
7 Minute Workout by Quick Fit - qoshibotu
http://7minuteworkout.us/
======
GhotiFish
I like this, but having an ultra fit guy do it, and throwing out the words
"Scientifically proven" in a work out routine are just huge red flags for me.

I'm fine with using it, what I'm not fine with is if someone finds out that
I'm using something with such obviously bullshit marketing tactics, and thinks
I fell for it. How am I supposed to explain "No, no, honestly! I just think
it's a decent guide and a good pacing tool. I'm not under the delusion that
I'll look like that, I swear!" ^eyes roll^

Why do all these tools have to market themselves as that "one wierd trick
that's scientifically proven, gyms hate him!"?

~~~
codingdave
Seriously? Your concern with this app is what your friends might think if you
use it? And having a less fit model would make you more comfortable?

This is just an app that shows a workout. The negativity in the comments
around here astounds me.

~~~
GhotiFish
yes.

Or at least, that's the best way I can express my feelings regarding it.

It's a mix. I don't like that it looks like I'm a sucker, but I can't shake
the feeling that the BS is working.

Am I valuing it because it's "scientifically proven" and "the guy doing it is
muscular therefore it works"? Certainly not consciously, but subconsciously it
could color my decisions. That's an uncomfortable thought.

Further, if I buy into it, will I contribute to another statistic that gets
flashed around business meetings that demonstrate that slimeball tactics like
this work? I hate these techniques, am I making them more popular?

Maybe there's a tool out there that doesn't do stuff like this, and I'm not
aware of it. I could be contributing to that tools growth rather than this
ones. _edit: there
is.[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7152886](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7152886)
_

Do I become a hypocrite for using it?

To be blunt, this is sort of a post hoc rationalization of why I don't like
it.

>The negativity in the comments around here astounds me.

Body training receives so much criticism because this is a category of self
improvement that _truly deserves it_. So much snake oil. So much "science".
The bar must be set very high after such a sordid history.

~~~
codingdave
So if I can paraphrase, you really want to be "voting with your dollars", when
it comes to which apps to use, and for you, theis segment of the industry has
a poor track record, so when you see marketing that lacks integrity, you do
not want to offer that support to it.

That makes sense to me, and sounds more reasonable than saying you are worried
about what other people think. Is that a fair way to rephrase where you are
coming from?

~~~
GhotiFish
well. Since I'm not spending dollars, I'd be more accurately voting with my
statistics.

but Yes, Voting with my statistics was sort of a post hoc rationalization of
what I didn't like the app.

Like I said, it was a mix.

To be truthful, I didn't like it because it had red flags. That's really the
end of my rational. I feel that's valid enough, because there's another site
that does the same thing sans the red flags.

------
scotch_drinker
Any exercise is better than no exercise. Short amounts of exercise at high
intensity is probably better than medium length exercise at low intensity.
Anything that makes more people want to do more exercise is a good thing.
Anything that makes it clear that a little exercise is better than no exercise
is a good thing (this seems obvious but you'd be surprised how many people
think that if they can't get 30-60 minutes in, why bother?).

All that being said, doing this every day for 30 days will eventually result
in your body acclimating to the external stress and you will begin to see
fewer and fewer benefits. Same thing happens if you run 30 minutes every day
or do the exact same lifts for a month. For optimal results (where results
might equal strength gains, weight loss, cardiovascular endurance or anything
else), you have to regularly vary the training by time, exercise and
intensity. I think this is awesome for a whole bunch of people I know who
don't do ANY exercise. I'm just not sure it's going to have long term effects
because there just isn't enough variability.

~~~
cgh
Actually, "muscle confusion" is a myth. As you get stronger/fitter, you need
to increase intensity, whether it be by lifting more, running faster, etc.
There is no need to change the exercises or the time you spend doing them.

In the case of this 7 Minute Workout, just keep going harder - add a weight
belt, incline the pushups and work towards full handstand pushups, etc.

~~~
scotch_drinker
>In the case of this 7 Minute Workout, just keep going harder - add a weight
belt, incline the pushups and work towards full handstand pushups, etc.

I think we must be in violent agreement since this is the very definition of
variability. Incline pushups are a different exercise. So are handstand
pushups. Also there is some limit that you will reach if you go balls to the
wall for 7 minutes as it relates to intensity. Increasing time at the same
level of intensity necessarily means you do more work and get more benefit.
You can't increase intensity doing the same exercises all the time as there is
a finite limit of how much stuff you can do in 7 minutes.

------
weatherlight
As a professional Athlete, I'll tell you right now, 7 minutes isn't enough.

This will increase happiness and a general sense of well being for about 3 and
a half weeks 'til your body adjusts to this level of 'stress' (because it's
the same routine every time)

The design is awesome. I could see a interface like this being very useful for
elementary yoga poses but this is a far call from an AMAZING work out.

~~~
somewhatjustin
Would changing the routine every week or so help?

~~~
devonrt
What if you programmed in a different programming language every week or so?
Roughly the same result. You'd know a little bit about a lot of languages, but
never enough to be very productive, and you'd never build anything worth
using.

