In the search for easy, quick, fun ways to improve heart health and fitness, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have come up with a do-it-yourself program that’s easy as counting 1, 2, 3.
Actually, the Danes call it 10-20-30, but the basic concept of this recently conceived exercise program makes it simple to perform and, as participants report, actually fun to do — yes, you read that correctly. And because the workout is fun more people stick to it unlike other forms of exercise.
And it barely takes any time at all, compared to a day-in, day-out traditional aerobic conditioning program.
The 10-20-30 twice a week training only lasts about 12 minutes a session – although on a few other days a week, you should still do easy exercise you enjoy.
To begin a 10-20-30 workout, first you do a relaxed run for about five to ten minutes until you feel warmed up. Then your five intervals consist of:
- 30 seconds of relaxed running.
- 20 seconds of running fairly hard but not excessively exhausting.
- 10 seconds of an all-out effort.
Do that three part sequence five times without resting. Then ease off and rest for a couple of minutes with slow walking. Then you do another five intervals, cool down once again and that’s it. You’re done for the day.
Not only can this program get you into shape if you’ve been neglecting your exercise, if you’re an experienced runner, the research in Denmark shows it can cut substantial time off your personal best.
The seven-week study at the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences at the University of Copenhagen found that, on average, using this program for seven weeks to replace two days of other types of more time-consuming jogging, runners lowered their time for running 1500 meters by an average of 23 seconds. Their 5K running times came down, on average, by about a full minute.
And those improvements occurred even though the runners had reduced their overall weekly training times by 50 percent! So if these athletes saw such improvement, imagine what it could do for an average ‘Joe’ like us?
Even though I consider myself an avid ‘exerciser’ there are times when I need a little something to get me going. If you’ve had trouble getting yourself to exercise every week too, a program like this could help. It only requires a brief time commitment but it pays off with big results. I plan to incorporate it increasingly into my workouts. Maybe my time for finishing my trot around the block won’t come down — but I’ll be glad if the little bit of extra flesh around my middle sees a decrease.
