Oliver Lee, NASM-certified personal trainer, RRCA-certified run coach, and Peloton Tread instructor, talked about those videos that promise "five minutes to slimmer legs" or "10 minutes to rock-hard abs." Time efficiency is great, he said, but the bottom line is that you need to be consistent and, of course, pay attention to what you're eating. "You can definitely see results by doing, I'd say, a minimum of 20 minutes a day, five days a week and your diet is on point. But you're not going to see a difference doing an eight-minute ab workout once a week and your diet staying the same." Short videos can absolutely help contribute to your end goal; however, it's not going not change you on the spot, he said. "It's a bit more than just a magic wand."
Oliver named HIIT as a time-efficient workout he's a fan of (not to mention, it's proven to promote fat loss). He continued, "If you're short for time and you do a 10-minute HIIT where you put some Tabata rounds in there . . . 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off . . . you're going to burn calories. But you've got to consider all the other stuff that goes with it like diet and then how often you're going to do that 10-minute HIIT. Are you going to do it once a week, or are you going to do it five times a week?" Volume, frequency, and intensity are important factors, he said, meaning, for weightlifting, how much you're lifting, how often you're lifting, and at what intensity you're lifting.
Allison agreed. She said workouts that promise you great results in a short amount of time are a "brilliant marketing tactic because our schedules aren't getting lighter, we're not getting more time in the day." People want to get fit quick. Allison explained that there's nothing wrong with trying to be efficient — and short workouts are better than no workouts — but if you want to see results, having a real program that's tailored to your goals is key. Check out these tips for choosing an online fitness plan.