4 minute workout? how many calories will it burn at least?

a well known easy fix that apparently can be more effective than up to 40 minutes of normal cardio (running/jogging).
20 seconds of squat thrusts
10 seconds resting
20 seconds of mountain climbers
10 seconds resting
20 seconds high knees
10 seconds resting
20 seconds jumping jacks
10 seconds resting
20 seconds of squat thrusts
10 seconds resting
20 seconds of mountain climbers
10 seconds resting
20 seconds high knees
10 seconds resting
20 seconds jumping jacks
10 seconds resting
TOTAL: 4 minutes
I've done this for the past two days because i've been too busy to run, and believe me, it sure puts me out of breathe. The combination of fast and intense intervals with little rest time in between results in an extremely elevated heart rate..... and apparently it keeps your heart rate up for hours on end after you finish exercising!!!! sounds great! right?

MY BIG QUESTION: IS THERE AN ESTIMATE OF TOTAL CALORIES BURNED? ANY WAY OF TELLING?
i'd like to know so i can keep better track of my caloric intake/burning in my food diary.

COMMENTS APPRECIATED! :flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • kiwi1855
    kiwi1855 Posts: 218 Member
    HRM is the only way to tell for sure.
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  • StartingAnewDay
    StartingAnewDay Posts: 319 Member
    HRM is the only way to tell for sure.

    sorry, but what is HRM?

    Heart Rate Moniter
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
    I used my heart rate monitor to measure a very similar low impact routine I did last night (ten minutes). I burned 54 cals (5'7, 150lbs).

    I...really don't know where the idea that your heart rate will stay up comes from, but my heart rate dropped back down to normal within 5 minutes of the workout.

    Doesn't meant it's not worth doing...
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    And even that will only give an estimation. An informed estimate, but nevertheless only an estimation.

    My guess is if you do that without stopping, someone weighing about 150lb will burn about 50 calories. For me at 119lb it would be more like 35. It may be effective at increasing cardiovascular fitness, but it's sod all use to burn calories.

    Plus, it will take far more than four minutes because unless you're going to injure yourself, you'd need a pretty comprehensive warmup before doing it. Frankly you'll probably burn more calories warming up and cooling down!
  • Human Resource Manager...lol

    no, It stands for Heart Rate Monitor. There are tons of HRM gadgets that can help monitor your heart rate+. Lots of people on here use whats called a Fitbit. It can plug into your comp and sync the information directly to your account.
  • akiramezu
    akiramezu Posts: 278
    50 calories is my estimate. That's a weak workout, if anything, you would do that 5 to 10 times to get an effective workout
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  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
    Plus, it will take far more than four minutes because unless you're going to injure yourself, you'd need a pretty comprehensive warmup before doing it. Frankly you'll probably burn more calories warming up and cooling down!

    really? it honestly reads like a warm-up to me.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    Incidentally, producing an "Extremely high heart rate" is NOT a great indicator of what makes a "good" exercise for someone who is unfit.

    Stop looking for quick fixes, they may land you with a heart attack!
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
    I used my heart rate monitor to measure a very similar low impact routine I did last night (ten minutes). I burned 54 cals (5'7, 150lbs).

    I...really don't know where the idea that your heart rate will stay up comes from, but my heart rate dropped back down to normal within 5 minutes of the workout.

    Doesn't meant it's not worth doing...

    will it eventually lead to weight loss, though? because apparently its great if you're busy and can't go for a 40 minute workout. should i just work harder to find time to do a full 40 minutes of cardio?

    The only way that I can think of something like that helping you is if you do it in the morning, and it is more likely to make you use your body more throughout the day.

    Sorry, but I don't have any further actual info.
  • Elizadolots
    Elizadolots Posts: 178
    I am no exercise guru! But if you could up them to 1 minute instead of 20 seconds, it should be much more worth while. I did see something about very high intensity training for a few minutes having a good effect on your health, but don't bank many calories on it! :bigsmile:
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    will it eventually lead to weight loss, though? because apparently its great if you're busy and can't go for a 40 minute workout. should i just work harder to find time to do a full 40 minutes of cardio?
    Work harder to find time to do cardio AND resistance training. If you only have time to do one, go for the resistance training.

    Will it lead to weight loss? At 50 calories a workout, it would take 70 days to lose one pound.

