Fitness tip

10 Minutes to a Better Body

By Shawn McKee
Staff Writer

Usually, "10 more minutes" is the cry of the habitual snoozer -- thinking somehow those extra few minutes will make all the difference, but they don't. In fact, 10 minutes is such a worthless little chunk of time that very little can be accomplished in such a short period, right?

Well, that's what you tell yourself, anyway. But it's just an excuse -- and we know what excuses are like, right? Stop wasting time and make "10 more minutes" mean something.

Now, "10 more minutes" is the battle cry of the fitness few that are ready to take their exercise routine to the next level. If you already have an exercise program that has you sweating 20-40 minutes, a few days a week, but you feel you've hit a plateau, it may be time to add a few more minutes.

It seems that 10 more minutes wouldn't make much difference. But if you consider the cumulative effect of 10 minutes a day over a whole year, a little time can make a large difference, according to eDiets Chief Fitness Pro Raphael Calzadilla.

"Even if you only add a moderately intense jog for 10 minutes at the end of your workout you can burn an extra 80 calories (based on a 150-pound person)," Raphael explains. "Doing this only three times a week burns an extra 960 calories per month. That's going to supply some substantial fat loss at the end of the year."

Raphael also recommends easing into the extra time over a few weeks. He gives this example:

"If you're jumping rope for 20 minutes, but your goal is 30, then add three intense minutes to the end of a session each week. So in week two you're at 23 minutes, week three at 26 minutes and by week four you're be churning out a tough 32 minutes. Short goals work great."

If you prefer something a little less repetitive, Raphael suggests 10 minutes of what he calls a "free for all."

"Keep choosing different exercises for 10 consecutive minutes such as 15 reps of squats, followed by 3 minutes of jump rope, followed by 1 minute jogging in place, followed by 20 push ups and so on -- until 10 minutes is completed."

This will supply variety and can be changed for each workout. If you like a little more structure, Raphael also offers a more focused 10-minute treatment targeting just one exercise.

"Performing one exercise for 10 minutes with minimal breaks between sets will actually help that muscle recover. For example, if you perform bench press on day one, and then the very next day, perform 100 reps of a different chest exercise, it will send an abundant amount of blood supply into the muscle," Raphael explains.

"This has been proven to accelerate recovery and will allow the chest to be worked again that much sooner. However, one should not go to muscular failure with the extended reps. You won't get 100 consecutive reps, stop 1-2 short of the first 25 reps, followed by the next quick set, and so forth. Choose a weight that allow for 25-30 reps and continue to 100 or 10 minutes."

This can be done with any body part and is great for recovery.

These are great ways to burn more calories and build more muscle -- the perfect plan for adding minimal time to your workout while reaping maximum rewards. However, consistency is the key according to our fitness pro. So what happens when you don't have time for a full workout?

Here's a little routine that only takes 10 minutes of exercise to burn 100 calories. There's no reason to miss a workout anymore.

One set of 10-minute calorie-burners include:

-- 2 minutes of jumping jacks
-- 2 minutes of two-stepping (step up and down a step; up with the right foot, follow with the left. Then step down with the right and down with the left)
-- 6 minutes of jumping rope. Two minutes with both feet, two minutes of hopping from foot-to-foot, then finish with two minutes of skipping (twice on the left foot, then twice on the right)

Try to maintain a moderate pace... Don't start too fast, just pace yourself and keep breathing!

Now get out of bed and quit wasting those precious 10 minutes. Life is short, live it.