Recent research shows that high-intensity workout for three to four minutes per week is as beneficial as three 45-minute session of low-to-moderate-intensity.
I ask Brent Carter to take me through a sample workout, who’s an instructor at Focus Personal Training Institute in New York City. He recommends alternating a minute of burpees with a minute of kettlebell swings. He explains that to see benefits, one’s heart rate needs to be at about 90% of its max. The intensity stimulates production of growth hormone that’ll supposedly help us torch more calories by tapping into the body’s anaerobic energy system. Carter sets a timer after we warm up. My thighs are on fire and I’m gasping for breath. My last burpee barely leaves the ground at the four-minute mark and of my maximum heart rate, I’m only 84%.
I won’t switch permanently, but on a busy week, I may do three short sessions. Of exercise, the intensity sucks all the enjoyment out.
A workout for four minutes
