Are you pounding out mile after mile on your treadmill, desperately checking the monitor to see how many calories you’ve burned?
Here’s the bad news. One hour on the treadmill burns off approximately one Starbucks muffin.
But are you ready for some good news?
The Wild 7 Workout can help you get better results in just minutes a week.
Exercise isn’t about burning off that chocolate chip muffin, and it’s not about punishing yourself repeatedly day in and day out.
Exercise is about setting off a hormonal cascade that improves your health, increases your mental alertness, and boosts your energy. And if you’re doing it right, you’ll build muscle and shed fat without even thinking about calories.
You don't need to pound it out on the treadmill. There's a better way to burn fat. #Wild7Workout Share on XWant to know my favorite bang-for-your buck workout? Here’s how I get a full-body workout to kick fat-burning hormones into overdrive in JUST SEVEN MINUTES.
Back when I was running marathons, I ran over 50 miles a week. I assumed I was in fantastic shape.
But have you ever really looked at a distance runner? They’re usually pale with sunken in features, and may be sporting a spare tire. Yep, that was me.
So, I hit the books and scoured research to see how to get a better composition with less exercise. Running 50 miles a week is no joke.
When you’re overtraining, your body doesn’t know if it just ran a marathon or if it was run over by a truck.
Overtraining throws your body into crisis mode. Share on XSo I decided to experiment on myself, and switched up my routine from distance running to short sprints. And I gained ten pounds… of lean muscle! The body fat that made me look kind of puffy was gone and the muscles in my abs and shoulders had never looked more sculpted.
I was lean and mean, running faster than I had before and working out less—and the crazy thing is that I could still run long distances when I wanted to. My endurance didn’t suffer at all.
From there, I developed the workout that I still do every morning. It takes only SEVEN MINUTES, and it gives you the kind of full-body workout that will signal your body to burn fat, increase strength and speed, and sculpt lean muscle.
Want to try the Wild 7 Workout? Check out this quick, step-by-step video on my back porch.
In the Wild 7 Workout, just about any high-intensity exercise will do the trick.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Burpees
- Sprints
- Hill Sprints
- Bicycle Sprints
- Jumping Jacks
It’s important to choose an activity that’s fun and makes you feel great—that way you’ll look forward to it every day.
Remember, if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.
Want to Get Better Results in Less Time?
For more exercise demonstrations and tools to improve your results, you can join the Fat-Burning Tribe for free for your first 7 days.
I created the special Wild 7 Workout Timer and added voice-over instructions that guide you step-by-step through your workouts, telling you exactly what to do and cheering you on.
You can download the Wild 7 Workout Timer to your favorite devices, and use it when you’re ready to get in a kick-butt workout.
Make sure to sign up for the Fat-Burning Tribe, to access our entire library of workout videos, and to download my Wild 7 Workout Timer. Right now, you can join for free for 7 days.
What’s your favorite high-intensity exercise? Add a comment below to share how you get your blood flowing.
So do this one time per week and nothing else? I would love if this is true.
I have experience working out and being active. Currently I haven’t been and I know I’m in pretty bad shape at the moment. Having worked out in the past, usually 3 to 5 times a week, it would feel really strange to only do a short 7 minute workout once a week.
I’ll give it a try.
Thanks
Hey Matt – I’m absolutely no expert and and I’m probably in a very similar situation to you – where I really need to get back on my game. Anyway, I don’t think you do this exercise “once per week”. Rather, I think Abel is just offering a 7 minute workout in a pinch when we have a time crunch and/or saying that doing at least this 7 minute workout is better than killing yourself on a treadmill or not working out at all. I’d probably do this type of workout 3-5 times per week with other activities on days that I decide to switch it up.
Thanks Jimmy – that’s exactly right! Thanks for helping to clear up the details for Matt and other readers. 🙂
Hi Matt – that’s a good question. I tend to do the 7-minute workout once a week to get the positive hormonal response that comes from high intensity interval training. I’m not saying that you should give up all other kind of training and ONLY do this once a week (I also enjoy strength training once a week, as well as mobility-based exercises like Qi Gong).
One thing that I want to emphasize is that exercise is about improving overall fitness and health, not necessarily weight loss. So if you’re exercising to try to lose weight by spending hours on the treadmill, it’s much better to focus your efforts on diet and do a quick, intense workout like this one. One of the reasons I like the Wild 7 Workout is because it’s so dang short and effective (so it takes away the common excuse of “I don’t have enough time to exercise”).
Intervals like this will help you push against your VO2 Max, boost your metabolism, and get you into shape more quickly and effectively than endurance type cardio, so give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Excellent advice Abel. I love doing Tabata workouts and they have really really helped me get in the best shape of my life. I usually jump rope to warm up, it really gets my blood flowing. I also use multiple exercises and alternate between them. For example, the first 20 seconds I’ll do burpees, second 20 seconds I’ll do air squats or goblet squats with a dumbbell, third I’ll do mountain climbers, fourth I’ll do lunges with dumbbells, then repeat the whole sequence a few times. I really listen to my body and see how I feel. Really any body weight exercise will work, just find what works for you and push yourself to do it as fast as you can. Also, love using the Tabata music with countdown timer on YouTube. It lets me focus on working as hard as I can without having to keep track of time. Overall, for me, intensity, consistency mixed with variety has really produced good results. 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a week works great. Thank you for all your advice Abel, it is spot on.
