Fitness
Study finds doing this five-minute workout daily can ‘significantly improve fitness’
There’s a common misconception that you need to spend an hour in the gym, several times per week, to make a dent on your health and fitness goals. But for most people, this simply isn’t the case.
Instead, any regular activity is likely to have an impact. A recent study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology supports this, finding that a five-minute strength training routine, performed daily for four weeks, led to “significantly improved physical fitness and mental health in sedentary individuals”.
As far as I can see, the routine was nothing groundbreaking either, comprising progressive variations of the bodyweight squat, press-up, sit-up and calf raise. The progressive nature and consistency with which these exercises were performed is where the magic truly lies.
Though the sample size is small, what the study shows is that small amounts of exercise, and strength training in particular, can offer untold perks for beginners. I investigated why this might be the case, and how you can use this information to efficiently further your own health and fitness.
The workout
- Chair squat x10
- Wall press-up x10
- Chair recline x10 (similar to a sit-up, but performed in a chair with less range of motion)
- Heel drop x10 (a calf raise)
The “healthy but sedentary” participants of this study – four men and 18 women aged between 32 and 69 – performed 10 repetitions of each exercise to a strict tempo. This meant elongating the eccentric (or lowering) phase of each repetition for five seconds, then completing the concentric (or lifting) phase in roughly one second.
For the chair squat, for example, this would involve sitting down slowly over the course of five seconds, then standing up as normal.
“Participants were allowed to choose the time at which they completed the exercises, and the exercises could be performed together or spread throughout the day,” the research adds.
Once participants could complete 10 repetitions of an exercise with an RPE (rate of perceived exertion, or how hard an exercise feels) score of five out of 10 or less for two consecutive days, they were instructed to progress to a more challenging variation of the exercise. These variations were:
- Chair squat > one-leg chair squat > pistol squat
- Wall press-up > one-arm wall press-up > table press-up > knee press-up > press-up
- Chair recline back > chair recline back (legs straight) > sit-up
- Heel drop > heel drop overstretch > one-leg heel drop overstretch
Again, I want to stress that this isn’t a magic formula. It simply plays on tried and trusted strength training principles – progressive overload and a combination of exercises which recruit most major muscle groups – to deliver the stimulus needed for positive changes in people new to this type of exercise.
The main takeaway should be that just a few short minutes of adequately challenging resistance training per day, even without weights, can make a significant difference in sedentary populations.
Read more: How doing squats between emails could boost your health in midlife
What this means for your fitness
This article isn’t aimed at people who run marathons for fun or sign up to every Hyrox race going. Instead, it speaks to anyone who wants to improve their health and fitness, but struggles to find the time, energy and motivation to squeeze exercise into their busy lives.
For this group, it’s important to understand that small amounts of activity, performed consistently and progressively as in the study above, can have a significant impact.
“Most evidence shows that even doing very small amounts of exercise or physical activity is beneficial for health, but more is better for us,” says Dr Richard Blagrove, a senior lecturer in physiology at Loughborough University.
As a case study, he cites research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which found that those burning a bonus 500 calories across the week, averaging out at just 70 calories per day, “show reductions in risk of mortality compared to being completely inactive”.
“The same is true for resistance training,” he adds, with research finding that just one challenging set of an exercise can increase strength, thus benefitting “functional performance” – i.e. how well our bodies can serve us in daily life.
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This favourable dose-response relationship is something Joe Wicks stresses in his approach too. Wicks has been visiting workplaces across the UK as part of a new initiative on movement and wellness, and says he’s witnessed a night and day difference between people who did and didn’t find time to exercise.
“I visited all of these companies, and you’d see people that are really struggling, people who are really busy, and people with kids who are working 12-hour shifts through the night,” says Wicks.
“What I realised is there are usually two groups; one of them is not exercising, and one of them is finding a little bit of time to do some form of exercise, whether it’s 10 minutes walking to work, something on their lunch break or a 20-minute YouTube workout when they get home.”
This latter group, he says, were healthier and more energised, with lower stress levels and better mental health. For this reason, he likes to highlight the importance of finding some time, however short, to move during the day.
“I want to make it really manageable and say, ‘Look, you might not have a full hour today, but do you have five, 10 or 15 minutes?’ It makes a difference,” he explains.
Walking and home workouts like his session below are Wicks’ premier prescriptions for beginners, with these accessible activities removing many of the usual barriers to entry for exercise such as time and money.
Read more: Forget the gym – build full-body strength anywhere with this trainer-approved kettlebell workout instead
Another top option is exercise snacking – the act of microdosing fitness throughout the day. It’s a wellness trend that’s both easy to access and adhere to, no matter your fitness level.
A four-week study by the University of Essex and University of Suffolk found that just 16 total minutes of bodyweight exercises such as squats and lunges, spread across an eight-hour work day, “can mitigate against the negative effects of prolonged sedentary time [or sitting at a desk all day]”. Subjects saw improved leg strength and balance from the minimalist exercise plan.
