8 Simple Exercises, 8 Minutes a Day
Getting started
What I like most about this workout is that it doesn’t fit with conventional fitness thinking. You don’t need expensive and elaborate equipment and you don’t have to worry about counting repetitions. All you need is a piece of elastic tubing, a stopwatch or clock in close view and, of course, your body.
This program consists of performing a combination of eight bodyweight and tubing exercises. The bodyweight exercises, such as pushups, lunges and crunches, will help you build a good level of strength while the tubing exercises will allow you to perform a higher number of repetitions to raise your heart rate and burn calories. Different exercises will be performed on alternate days and each exercise is performed for 60 seconds. You will alternate lists of Day 1 and Day 2 exercises throughout the week; in a typical week Day 1 exercises will be performed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Day 2 exercises on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. You choose which day of the week you want to take off. Overall, you are going to feel awesome with just eight minutes per day. If you have a little more time, you may want to try one of our 20-Minute Workouts.
Maximize your minutes
Remember, you have a full minute to complete each set. In the beginning you may have to stop and catch your breath before the minute is up, but as you get stronger you will be able to perform more repetitions. Feel free to stop and rest as you must, just keep in mind that because the program is only eight minutes long you really want to optimize your time. Obviously, the best results will be achieved when you follow the Truestar Nutritional and Vitamin guidelines for weight loss.
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Is eight enough?
Most people exercise at a very light intensity. For instance, the person performing 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity will wait until the 23rd or 24th minute before they kick it up a notch for fear they will prematurely tire themselves out. On the other hand, you have the strength trainee who not only waits until the third and final set of the exercise to really showcase a good effort, but often waits until the final exercise of the routine before increasing the intensity. Eight minutes is a very short and non-intimating time. As long as you make every repetition count for the duration of the circuit, you will begin to see results. Eventually, you may want to introduce free weight exercises to your workout.
How long should I follow this program?
I generally tell my clients to try this workout out for four weeks or so, giving it your all every minute. After four weeks, you may want to introduce a second set which will bring your workout time to 16 minutes. You can also add exercises and gradually increase your workout time by a minute each week. You will begin to see results and feel better about yourself. When you commit to changing your body, your life begins to change and eight minutes is a great start.
The workout
Click on the days below for your list of exercises for the two alternating workout days. If you are not familiar with the exercise, please click the camera icon to see a video of the exercise.
Day 1
Day 2
Final tips
Perform the exercises at a moderate pace and to the best of your ability.
Make every repetition count, but don’t count repetitions—just focus on the time.
Move from one exercise to another as quickly as possible (no rest between exercises).
Rest during the exercise as needed, just keep in mind that your goal is to optimize your eight minutes of scheduled exercise.
You may substitute any exercise with your favorite exercise, just make sure you don’t perform any one exercise more than two days in a row.
As you get stronger and begin to see and feel the results, add minutes to your workout by repeating some of your favorite exercises for that day. For instance, at the end of your eight-minute Day 2 workout, you may wish to perform extra sets of rainbows and lunges which will bring your workout to 10 minutes.
Have fun and take small steps in making exercise a vital part of everyday life!
