Just four minutes of key exercise can quadruple fitness in older adults

You could be building serious strength in the time it takes to unload the dishwasher.A new study from Penn State College of Medicine found that engaging in as little as four minutes of four key exercises may be enough to support overall physical function in aging folk.“The human body is designed to improve very quickly,” said lead author Christopher Sciamanna.

“And just a few repetitions of an exercise performed regularly can lead to huge improvements.Exercise is about forward thinking — think about what you want to be able to do and train for it.”Published in PLOS One, the study examined the effects of a minimal strength-training regimen on adults aged 65 and older — and found marked improvement in as little as 12 weeks.Previous research has established that strength training can help people remain independent, recover from illness or injury, travel more easily and stay active later in life.But less than 20% of older adults meet the recommended two days per week of muscle-strengthening activity.Experts suspect one barrier to committing to a strength-training routine is the belief that a serious time commitment is required to reap the benefits.Yet Sciamanna and his team found that those benefits can be reaped in a shockingly short time.“There are huge problems with people wanting to do exercise.

If we can make it short, we’re partway there,” co-author Smita Dandekar assured.Building on earlier research that found shorter routines just as effective as longer sets, the team tested a program called FAST (Functional Activity Strength Training)-2, which included four key exercises: push-ups, chair stands, two-arm rows and stair stepping.About 100 participants, with an average age of 74, were assigned this exercise regimen or no regimen at all.Those doing the exercise were given resistance bands and an adjustable stepper and instructed to perform each exercise for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of rest.Modifications, such as performing pushups w...