------
bjt
I use [http://www.7-min.com/](http://www.7-min.com/) as the bare minimum
workout on days when there's not time or I'm too lazy to do anything else.

The most important thing I've found in getting more fit is to consistently do
_something_ every day. Getting started is the hardest part. Having something
that only takes 7 minutes, and requires no more equipment than a chair, takes
away a lot of excuses and makes that bare minimum easier. Once that's a habit,
throwing in longer workouts isn't so hard.

------
steven2012
If you actually read the article/paper from last year, it stated that you
needed to do the 7 minute workout 2-3 times in a row in order to get the
proper workout. The idea wasn't that you only needed to work out for 7 mins a
day.

~~~
squires
The original paper says that you _can_ repeat the workout 2-3 times, time
permitting, but does not state that it's required in order to get the benefits
of the workout.

In fact, the NY Times article[1] from May 9, 2013 that introduced many to the
workout says:

"Work by scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and other
institutions shows, for instance, that even a few minutes of training at an
intensity approaching your maximum capacity produces molecular changes within
muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or bike riding."

[1] [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-
scientific-7-mi...](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-
scientific-7-minute-workout/)

~~~
verisimilidude
I've been doing this exercise daily since about last August. One seven-minute
session was great during the first month, when I was fresh off the couch. But
ever since, I've been doing it at least twice in a row to really _feel the
burn_.

The results have been great. I'm not bounding with muscle or anything, but
it's now a lot easier for me to throw my kids around, etc.

------
jlees
Saying 'scientifically proven' with no about page or justification is like
saying 'healthy'. Might want to rethink that copy...

~~~
eswat
They allude to what study[1] they refer to on the iTunes store page. But yeah,
the landing page itself it too simple for its own good, made to attract people
wanting a quick fix or a silver bullet.

[1] [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-
scientific-7-mi...](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-
scientific-7-minute-workout/)

------
rahimnathwani
7 minute abs, anyone?

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEkJ3zRTcY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEkJ3zRTcY)

~~~
nacs
Funny thing is, the iOS app on the website has a "Quick Abs" in-app purchase;

------
timsally
You know a great way to get a good workout in a short period of time is?
Running. You should run for 25 minutes 3 to 4 times a week. There are three
types of workouts you should do within this time. Long Slow Distance (LSD),
Continuous High Intensity (CHI), and Interval (INT). For LSD, you run the
entire time for a long distance slow enough such that you can talk comfortably
the entire time. For CHI, you run 15 minutes at 90-95% of your maximum speed
and then recover. For INT, you run for 2.5 minutes at maximum speed followed
by 5 minutes of recovery, repeating until done. Congratulations, you're now
more physically fit than most of the population in less time than the typical
nerd spends caffeinating each week.

Source: [http://www.sealswcc.com/pdf/naval-special-warfare-
physical-t...](http://www.sealswcc.com/pdf/naval-special-warfare-physical-
training-guide.pdf)

------
brosephius
There's a huge spectrum of what a "workout" can be depending on your goals.
The original title of the post said it was "amazing" and "beautifully
designed", which is a bit of an overstatement. It's a fine low-impact
beginner's workout, and if you just want to sweat a bit each day it's fine. If
you're looking to become a competitive athlete or get totally jacked, this
isn't worth anything to you. There's no one-size-fits-all.

Working out isn't hard. Figure out what your goals are, pick a selection of
exercises that fit that goal, and do them. Forget gimmicks, train yourself to
want to work out and it's much easier. And don't forget to pay attention to
what you eat, that can make or break your workout.

------
natejenkins
Like other people have said, this is better than nothing, but I think the real
direction workouts should go is towards being fun. I never workout per say,
but I spend a good share of my free time doing fun stuff (in my case mostly
bouldering) that I can't wait to do again when I'm finished, and the only
reason I stop is because of physical exhaustion (and lack of skin). If the
growth of climbing gyms is any indication, there is a huge market for fun,
social workouts, which seems obvious enough. Although I haven't tried it
personally, it appears as though Crossfit is also trying to make physical
activity fun.

If you do stuff that's fun then you won't care anymore how long it takes.

~~~
sliverstorm
The exercise itself doesn't have to be "fun". Barbell isn't "fun", but I keep
going back for the social aspect, spending time with my gym friends. Well,
that and the moment of euphoria after deadlift.

~~~
natejenkins
That's the thing, in all my stints in regular gyms I never made friends. It
isn't normal to strike up a conversation with the guy (or even worse the girl)
lifting next to you. I can see the motivation if you have a group of friends
that are all working out together. In comparison, it is hard to be antisocial
in a climbing gym. People will talk to you.

I'd still argue that fun is better. I can do mundane things that make me a
stronger climber, but there is an end-goal, and the bulk of my time is spent
having a good time. When I was lifting for the sake of lifting I could never
make it more than 6 weeks or so.

~~~
sliverstorm
Oh, sure, it's hard to establish friendships _at_ the gym. We established our
partnership outside the gym; we are lifting buddies. The gym is the main place
I see them.

------
spada
People will discount this a pointless and "not enough". do something like this
everyday for a month and you'll see that this type of exercise is very
effective.

