by Michael Carrera

Chances are you had to give the title of the article a second glance.  You probably asked yourself, since the “I” is directly below the number “8” on the keyboard, maybe he pressed the wrong key by accident?  Actually no mistake was made.  The purpose of this article is to show you how you can lose fat, increase your muscular endurance and define your body by performing eight simple exercises for eight minutes a day, six days per week. You choose which day of the week you want to take off.  Get ready to feel the burn! No one ever said that burning fat was supposed to be easy.

Getting Started
What I like most about this workout is that it doesn’t fit in with conventional fitness thinking.  You don’t need expensive equipment and you don’t have to worry about counting repetitions.  All you need is a piece of elastic tubing, a stop watch or clock in close view.  This program consists of performing a combination of eight bodyweight and tubing exercises.  The bodyweight exercises such as push-up, lunges and crunches will help you build strength while the tubing exercises will raise your heart rate, tire your muscles and burn calories.  Different exercises will be performed on alternate days and each exercise is performed for 60 seconds.  You will have a list of Day 1 and Day 2 exercises which should be alternated throughout the week.  So, in a typical week, Day 1 will be performed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Day 2 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  If you are not accustomed to exercise, eight minutes a day is a good start. 

Maximize Your Eight Minutes
You are all set to get your list of exercises.  Remember, you have a minute to complete each exercise.  In the beginning, you may have to stop and catch your breath before the minute is up, but as you get stronger you will be able to perform more reps.  Feel free to stop and go at your own pace, just keep in mind that the program is only eight minutes long so you really want to optimize your time so you can optimize your results.  If weight loss is your goal and you are committed to a nutritional and supplement plan, but always avoid exercise, this program may be right for you.

Is Eight Minutes Enough?
First I have to ask you how much time you currently spend exercising?  If your answer is “I don’t exercise regularly”, then eight minutes is a good start.  The fact of the matter is that most people who exercise do so at a very light level.  For instance, the person performing 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity will wait until the 23rd or 24th minute before they kick it up a notch for fear that they will prematurely tire themselves out.  On the other hand, you have the strength trainee who not only waits until the third and final set of the exercise to really showcase a good effort, but often waits until the final exercise of the routine before increasing the intensity.  Eight minutes is a very short and non-intimating time.  As long as you make every repetition count for the duration of the circuit, you will begin to see results.  Eventually, you may want to introduce free weight exercises to your workout.

The Workout
I tell my clients to try this workout out for four to six weeks. After four weeks, you may want to introduce a second set which will bring your workout time to 16 minutes. 
The two charts below list your exercises for the two alternating workout days.

Day 1
No	Exercise	Time
1	Push-up	60 sec
2	Seated pull (tubing)	60 sec
3	Ab crunch	60 sec
4	Run on spot	60 sec
5	Opposite arm/Opposite leg	60 sec
6	Reverse crunch – legs bent	60 sec
7	Squat and Press (tubing)	60 sec
8	Wall sit 60 sec	60 sec

Day 2
No	Exercise	Time
1	Run on the spot	60 sec
2	Floor hip extension	60 sec
3	Lunge 60 sec	60 sec
4	Standing bicep curl	60 sec
5	Door assisted tricep extension	60 sec
6	Rainbows – legs extended	60 sec
7	High knees on spot	60 sec
8	Close-grip push-up	60 sec

 

Final Tips
• Perform the exercises at a moderate pace and at the best of your ability.
• Make every repetition count, but don’t count reps, just focus on the time.
• Move from one exercise to another as quickly as possible (no rest between exercises).
• Rest during the exercise as needed, just keep in mind that your goal is to optimize the use of your eight minutes of scheduled exercise.
• You may substitute any exercise with your favorite exercise, just make sure not to perform any one exercise more than 2 days in a row.
• As you get stronger and begin to see and feel the results, add minutes to your workout by repeating some of your favorite exercises for that day.  For instance, at the end of your eight-minute Day 2 workout, you may wish to perform a second 60-second set of both rainbows and lunges which will in effect bring your workout to 10 minutes.
• This workout can also be performed with free weight exercises or machines!