, but could be a different bodyweight exercise that targets the same muscle areas but in different ways).Doing this same set week after week will make you REALLY GOOD at those exercises, and you'll suddenly find yourself blasting through them, which is good. But then you're still weak in a number of other ways.
Agree with Weatherlight, 7 minutes is much to short to do anything of value. Even if you did a round of Tabata training, I'd still say you need 5 minutes to warm up.
It seems perfect, doesn't it? Just seven minutes every day and you too can be amazingly fit. I wonder how many people actually stuck to it every day, and how good the results were. I doubt we'll ever know. But you know, it's only seven minutes.
Full intensity.
Every day.
Will put that in my company culture. Spontaneous workouts during the day hehe. xD
In fact, the NY Times article[1] from May 9, 2013 that introduced many to the workout says:
"Work by scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and other institutions shows, for instance, that even a few minutes of training at an intensity approaching your maximum capacity produces molecular changes within muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or bike riding."
[1] http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-mi...
The results have been great. I'm not bounding with muscle or anything, but it's now a lot easier for me to throw my kids around, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEkJ3zRTcY
The best part is you can do it at your desk :)
Working out isn't hard. Figure out what your goals are, pick a selection of exercises that fit that goal, and do them. Forget gimmicks, train yourself to want to work out and it's much easier. And don't forget to pay attention to what you eat, that can make or break your workout.
My gym time is typically ~2 hours, almost half of which is logistics : transportation to-from, showering, packing gym bag, etc. Of course there are theoretical means to optimize this time, but for the moment let's assume that's not an option.
That's basically 12.5% of my waking day. My schedule is tight, but not as tight as some others - and yet my gym days always feel like they're getting in the way of some other potential task (work / school). I can't even imagine what a 2 hour commitment will feel like once I have children.
Some might think health should be everyone's top-most concerns, and many others don't think that way and live perfectly satisfying lives too.
...or playing with your kids. Or helping them with their homework. Or taking your SO on a date.
Let's be honest, especially for people with families, an hour is a decent-sized chunk of discretionary free time.
All that being said, doing this every day for 30 days will eventually result in your body acclimating to the external stress and you will begin to see fewer and fewer benefits. Same thing happens if you run 30 minutes every day or do the exact same lifts for a month. For optimal results (where results might equal strength gains, weight loss, cardiovascular endurance or anything else), you have to regularly vary the training by time, exercise and intensity. I think this is awesome for a whole bunch of people I know who don't do ANY exercise. I'm just not sure it's going to have long term effects because there just isn't enough variability.
That said, as usual, there is no free lunch, and the belief you only need to do this 7 minute workout is the equivalent to "this one weird trick".
In the case of this 7 Minute Workout, just keep going harder - add a weight belt, incline the pushups and work towards full handstand pushups, etc.
I think we must be in violent agreement since this is the very definition of variability. Incline pushups are a different exercise. So are handstand pushups. Also there is some limit that you will reach if you go balls to the wall for 7 minutes as it relates to intensity. Increasing time at the same level of intensity necessarily means you do more work and get more benefit. You can't increase intensity doing the same exercises all the time as there is a finite limit of how much stuff you can do in 7 minutes.
I have some disagreement. Admittedly semantic, but I think important.
If you are consistently exercise the same way - you will stop observing improvements in your fitness (as you reach an equilibrium) but you will still have access to the same benefits, i.e. improved overall fitness and physical and mental health.
An appropriate mixture of strength training and cardiovascular exercise is ideal, even without changing it. What's important is that you actually do it.
Exercise is always a positive thing to do: for many people, it will be better to keep doing it in a way which they enjoy rather than change for the perception that they are challenging themselves more.
There's still all sorts of positive effects it could have. For example, someone who does it, and feels better because of it, might be motivated to delve deeper into fitness. Or, it might provide very accessible "conditioning-lite" to make the experience of starting a more intensive routine more pleasant.
Taken exactly as-is, repeated forever- you will absolutely plateau. But it could still have indirect positive long-term effects.
The most important thing I've found in getting more fit is to consistently do something every day. Getting started is the hardest part. Having something that only takes 7 minutes, and requires no more equipment than a chair, takes away a lot of excuses and makes that bare minimum easier. Once that's a habit, throwing in longer workouts isn't so hard.
Source: http://www.sealswcc.com/pdf/naval-special-warfare-physical-t...
If I went down right now to pump out push ups my joints would scream at me.
I'm fine with using it, what I'm not fine with is if someone finds out that I'm using something with such obviously bullshit marketing tactics, and thinks I fell for it. How am I supposed to explain "No, no, honestly! I just think it's a decent guide and a good pacing tool. I'm not under the delusion that I'll look like that, I swear!" ^eyes roll^
Why do all these tools have to market themselves as that "one wierd trick that's scientifically proven, gyms hate him!"?
This is just an app that shows a workout. The negativity in the comments around here astounds me.
Or at least, that's the best way I can express my feelings regarding it.
It's a mix. I don't like that it looks like I'm a sucker, but I can't shake the feeling that the BS is working.
Am I valuing it because it's "scientifically proven" and "the guy doing it is muscular therefore it works"? Certainly not consciously, but subconsciously it could color my decisions. That's an uncomfortable thought.
Further, if I buy into it, will I contribute to another statistic that gets flashed around business meetings that demonstrate that slimeball tactics like this work? I hate these techniques, am I making them more popular?
Maybe there's a tool out there that doesn't do stuff like this, and I'm not aware of it. I could be contributing to that tools growth rather than this ones. edit: there is. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7152886
Do I become a hypocrite for using it?
To be blunt, this is sort of a post hoc rationalization of why I don't like it.
>The negativity in the comments around here astounds me.
Body training receives so much criticism because this is a category of self improvement that truly deserves it. So much snake oil. So much "science". The bar must be set very high after such a sordid history.
That makes sense to me, and sounds more reasonable than saying you are worried about what other people think. Is that a fair way to rephrase where you are coming from?
but Yes, Voting with my statistics was sort of a post hoc rationalization of what I didn't like the app.
Like I said, it was a mix.
To be truthful, I didn't like it because it had red flags. That's really the end of my rational. I feel that's valid enough, because there's another site that does the same thing sans the red flags.
If you do stuff that's fun then you won't care anymore how long it takes.
I'd still argue that fun is better. I can do mundane things that make me a stronger climber, but there is an end-goal, and the bulk of my time is spent having a good time. When I was lifting for the sake of lifting I could never make it more than 6 weeks or so.
Forget about all this crap out there about how to get results with the least amount of work. Instead, just go do something active that you ENJOY and can repeat. Health is about a LIFESTYLE change that you can persist.