Just 4 Minutes is all you need!
By Lucy Wyndham-Read
It seems too good to be true, but less is more and “4 minute workouts” are now big news and are here to stay! These micro short workouts have been proven to be as effective as traditionally longer workouts, if not even more so.
This comes down to one crucial component “INTENSITY”, as it is the intensity that has the greatest effect on the body, much more than the duration of the workout. So even just 4 minutes daily can make a massive difference to your body shape, fitness and health.
I had one lady from America email me to say she had bought my 4 Minute workout, and in just 6 weeks had lost more weight than she ever did in 6 months going to the gym!!
So let’s break this down. Firstly we can all find 4 Minutes, so this straightaway makes this workout achievable, and, let’s face it, you could do it in your coffee break at work.
Secondly you don’t need any equipment, and you can simply do this anywhere. I recently filmed some of these workouts showing how easy they are to do anywhere, whilst on safari in Africa, one was shot on top of one of the highest sand dunes in the world, Dune 7, the other next to a colony of seals at Pelican Point in Namibia. So where ever you are you can do these workouts.
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So here is the clever bit. The 4 minutes gets broken down in to two phases:
Phase 1 is the High Intensity 20 second interval, this is where you train to your maximum, so if this is for example jogging on the spot, you need to be doing it as fast as you can.
Phrase 2 is your 10 second recovery period, this is simply where you march on the spot and get your breath back.
You simply perform this routine 8 times in total which makes your 4 minutes.
The benefit of this is that it allows you to push yourself to the maximal intensity , which is key as this is what creates the results.
The effect of training to your maximal intensity is that it creates what’s known as an afterburn, also known as EPOC (excessive post oxygen consumption). This means your body burns calories at a much higher rate. On average it increases to 35 calories per hour. okay so you may think big deal! But the exciting bit is that it stays at this elevated rate for 10 hours, which now makes that 350 calories! So this 4 minute workout is not so much about the calories you burn during those few minutes, it is about how we increase them for the next 10 hours.
So before you jump in the shower in the morning, grab your stop watch and do 4 minutes. Then you can sit smugly at your desk knowing those calories are being burnt off all day.
Try this 4 Minute workout now (if you have time!!!!)
Always warm up first. It is best to do this where you have a visible second hand or a timer.
Do 20 seconds high knees on the spot as fast as you can, then go into gentle marching for 10 seconds. Then once those 10 seconds are up, back into your 20 seconds high knees. Keep doing these for 4 minutes.
You can do any exercise with this, so you could be outdoors and do 20 sprinting then 10 slow jogging, or 20 seconds star jumps, squats, and the list goes on. You can even add it to a pool workout by swimming for faster intervals.
If you want me to coach you and through a series of 4 minute workouts, then you can download my “The LWR Fast Fat Burning method” which contains five different four-minute workouts. I do all the coaching and timing for you.
