Who is it for?
Anyone pressed for time who wants to get into shape can use 10-Minute Trainer as a program or on days when you don’t have time for your regularly scheduled workout.
What equipment does it require?
Resistance bands and a door and waist attachment. A yoga mat and a good pair of shoes are recommended.
Can ten minutes a day really work?
Yes, although how effectively is up to you and your fitness level. If you’ve been doing P90X this will be a step down. However, the workouts are hard enough to use for that or any Beachbody program as a substitute for your regular workout when you don’t have time. The program also comes with suggestions for multiple workouts a day, at which point almost anyone can benefit from it.
Is it weight training or cardio?
Every workout is a series of resistance moves (using bands) done at a pace that achieves an incredible cardiovascular benefit. Even the yoga/stretch workout has both cardiovascular and resistance benefits.
How many workouts can I do in a day?
It depends upon how fit you are. For most people, more than three a day is too much, which we know because we ran a test group to find out.
I missed a week due to vacation/work travel/sickness. Where do I start from today?
Missing a few days is no big deal. Just jump back into your program where you left off. After about five or six days off, your body is fully recovered and very strong, and you actually have the ability to hurt yourself if you’re doing multiple workouts a day by breaking down your fast-twitch muscle fibers. This can make you too sore to work out for over a week. If you’ve missed more than five days, start slow on your first day back, maybe doing a third to a half of your normal workout and ramp up little by little, taking about a week to get back to where you left off.
What’s the perfect next step?
Assuming time is a huge factor in your life, how about FOCUS T25 or P90X3? 25–30 minutes a day seems like a reasonable next step. Before you jump in, take a short break and maintain your results (they’ll actually improve for a little while).
What is maintenance work?
It’s much harder to get into shape than it is to maintain that shape once you get there. You can generally maintain a level pretty close to peak fitness with about half the volume of your program. To maintain, you can utilize many different forms of training but the easiest is often 3–4 days per week of the program you just finished. It will decline slowly over time, but you’ll probably start another program or activity to pick up the slack after awhile.