Meanwhile, research in the Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews journal honed in specifically on the term “exercise snacks”.
It defined the phrase as “isolated bouts of brief (
Read more: This is how much exercise you should be doing per day, according to experts
The foundational theory behind this is called the SAID principle, which stands for specific adaptations to imposed demands. This simply means the body will adapt over time to get better at handling the things we consistently ask it to do.
If we sit in a chair all day, it might tighten our hip flexors to save us some energy. However, this is likely to feel unpleasant when we go to lengthen them again while walking or exercising.
Conversely, if we’re regularly raising our heart rate, cardiorespiratory fitness improvements are likely to follow, while consistent and challenging resistance exercise will lead to improvements in strength and muscle, provided we’re fuelling and recovering appropriately.
For this reason, any long-term change in behaviour which sees you challenging yourself physically and doing more than you were before will probably result in positive adaptations to your body.
This is partly why those who have been exercising for a long time require more dramatic changes to see progress, while newcomers can make incredible headway from just a few small tweaks like those discussed above.
Read more: Helen Mirren opens up on ‘complications’ of ageing as she shares advice for younger people
Key takeaways – and a free workout plan to try
The bottom line here is that, as far as exercise is concerned, a little goes a long way. This is especially true if you’re a beginner.
The title study shows how a few quick exercises can improve strength and mental health in sedentary adults, while the further research referenced above suggests these benefits also extend to cardiorespiratory fitness – the ability of the heart, lungs and blood vessels to supply oxygen to your working muscles during exercise.
If you want to put this information to good use by weaving some time-savvy exercise into your hectic schedule, my best advice would be to first pick one exercise you can do for each of strength coach Dan John’s basic human movements (push, pull, hinge, squat, carry). Then, perform each exercise for 8-12 repetitions, between one and three times throughout day. For example:
- Push: Wall press-up x8-12
- Pull: Bent-over row with a rucksack x8-12
- Hinge: Good morning x8-12
- Squat: Chair sit-to-stand x8-12
- Carry: Suitcase carry with a rucksack x8-12m in each hand
You might do this immediately after waking up, on your lunch break or whenever you boil a kettle while working from home – I realise this may draw a few funny looks in the office kitchenette.
When an exercise feels easy, find a harder variation or, in the case of the row and carry, incrementally increase the weight you’re lifting so it continues to provide a challenge. Et voila: an equipment-free beginner exercise plan for even the most time-poor of people.
Read more: The three short weekly workouts that can transform your fitness
Fitness encompasses cardiovascular endurance, strength training, and mobility/flexibility. These are non-negotiables for continuing to live throughout your later years with your independence and ability to move and socialize still intact.
Instead of thinking simply about living longer, let’s use the start of a new year to focus on getting healthier, so we live better. More than any other time each year, the New Year is a popular time to focus on a “fresh start.” Temporal landmarks like New Year’s Day, Mondays, birthdays and the change of seasons are standard starting lines for many of us when we have a goal to work toward and bad habits to break.
Science Says Fitness Matters (Even More than Weight)
A recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, BMI, and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, shows that, regardless of body weight (obese, overweight or normal), fitness matters more for all-cause mortality. They measured the weight, BMI and fitness of six groups: normal weight-fit; normal weight-unfit; overweight-fit; overweight-unfit; obese-fit; and obese-unfit.
The analyses revealed that individuals classified as fit, regardless of their BMI, did not have a statistically significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease or all-cause mortality compared to normal weight-fit people. At the same time, all unfit groups across different BMI categories exhibited a two- to threefold higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality compared to their regular weight-fit counterparts.
About Body Mass Index (BMI)
Now, you may be saying, “But BMI is flawed!” Sure. BMI is not the best indicator for distinguishing normal weight, overweight and obesity because it is simply a height-to-weight ratio that does not account for differences in body fat/muscle composition, age, sex or other factors. Before you discredit this entire study because of the BMI issue, remember that it measured fitness levels among people of different sizes. Some had more muscle and were considered fit in the overweight/obese group, while others were deemed unfit in the normal weight group. Still, BMI helps place people of differing sizes (height and weight groups) and focuses on measuring each group’s fitness. In the end, fitness matters more than BMI, so the goal is to exercise, get in shape, build muscle and lose fat.
Set Your Training Goals to Be Long-Term
It is fine to have short-term, specific training goals, such as strength gains and endurance times, or weight gain or weight loss. However, start this year with a 10-year fitness focus, as what you do in your 40s-50s will determine how you live in your 60s-70s. Always think 10 years ahead, no matter what your age, because what you gain today and maintain tomorrow is needed to continue to live independently for a few more generations in your family’s lineage. You can focus on longevity and optimal performance for your fitness and health goals at the same time by maintaining a consistent activity level and healthful nutrition, sleep and recovery.
