Office workouts…not only quick, but effective!

By Tim Allerton MS, CPT, EP

Most people think that fitness requires a large investment in time. It is not uncommon for someone to spend over an hour in the gym toiling to achieve a goal.  Bottom line is, we either do not have or do not want to spend an entire hour of our day at the gym working out.  A great alternative to a formal gym workout is the office workout.  The office workout is a time efficient way to include exercise into your busy schedule. But how effective is it? Research suggests that even a modest amount of resistance training can be enough to stimulate your metabolism.

The National Institutes of Health recently published a study on the effectiveness of minimal amount of resistance training and energy expenditure (calories burned). The study showed that as little as 11-minutes of resistance training 3-days a week was enough to boost the metabolic rate and increase fat burning ability. A typical complaint of busy gym goers is the time it takes to change into workout clothes and shower after a workout.  The researchers of this study reported that, as an added benefit, participants did not need to change or shower for their workouts. (Kirk, 2009)

This information is of critical importance for people that are concerned with losing weight or weight management, but don’t have the time to spend hours in the gym.  Meaningful weight loss comes from losing body fat.  The best way to lose body fat is to increase the body’s ability to use fat as a fuel source. By increasing our muscle mass we enhance that ability.