Is the MinFit workout plan REALLY enough?
share on: facebook | twitter | google+ | redditAfter covering the extremely minimal workout plan I've been following, I want to answer the question of:
"Is it really enough?"
You probably have friends or have heard of folks that go to the gym 5-7 days a week for 3 hours at a time, so how could doing three workouts under 15 minutes possibly be enough?!
There are 3 main responses I have to this (other than the likelihood that your friends are diddling around aimlessly for said 3 hours...):
The basic plan is based on the goal to simply look good naked and can be modified for more extreme goals.
Minimalist Fitness is goal-based fitness. The body that I want (and that I believe most people want) is simply one that looks nice while naked. That means not fat, and not scrawny. Our basic workout plan covers the main muscle groups and they should be trained effectively if progressive calisthenics is being done properly.
To build muscle and "tone", more is not always better. Do just enough to overload the muscle and stimulate growth.
Following that, in order to train "properly" you must be progressively overloading the muscle, breaking it down, and thereby stimulating growth. The amount of time it takes to overload the muscle is not important. Progressive calisthenics is a great way to stay fit and gain size, tone, and shape.
The exercises in the basic plan cover your entire body.
The movements for the basic workout are specifically chosen because they cover all your bases and are the best "bang-for-your-buck." Push-ups and pull-ups effectively cover your back, chest, core, and arms, while squats cover all the rest.
With that in mind, if your goals are different, simply add more. Research the other movements that are common in progressive calisthenics and work them into your routine in a minimal way. I recently have added a weekly session of sprints to my workout, for example.
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