~~~
Avshalom
if this is the same scientifically proven 7 minute work out that was making
the rounds a few months ago it's results were based on basically going hard
enough to make yourself puke for the whole 7 minutes.

If you're not doing it at sufficient intensity it is probably fairly
pointless.

------
numfive
Love the interface. Also, the videos of real people and not stick figures is a
nice touch :)

------
doppenhe
7 min is a great warmup, use this app or any other of them to start your gym
routine. Tack on another 30 minutes of work and you now have a very effective
workout.

The best part is you can do it at your desk :)

------
ColinWright
I'm watching this scream up the front page of HN. Again. It did the same when
it became popular a few months ago, not least for all the apps that suddenly
popped up. People quickly wrote an app over the weekend and told us about it
here.

It seems perfect, doesn't it? Just seven minutes every day and you too can be
amazingly fit. I wonder how many people actually stuck to it every day, and
how good the results were. I doubt we'll ever know. But you know, it's only
seven minutes.

Full intensity.

Every day.

~~~
agumonkey
This among other things got me motivated enough to start. Very happy with the
results, a lot of everyday things become a pleasure (almost) like climbing
stairs 2 by 2 like a kid ... I don't think I go 'full intensity', more deeply
applied, for 3 sets. For unfit people in front of screens all day long I would
highly suggest having a similar routine.

------
cliveowen
I think a 7-minute workout is better than nothing, but if your day is so
packed that you can't cut out an hour for the gym you should probably rethink
your schedule.

~~~
stdbrouw
I say this as someone who _does_ head to the gym regularly, and I get why
going to the gym is probably a better idea than watching television for an
hour, but... why would an hour at the gym be in any way superior to any number
of inspiring and invigorating activities such as playing a musical instrument,
learning a new language or learning how to draw, volunteering and so on? And
you can't do all of those things at the same time, so something's gotta give.

Some might think health should be everyone's top-most concerns, and many
others don't think that way and live perfectly satisfying lives too.

~~~
humanrebar
> ...why would an hour at the gym be in any way superior to any number of
> inspiring and invigorating activities such as playing a musical instrument,
> learning a new language or learning how to draw, volunteering and so on?

...or playing with your kids. Or helping them with their homework. Or taking
your SO on a date.

Let's be honest, especially for people with families, an hour is a decent-
sized chunk of discretionary free time.

------
IanDrake
The warm up for my exercise routine takes longer than 7 minutes and there's a
reason I do it.

If I went down right now to pump out push ups my joints would scream at me.

~~~
Eric_WVGG
A lot of folks are starting to qustion the conventional wisdom —
[http://saveyourself.ca/articles/stretching.php](http://saveyourself.ca/articles/stretching.php)

~~~
IanDrake
Yeah, I don't stretch much. It's mostly about warm-up movements like
marching/running in place, jacks, arm circles, back movements etc... Then some
ballistic stretches and a few limited static stretches.

------
wellboy
Bam, awesome just did that. My pecs are swollen and my abs burn.

Will put that in my company culture. Spontaneous workouts during the day hehe.
xD

------
strickjb9
Guys and gals. If you don't do any exercise or do very little then this
comment is for you.

Forget about all this crap out there about how to get results with the least
amount of work. Instead, just go do something active that you ENJOY and can
repeat. Health is about a LIFESTYLE change that you can persist.

------
ftwinnovations
As an avid weight lifter out on a two month backpacking trip, this is just
what the doctor ordered. Ya I could always just do the moves on my own but I
am not as comfortable with body weight stuff as I am with a bar. 99¢ well
spent!

------
iblaine
The domain 6minuteworkout.us is available...maybe I will buy it and undercut
this guy.

------
tlear
Suggestion. Add an option for women model and show some variation for the
pushups. Most guys crank at least a few with poor form, but for girls it is
much harder if they are not fit

------
toblender
Beats my half ass attempt:
[http://defyent.com/fitin7/app](http://defyent.com/fitin7/app)

------
dangle
This is way better.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6etLKswjq8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6etLKswjq8)

------
krmmalik
If this was something I could load up with ease on my iPhone and then beam to
airplay with littl fuss, then I'd use it.

~~~
mikehearn
Download the app and use Airplay's mirroring functionality. Both your
requirements are met.

------
weatherlight
...also doing the same thing everyday, at full intensity will result in injury

~~~
HudsonMauer
...isn't that nearly the definition of being a professional athlete? :)

~~~
bcbrown
I bet most if not all professional athletes use periodization. At some point,
the stimulus required to produce adaptations will overwhelm your recovery
ability, and you need to start adding lower-intensity work.

------
tlear
I can see how this can be a really good morning wake me up kinda exercise.

------
erobbins
if it's not good enough, can I get the extra minute for free?

