{"id":7991,"date":"2018-08-27T18:14:54","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T17:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=7991"},"modified":"2018-08-28T01:32:04","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T00:32:04","slug":"7-minute-workout-high-intensity-circuit-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2018\/08\/27\/7-minute-workout-high-intensity-circuit-training\/","title":{"rendered":"7-minute workout: high intensity circuit training"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Manolis Adamakis<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n

APP REVIEW<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

NAME OF THE MOBILE APPLICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

J&J Official 7 Minute Workout<\/p>\n

PLATFORM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Android (4.4 or later) – iOS (10.0 or later).<\/p>\n

COST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Free<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE APP<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 7 Minute Workout\u00ae app is an official science-based app designed by the Department of Exercise Physiology at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute. The primary feature of the app is based on High Intensity Circuit Training (HICT), while the secondary is based on low volume High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). These combine aerobic and resistance alternating short training periods of intense exercise, limited rest design and depend on body weight and props such as a chair or a wall.1\u00a0<\/sup>It is free of charge indefinitely after download for both Android and iOS platforms, has a full and efficient functionality without additional software downloads necessary (apart from the ordinary software updates).<\/p>\n

The 7 Minute Workout app is user-friendly for everyone who wants to exercise, as it encourages participants to start\u00a0with minimal time investment (7 minutes) which is important as\u00a0lack of time is considered a major perceived barrier to exercise.\u00a0It has a neatly implemented interface displayed in a red, white and black colour tone, and when opened from the user\u2019s smartphone device provides direct access to three main sections: 7 Minute Workout<\/em>, Smart Workout\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Workout Library\u00a0<\/em>(Figure 1).<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

A \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 B \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 C \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0D<\/strong><\/p>\n

Figure 1 <\/strong>Screenshots of J&J Official 7 Minute Workout app user interface, showing: (A) Home screen; (B) The personalized settings interface during an exercise; (C) The Workout Library interface; (D) The exercises available in the 7 Minute Workout plan.<\/h6>\n
<\/h6>\n

The original 7 Minute Workout\u00a0<\/em>section, initially described in the American College of Sports Medicine Health and Fitness Journal, consists of 12 exercises that alternate use of opposing large muscle groups to allow proper recovery for each group while continuing to work on a different group. These include jumping jacks, wall sits, push-ups, abdominal crunches, chair step-ups, squats, triceps dips on chair, planks, high knees running in place, lunges, push-up and rotations, and side planks, executed as 30 second intense intervals with 10 second rest periods between exercises.1<\/sup>The Smart Workout <\/em>feature gauges user\u2019s fitness and motivation level and creates a variety of custom workouts designed specifically for each trainee, targeting multiple focus areas and workout intensities. The Workout Library\u00a0<\/em>section allows users to choose between 22 pre-set workouts, varying in intensity (easy to hard) and duration (7 to 32 minutes), which are designed to fit their schedule.<\/p>\n

This app offers 72 high-definition instructional video tutorials of each exercise, including audio support with a virtual trainer (pre-recorded voice) telling the trainee how to perform a particular exercise. It has also more functionalities, such as the ability to set and control music during workout. Lastly, users have the option to set workout and inactivity reminders to keep them motivated.<\/p>\n

USE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the clinical context, this app can be used as a potent training method for inducing both cardiovascular and skeletal muscle adaptations that are linked to improved health outcomes.2\u00a0<\/sup>Both concepts that are incorporated in the app (HICT and HIIT) improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness, insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, lipid profiles and blood pressure, reduce arterial stiffness, increase skeletal muscle fat oxidation, post exercise metabolism and exercise adherence, enhance weight loss and, lastly, reduce abdominal and subcutaneous fat, in normal and overweight adults.2-4 T<\/sup>he 7 Minute Workout, which is the main fitness approach of the app, research has shown that it can affect the nutritional status (decrease in weight, fat mass and waist circumference) in healthy normal weight individuals who did not change any of their eating habits. It is a great solution for users to get started or to motivate continuous exercising.5<\/sup><\/p>\n

This app is specifically targeted at healthy and moderate-risk individuals cleared by their physician, with time constraints and access to facility barriers, to deliver numerous health benefits in much less time than traditional exercise programs. Body weight is used as the only resistance, without complex and expensive equipment needed, rendering it as a feasible and affordable way for the general population to exercise daily.1\u00a0<\/sup>Lastly, users can receive instantaneous verbal and visual feedback during workouts to self-assess their performance, perform each exercise correctly and avoid potential injuries.<\/p>\n

PROS<\/strong><\/p>\n