Healthy Household: Fast Exercise

“There is a persistent widespread belief in the fitness industry that the more time you spend exercising, the better.”
Fast Exercise by Dr Michael Mosley

I have just finished a very simple and interesting book called Fast Exercise by Dr Michael Mosley. He has also written a book called Fast Diet which is basically the same as the Every-Other-Day Diet which you can read about here and here.

The book Fast Exercise will outline how to get all the health benefits of exercise in a very short period of time. If you have ever used the excuse that you don’t have time for exercise, this book is for you.

The system is based on two types of exercise. The Fast Strength workout is based on doing 2-3 sets of body weight exercises. These full-body exercises can be done anywhere and without any equipment. The most common full-body exercises are: pushup, pullup, squat, and plank. The book also has a Fast Exercise Park workout that can be done in any city park. The second type of exercise is called a Fast Fitness workout which is based on High Intense Training (HIT) and High Intense Interval Training (HIIT).

The time required for exercise is minimal:

  1. Fast Strength workout take 5-7 minutes, twice a week.
  2. The Fast Fitness workout requires two sets for 20 seconds of hard exercise twice a week. If you’re really gung-ho you can do three sets for 30 seconds of hard exercise twice a week.
  3. The program requires lots of rest between workouts!

“Hunter-gatherers would have likely alternated difficult days with less demanding days when possible. The same pattern of alternating a strenuous workout one day with an easy one the next day produces higher levels of fitness with lower rates of injury? The natural crosstraining that was a mandatory aspect of life as a hunter-gatherer improves performance across many athletic disciplines.”

Fast Strength and Fast Fitness is an excellent addition to a daily walking routine and eating a nourishing traditional diet from quality sources. Getting enough sleep and controlling stress is also important for maintaining vibrate health. Because the Fast Exercise workouts are so short there is less chance of injury. Even if you don’t like exercising the routine is over quickly. For more information see: Fast Exercise Tips. Here’s more tips for improving well-being:
Daily Prescription to Improve My Well-being

optional-exercise-equipment

Exercise equipment is optional. For Fast Strength I use a pad and reused containers as weighs. I bought a used bicycle for Fast Fitness but you can skip rope, climb stairs, or do jumping jacks. There’s no need for any equipment or expensive gym memberships.

Below is Mark Sisson showing how to do progressively more difficult Primal Movements which are basically the same exercises as Fast Strength. Here’s more information about four Primal Movements.

For more recipes please see Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.

Updated June 13, 2015: Here’s John Kiefer talking to fatburningman.com about ketogenic diets, high intensity training, life extension and functionality later in life.