Is everyone really buying into the trend of "a beautiful body in under 30 minutes"?

Today's modern fitness gym will offer you more than just one reason why a gym membership is just worth 30 minutes of your time on a daily basis. Look at all the circuits and systems they have available to chose from. My gym alone has 3 different sets of 30 minute circuits and quite popular since it's always packed. If my gym was Noah's ark, that side would tip over and the stretching section would definitely be up in the air.

It's a great marketing campaign - making fitness fit into your busy lifestyle. But is it really working?

Harvard School of Public Health says that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a day is an excellent starting point to a healthier lifestyle. However, if you are exercising to lose weight, 30 minutes a day will only work if you are careful about what you eat. The Institute of Medicine recommends 60 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity in order to maintain a healthy weight.

Like most women in my gym, I get my daily fill of exercise from these 30 minute circuits. It wasn't until recently that I started to think about the good old days - you know, where you pop in an aerobics tape and started exercising in front of the tube or exercising page by page from my favourite exercise book The Complete Book of Abs. I even remembered at one time I had my handy VCR record those hawaiian workouts and I would spend an hour exercising to the beat before getting dressed for work. Now those were complete workouts with stretching to start and then winding down to end unlike the circuits. And less expensive....

In the last few weeks I have decided to incorporate my own version of what I understand :) is interval training.

Wikipedia defines interval training as "any cardiovascular workout (e.g. stationary biking, running, rowing, etc.) that involves brief bouts at near-maximum exertion interspersed with periods of lower-intensity activity." A perfect example is a "walk-back sprinting," in which one sprints a short distance (anywhere from 100 to 800 meters), then changes directions and walks back to the starting point (the recovery period) to do it again.

And wow, all I can say is, did I just get to complacent by thinking that a 30 minute circuit is going to produce that hard body that I want (and need- gimme! gimme! gimme!) to fit into the bikini that's hanging in the back of my closet? I can't even remember the last time I did squats, or picked up a jumping rope.

The first change I noticed is the ass. I was an athlete growing up until I reach university level swimming, so I've been lucky that fat deposits do not like to attach themselves there. But, do I feel like J-Lo. I can feel the difference in two weeks and I just know that continuing this exercise regimen would just be beneficial.

The second change is my inner thighs. So for the ladies out there who've been trying to lose excess inches there and can't bear to squeeze another rep out of Suzanne Somers ThighMaster, maybe this will work for you.

My new exercise regimen starts with a 5 minute stretching on the mat.

It's then followed by the 30 Minute Circuit. With each machine in the circuit, I do 2 reps of 15 counts (started with 10). The first rep is the heaviest weight (don't forget to breathe right) I can handle and the second weight is the lowest machine weight available.

I implemented a 2 minute cardio interval in between every 4 sets (that's every after 2 machines in the circuit): 30-second step right feet first, 30-second step left feet first, and then a one minute level 3 or more of the elliptical machine, cycling, stairmaster, ski machine or jump rope (chose of only one machine at every workout).

This is an hour long workout followed by another 10 minute stretch and wind down.

Then, I alternate every fourth workout day with "exercise without machines" - standing twists, squats, crunches, jack knife, side bends, leg overs, isometric crosses. Sounds alien? I guess these are not your standard pilates or yoga terms, but they do really well for shaping your body. I do them in reps of 2 - counts of 15. I use the complete book of.... by the Brungardt brothers. I have the abs, total workout and legs, and it's kind of funny watching the expression of the other gym members when I haul around the books during my workout session....

A great place to pick up your exercises for free (don't we just love freebies) and find out what your exercises equates to in muscles used/exercised and most importantly, the proper way to do it, go and check out Exercise and Muscle Directory, Weight Training Workouts, Power Exercises, and Cardio Exercises. I searched long and hard to find this really helpful site, so go and use it!!


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