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Min Viable Workout
Why it matters?
With all we currently know about exercise science, the benefits of holistic fitness, and our physiology, we can boil down smarter ways to move. Instead of dabbling in various modalities that just make us feel good and look good, what about looking at why humans need to move in the first place and the key principles that can get us moving smarter?
We were evolutionarily designed to move to stay alive, but what used to be a mechanistic necessity for “feasting, f*cking and fighting,” is now done as a method to improve our health span and increase our lifespan. So, if we don’t have to spend all day long on fine-tuning those survival tactics (unless you like mastering the skill of spear fishing), how might we move more intelligently to consistently reap the benefits related to good health and long life (endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, aesthetics, etc).
Having a “minimal viable workout” of your own also takes out all the decision-fatigue that comes from dabbling with fitness trends by sticking with a program designed more around ‘how you’re meant to move as a human.’
How it works?
Design around the principles of human fitness. There are various components to exercise: Stability (Structure), Strength, Power, Flexibility, Endurance and Speed. Each of these components requires different principles to improve on their own, but you can set a minimum set of vectors to move the needle on them. There are many methods, but the principles for fitness adaptations are few:
- Progressive Overload (Adding Weight or Intensity over time while decreasing Reps/Sets)
- Time Under Tension (Total time a muscle or group of muscles is activated during the movement to promote growth)
- Periodization and Consistency (The timed frequency of workouts and being consistent of how you develop the component)
- Active Recovery (Taking the necessary time to heal your system to minimize stress and damage)
- Oxygen Efficiency (Increasing your VO2 Max or rate of oxygen absorbed during exercise to convert to energy).
Then to minimize complexity or just moving for the sake of it, it’s useful to think about minimum movement taking these factors into account for maximum results. Granted, if you’re developing a skill, more time (with adequate rest) will improve that skill. But if you’re just trying to maintain a healthy baseline with sustained gains, then an MVP workout of 3 x 45mins per week can suffice for a fit non-athlete. Below is an example of a simple primer that takes into account these above principles to move more holistically.
Examples
Stop dabbling in various exercise modalities and design or look for a minimal viable workout to support your baseline fitness.
Sources:
Weightlessness Primer by Tom Fazio
Hubermann Lab