The minimum effective dose: a 2-minute workout.

What is the minimum effective workout that delivers exercise benefits?

This is an important question; there can be hectic moments in life when you just can’t fit in the routine you originally committed to. Instead of doing nothing, I like to have a fallback for those times: the bare minimum effective dose.

So what is that minimum? It’s one exercise. It takes about 2 minutes. It can be done anywhere, any time with no equipment or special clothing required.

The exercise is: the wall sit. Here’s how it works: you mime sitting on a chair with your back flat against a wall and nothing under you. Your thighs should be parallel to the floor, your knees should be at a 90 degree angle, and your feet should be directly below your knees. It feels easy for 5 or 10 seconds. Then your legs begin to work like crazy.

Your goal is to hold this as long as you can. Most people will last somewhere around 2 minutes, give or take a minute. And by about halfway into it you should notice that you’re getting winded and your legs are tremoring.

This single, non-movement exercise delivers an impressive cardiovascular and muscular workout that involves many of the largest muscles in your body. If you’ve done it before you know what I mean. If you haven’t, pull out your phone, open a stopwatch app, and try it now before you finish reading this. How was it?

I recommend committing to doing a wall sit as a fallback, must-do workout any time all else fails in your schedule and routine.

You can do this anywhere, and you have time to do it if you’ve made it a priority. It takes less time than brushing your teeth.

Did you try it? What do you think? Do you want more advice on how to get the most out of this exercise? Let me know on facebook, here: www.facebook.com/myogenicsfitness