Right on, Anthony! Tabatas are incredibly effective (and great for mental discipline, as well).
I agree – Intensity + Consistency + Variety is where it’s at. If you get that down, 10-15 minutes a few times a week can get freaking awesome results.
Hi Abel. If one is just starting on high-intensity workouts, or has health issues, pretty much every website says to ease into it – makes sense to me. But I haven’t seen much more specific than that. For example, I can see maybe just start with one session a week to take more recovery time. But what about the workout itself? Should one do less than 7 minutes (and therefore not be totally smoked by the end)? Or should one do lower intensity (in which case it feels like more standard exercise)? Or does it not really matter, as long as one gradually goes towards something that looks more like a high-intensity workout? Thoughts?
good stuff. bj gaddour’s ‘Your body is your Barbell” has a great section in the back of it with this type of workout. he calls them the cardio eight which include jumping jacks, mountain climpers, skater jumps, donkey kicks, skier swings, break dancers, sprinters and chops.” do them all in the five minutes or two at a time in a 20 minute workout. five minute block.
At 73 years old, I could not do that exercise. It would take me much longer to get up and jumping jacks are too risky for possible hip or knee damage. I remember the day when I could have done those.
I spend an hour three days a week on cardio intervals on my treadmill followed by upper body strengthening and two days a week 1/2 hour lower body lifting sessions. What changes to my routine would assist in making my muscles more defined?
Hi Sue Watson,
Yes you are correct these exercises wouldn’t be good for you initially and perhaps not ever. If you are worried about your knees and hips, you would be better off building strength around your joints in a slow and controlled series of movements. When you feel completely stable in your movements, you can add speed and intensity. However if you wanted to get a similar effect without the danger, you could walk up and down a single flight of stairs and rest for 30 seconds to a min. Do this five times in a row and work your way up to 10 times in a row. Gradually you can reduce the rest period from 30 seconds down to 10 seconds. The big benefit of doing something like stair climbs for you is the ability to use the handle so you can take that stress off your knees by letting your arms take on some of the work. And I said begin with a full flight of stairs up and down, but you may be more comfortable with starting with a half flight. The important thing is to get started doing something you can do. -Coach Charles
Abel, I just tried this today — did the whole 7 minutes with burpees. Oh my god, you were right, it was tough! I just named it “the killer” in my language (Hungarian). 🙂
It started a completely new way of working out. I will even create a special music and play with the volume: for the 20 second activity it’ll be max volume and fading out for the 10 second rest. This way I don’t even have to look at the timer on my phone, just hit play on the track.
Thanks for this. You’re awesome, keep it up!
Patrik
That’s fantastic, Patrik. Glad you dig the workout!
Abel,
I’ve been attempting the wild 7 workout with jumping jacks because I am out of shape and want to work up to burpees.Im only making it to about the 5th set before collapsing.:)
I do it once a week. Should I continue or is this a sign that I’m not quite ready for high intensity interval training?
What was the music in the back ground?
Abel,
What do you think about using your wild 7 workout with sprints and some more regimented program like strong lifts 5×5. Do you think that will produce the optimal hormone response?
Yes, combining intervals with strength training can turn you superhuman in a jiffy. 🙂
Just did my first 7 min workout. Felt great! Did hill sprints. Unfortunately I don’t live on a mountain tho 🙂 so anything longer than a 20 second sprint up a hill is hard to come by. I have a path that has an incline which I made work. So for hill sprints do you suggest 20 up hill then stop for 10 then 20 downhill? Or how do you make it work for hill sprints without that big of a hill? I do like the idea of hills to work the legs more! Thanks
Love the workout music in the vid. What is it?
I downloaded the 30 Day Fat Loss System materials but can’t seem to find the 7 minute workout timer on your website. I have searched for it on YouTube as well. Any help appreciated!
Hi Steve – once you’re logged into Wild30.com, you can download the Wild7 Workout Timer right here for 30-Day Fat Loss System members: https://www.wild30.com/products/wild30-fat-loss-system/categories/483629/posts/1219260
And Fat-Burning Tribe members can download the Wild7 Workout Timer right here: https://www.wild30.com/products/fat-burning-tribe/categories/381997/posts/7135843
If you have any trouble, please shoot an email over to us here: CustomerCare@FatBurningMan.com. Cheers!
Hey guys I bought the book and I’ve been following the diet. I usually due Brazilian jiu Jitsu in the morning and have found it difficult to get through the day. I go to Brazilian jiu jitsu fasted and will wait to eat til early afternoon. Should I be eating right after? Will it make me feel better eating after jiu jitsu? Will I still get results?
Hello Abel,
I want to lose fat badly but i lose hope somehow. Reading your article and watching video motivated me to reach my goal. Surely gonna work on myself.
Thankyou for your motivating many more guys like me.
Wow Abel I love your on point post. I am co-owner and CEO of The Health Dare and have a passion for nutrition education! Would love to connect sometime. Here’s a snapshot of what we do with our 90 Day Challenge. During the 90 days clients are raving about their results reversing the symptoms of high blood sugar, high blood pressure, obesity, sleep apnea and high cholesterol in just a few weeks. So exciting!!!
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