12 Days of Fitness 4: Quickie Time

The 12 Days of Christmas were transformed into the 12 Days of Fitness, and we're still going strong. Lots of useful information from 12 experts in their own areas of fitness and weight loss. Keep on learning...keep on growing...keep on improving  your health. 

This 4th Day of Fitness brings us Ryan Halvorson. If you're an IDEA member, you've not doubt heard the name or read his articles in the IDEA Fitness Journal (Ryan is the associate editor for the IDEA Health & Fitness Association.) A believer in quick workouts for busy people, below Ryan shares his tips on how to get fit quickly. How quickly? How about burning a ton of calories in less than 3 minutes? Or 10-minute workouts? Sounds good to me. Read on...

One of the quickest ways to improve health and fitness is to do some form of sprint training once or twice a week.

Recently a study showed that individuals were able to burn 220 calories with only 2.5 minutes of effort. They went at their individual all-out pace for 30 seconds and rested for 4 minutes using an indoor cycle. They repeated this sequence a total of 5 times.
Total time investment? Less than 25 minutes.

My favorite sprint workout lasts only 10 minutes. It requires 20 seconds of maximal effort, followed by 40 seconds rest and repeated 10 times. How fast you go during your sprint is up to you. Want expert guidance on sprinting? The free IDEA FitnessConnect database can connect you with fitness experts in your area to make sure you are training safely and effectively.

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Ryan Halvorson is the associate editor for IDEA Health & Fitness Association; director of group training at Bird Rock Fit in La Jolla, California; and the creator of Fat 2 Fit in 30, an information site designed to provide realistic fitness and nutrition solutions for busy people. Connect with Ryan on Twitter at @ryfit.

Did you miss Day 1, 2 or 3? Don't fret, just click:
Day 1 (Keep Exercise Fun), Day 2 (Making the Impossible Possible), or Day 3 (Healthy Holidays)