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20 Minutes Per Week Workout

by LarryC
17 replies
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I'm reading a book called Power of 10, by Adam Zickerman. It's a workout and diet book that suggests the most effective way to work out it with weights -for only 20 minutes per week! As hard to believe as this might sound, a lot of people claim it works.

I go to the gym a few times per week, so I'm going to try it. The essence of the system is to do very long, slow reps -10 seconds up, 10 seconds down (hence, the title). Do only 1 set of about 6 exercises per session.

The diet info looks good too, though not unique. Natural foods, stay away from sugar, white flour, plenty of greens, drink lots of water etc.

Has anyone tried this type of workout? It sure sounds like a time saver, if nothing else.
  • Profile picture of the author ttrfanatic
    Thanks LarryC - sounds sensible to me - will have to give this one a try myself.
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  • Profile picture of the author casdir
    20 minutes exercise per week sounds good, I might have to try it too lol
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    • Profile picture of the author clint48
      I don't do the exercise, but I am on a diet that is close to what you mentioned and it seems to be working for me.

      Clint
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  • Profile picture of the author mileagedriver
    I must get that book somehow and need to know what they guy explained in that book. 20 mins a week is good for everyone
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  • Profile picture of the author mullah86
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    • Profile picture of the author LarryC
      [QUOTE=mullah86;5149269]If you mean that 20 minutes workout a week i enough for a good body, you are absolutely wrong. You need to exercise atleast 4-5 days a week. >>

      Sure, that's the conventional wisdom....but maybe it's not true. Good excuse to post your link though, which I won't click on because I'm already thin! That doesn't mean I don't want to get fitter and stronger though.
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      • Profile picture of the author QuickSurf
        [quote=LarryC;5151616]
        Originally Posted by mullah86 View Post

        If you mean that 20 minutes workout a week i enough for a good body, you are absolutely wrong. You need to exercise atleast 4-5 days a week. >>

        Sure, that's the conventional wisdom....but maybe it's not true. Good excuse to post your link though, which I won't click on because I'm already thin! That doesn't mean I don't want to get fitter and stronger though.
        20 min a week won't do anything, better than nothing, but pointless.

        I'm at the gym 4-5 days a week, and run once a week. Muscle's need to be worked out a hell of a lot more for any gains than what that description for "20 minutes" said. Sounds like this is nothing but an short, intensive workout, which is fine, but not once a week. Mix it up, 99% of the people going to gym's don't even know how to lift or work out muscles correctly, or have a plan of which groups to hit on which days etc.

        Or more importantly don't eat right/take in enough calories. If your thin, you would make huge gains in strength/fitness going to a bulking diet and lifting heavy, then cutting down and maintaining.
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        [quote=LarryC;5151616]
        Originally Posted by mullah86 View Post

        If you mean that 20 minutes workout a week i enough for a good body, you are absolutely wrong. You need to exercise atleast 4-5 days a week. >>

        Sure, that's the conventional wisdom....but maybe it's not true. Good excuse to post your link though, which I won't click on because I'm already thin! That doesn't mean I don't want to get fitter and stronger though.
        Actually, MOST people now say 2-3 times a week! The time I had the biggest gains I was doing it twice a week. I worked out closer to 30 or 40 minutes, but still....

        That said, SOME say a week is fine. I say it is pushing it, and you shouldn't go even a day over.

        The deal is that working out tires, recruits, and maybe damages muscle. It DOESN'T BUILD! REST builds muscle. The amount of time that takes varies! It is quickest for young healthy males, over say 12, and probably slowest for old women. HEY, that is just a biological difference, NOT sexist. But if your body is totally idle, and the muscle isn't used, it may atrophy. That time varies ALSO! AGAIN, it is probably slower in young healthy males. Conventional wisdom is that it probably starts around 4 days or so. There is EVEN doubt as to the earliest it can start if you don't eat. Some say it is about 2 hours, others say about 2 days.

        Atrophy is really a bad term here, but the accepted understanding is that it shrinks. Muscle DOES use a lot of energy, and is the ONLY long term storage for protein. So it is reasonable that it wants to shrink.

        Steve
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        • Profile picture of the author bluegecko
          This really works, but be aware of the old maxim stated by others, you need more energy out than energy in!
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    • Profile picture of the author fetamy
      Yes that is true. exercise work when you work out in a regular way.
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      • Profile picture of the author lambcrazy
        Its hard to believe that 20 minutes a week can create any difference. The most effective and easy way that i felt , is through yoga . I think , through 30 minutes of yoga per day ,one can reduce the weight very easily .
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  • Profile picture of the author LarryC
    I understand it's hard to believe, but have the people saying it's impossible tried it or even looked at the book? Check it out on Amazon -it has more than 80 reviews. I'm not putting in a link because it would look like I'm trying to sell it.

    I'll admit it's probably not the ideal workout if you're a serious bodybuilder. But if you want to stay in shape, and maybe even lose weight, it looks promising. 20 minutes is the bare minimum and probably not too realistic. You have the choice of working out twice per week instead of once, which is what I'm going to do. And you can do some cardio, though it's not essential according to this theory. So even if it's more like an hour per week, that's still impressive if it works.
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  • Profile picture of the author dvnent
    interesting, i dont know about just 20hrs but its worth a shot
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  • Profile picture of the author Nutrifitness
    Oh god. I don't have time for in depth response but this method of working out is not something you can do for long periods of time. You are ok to mix this into your regular program or in between but research this super slow method of doing reps and the pros/cons etc. just google it ! If you want to do this type of workout it would be my opinion to try putting it in on your weeks off of training its definately not a lifetime way to workout unless you goal is to just move 20 min /wk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rick B
    A 160 pound man walking for 20 minutes at 3 miles per hour (very casual) burns 105 calories.
    A 160 pound man running for 20 minutes at 12 miles per hour (very fast) burns 540 calories.

    Cut out one Big Mac and save 540 calories.

    Calorie restriction is far more effective for most people than exercise when it comes to losing weight. Exercise has numerous benefits in addition to weight control though so include it whenever possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author Taniwha
    It really depends on what your goals are. 20 minutes for gaining muscle isn't going to get you far.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Reading the description and the index page - sounds a lot like Callenetics. That's a similar program that's been around for years and works great. But a full workout in that program is three 1-hr sessions a week. It's designed to spend 20 minutes on ONE section (shoulders/arms or core or legs or....).

      The number of exercises listed on the index page for this book couldn't be done in 20 minutes total unless you spent 30-45 seconds on each so I expect the time frame is to target one body area. Is that right?
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  • Profile picture of the author Halcyon
    As for working out with weights, you're correct. Any more than 45 minutes per week is wasted. As Steve mentioned the muscles need time to regroup and more work can cause more harm than good.

    However, 20 minutes per week is NOT enough exercise for any one. You can do the 20 minute weight routine once per week for strength training but cardio needs to be added on 3-4 of those other days.
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