Try This Goal: Make Annual Physical and Blood Screening Appointments
If you have not been to a doctor in a while, set an appointment in January, and get into the habit of annual health and wellness screenings. Treat annual physicals with the doctor as opportunities to PR (personal record) common blood work results, such as cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, body weight and blood pressure. These are just the basics to help you assess how to adjust your sleep, nutrition, physical activity and stress management. These meetings are also quite satisfying when you achieve solid results that show health and wellness.
Don’t Give Up
While a large portion of us (nearly half of Americans) will create a New Year’s resolution, only about 9%-10% will achieve their goals. After a stressful holiday season, we are typically burned out in January. This may not be the best time to start a lifestyle change, complete with quitting bad habits (over-eating, smoking, drinking) and starting new healthy habits (gym membership, diet, etc.).
Instead, use the first few weeks of January to focus on stress mitigation and recovery. This should include building easy habits of walking every day, stretching, taking deep breaths and simply not overeating. This is a great way to move into a new fitness focus. Then, when feeling back to normal, focus a little harder, with more intensity, duration of training, and specificity to your fitness and health goals.
There are many ways to expand your “health-span.” Check out these options and get consistent with any or all of them:
Final Advice
If you want to get started on a focused health and wellness goal of being able to do physical activities, stay social and be independent, start with the basics of walking and stretching daily for a month. The following month, add calisthenics such as squats, lunges, push-ups and the plank pose. The following month, add weights such as dumbbells or kettlebells, or suspension trainers such as the TRX.
This steady progression helps you ease into fitness habits gently and adds a new component each month to keep it interesting. To achieve results with lifelong wellness goals, you need to keep endurance, strength and mobility/flexibility as primary focuses. Stability, durability, balance, speed and agility can also be developed once you have built the foundation. This is the beauty of long-term goals. Focus on doing something each day, being disciplined about eating and drinking healthfully, and learning stress-mitigation techniques such as breathing to take into your next decade on this planet.
There are dozens of these types of articles at the Military.com Fitness Section. Check them out for ideas on specific ways to train.
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Story Continues
December is great for many things – socialising, scoffing, falling out with relatives – but sticking to a training schedule is not one of them.
Heading out the door on Christmas morning for a two-hour long run is likely to put anyone on the naughty list, while it takes a dedicated runner indeed to spend part of the festive period running loops of the track.
What the mere mortal needs is exercise “snacks”. These can be enjoyed/endured alongside the carb-based variety and snuck in to even the busiest Christmas schedule.
A review in Sports Medicine and Health Research confirmed that regular, short bursts of physical activity throughout the day improved cardiovascular respiratory fitness, increased fat oxidation and polished off blood sugar levels after eating.
Vigorous intermittent exercises, such as sprints, were good for building muscle strength. Meanwhile, 10-minute resistance training sessions were found to be particularly beneficial to older people. The researchers concluded that exercise snacks could be a viable alternative to longer, less frequent sessions.
Cram in vigorous bouts of stair climbing for muscle strength, or one or two sub-10 minute morsels for muscle growth as an efficient alternative to meatier long sessions. Here’s some inspo below…
3 exercise snacks to gorge on
Try these simple workouts for results on the quick
For upper-body
Press-ups: 3 x 20 with a 30-sec rest between (b/w) reps
Bench dips: 3 x 15 with a 30-sec rest b/w reps
For lower-body
Bodyweight squats: 3 x 20 with 20-sec rest b/w reps
Wall sit: 2 x 90 secs with 1-min rest b/w reps
For cardio fitness
Burpees: 3 x 20 with 30-sec rest b/w reps
Skipping: 4mins consisting of 1min normal, 1min high knees, 1min normal, 1min high knees
I love many different herbal teas just as much as I enjoy a good old-fashioned British cup of PG tips, Earl Grey, or Glengettie — a Welsh favorite from the rolling valleys where I was born. In an interesting study, researchers explored whether drinking green or matcha tea can improve sports performance and exercise recovery, and the results might have you reaching for a vibrant green drink. If you want to get straight to the results, the short answer is that drinking green and matcha tea can support hydration, body fat control, and exercise recovery. Still, it definitely won’t be a game-changer when it comes to your performance in the gym, on the court, or on the field.
Hydrating with tea
In a study published in Nutrition and Food Technology, researchers reviewed existing studies of athletes and active adults that focused solely on drinking tea — no pills or extracts. They revealed that green or matcha tea can help hydrate the body when consumed in normal amounts. Tea counts toward your daily water intake.
Antioxidants and recovery
The research highlighted how the widely-studied antioxidants in green and matcha tea can improve exercise recovery and help protect your cells from the stress associated with intense exercise. That said, the research shows that drinking tea won’t lead to faster or better strength gains, so it’s no silver bullet for helping you achieve your fitness goals. However, they also concluded that low-caffeine green tea could even improve sleep quality, which I would argue could potentially help you power through that workout if you’re getting better sleep the night before.
Linked to lower body fat
Interestingly, the study authors also concluded that drinking around two or three cups of green or matcha tea per day was associated with slightly lower body fat and improved body composition and fat burning. While the effects weren’t overly significant, they were noted in the research. Cup of tea, anyone?
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