    That is only if you do not end up eating more "because you're exercising"

    As I said, stop looking for quick fixes for exercise.

    If you want a quick fix, stop eating any food that has sugar as an ingredient, and don't eat other stuff instead to make up for it. For the majority of the population that will do the trick.

    Or you could use this site as it's intended to be used, log your calories, watch your macros, do some exercise, see the pounds drop off.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    Plus, it will take far more than four minutes because unless you're going to injure yourself, you'd need a pretty comprehensive warmup before doing it. Frankly you'll probably burn more calories warming up and cooling down!

    really? it honestly reads like a warm-up to me.
    We are taking about someone who says it produces "An extremely elevated heart rate" - so presumably they are currently extremely unfit.

    Personally I would not warm up using squat thrusts and jumping jacks...
  • You're a bodyrocker aren't you? I do their routines all the time, LOVE them, but I never log it. I'm one of those people who don't eat back their calories (at least not for routines like that) and the results are amazing. Your heart rate should go back to normal after the workout. If it doesn't something isn't right. It will keep your body fired up for a while after, that is true, but heart rate should go back to normal - that is a sign of good health. I would say just keep it up, but if you're only doing 4 minute routines, don't log the exercise as it's not really enough to make a difference.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    I used my heart rate monitor to measure a very similar low impact routine I did last night (ten minutes). I burned 54 cals (5'7, 150lbs).

    I...really don't know where the idea that your heart rate will stay up comes from, but my heart rate dropped back down to normal within 5 minutes of the workout.

    Doesn't meant it's not worth doing...

    will it eventually lead to weight loss, though? because apparently its great if you're busy and can't go for a 40 minute workout. should i just work harder to find time to do a full 40 minutes of cardio?

    No, it won't lead to weight loss. A calorie deficit will lead to weight loss. A short high intensity workout is as effective as hours of normal exercise for blasting the gunk out of your arteries, and improving your reaction to insulin, but does nothing at all for weight loss or cardiovascular fitness.
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  • HRM is heart rate monitor.
    Ive been doing 100 "high knees", 5 reps with 30 seconds in between.
    Any way to know calories burned? It doesnt seem to be in the exercise database
  • Just my two cents, but I do love this workout. I consider myself to be very in shape. I typically eat very lean and try to work out or do something active every day. Even at 5'7" and 110lbs, this work out feels super intense for me. My heart is pounding, I'm sweating, and my whole body feels like jello right after I finish. It may not be the best at burning calories, but I wouldn't knock it until you've tried it. I feel just as exhausted after this work out as I do after spending 45 minutes on a cardio machine. I wouldn't rely solely on this routine, but it is an added bonus.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    between 35 and 45 calories
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    This is a Tabata workout, which is designed to help increase VO2max and aerobic/anaerobic capacity, and not necessarily burn the most calories. You should be going at 170% during the 20 second intervals...and literally feeling like you're going to die. Its good to throw a few of these in your exercise routine, but no, it won't create a huge calorie deficit.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    That does not equal 40 minutes of running.
  • spritie
    spritie Posts: 167
    I agree with many of the above posters. It's a tabata style workout, which while not burning heaps of calories.

    Will improve your cardiovascular health and fitness. VO2 max is a measure of cardiovascular fitness. That's what it's equal to improving in relation to 40 minutes jogging/other low intensity cardio.

    Definitely a great thing to have in your workout regime, but for calorie burning sadly you need a bit longer than just the 4 minutes.

    However this interval training method, such as used in body rock with the slightly longer intervals thinking 50/10 etc, can be very efficient calorie burns I average around 200-300 in 20ish minutes depending on what exercise's I'm doing and how hard I push.
  • onedayillbeamilf
    onedayillbeamilf Posts: 966 Member
    Isn't that Tabata? And it was my understanding that you do a set of exercises 20sec full throttle, 10 sec rest for 4 min, then a different set of exercises, etc and the entire workout should total 20 min. Or do I understand wrong? Which is a very likely possibility.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    double
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    like 40-60 calories
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    If you did that during a 40-minute workout, it would make the workout more effective than it would be otherwise.

    Doing it by itself as a 4 minute workout (that includes 80 seconds of doing nothing) is of minimal value.
  • head_in_rainbows
    head_in_rainbows Posts: 290 Member
    just a quick question, what is tabata?
  • lwoodroff
    lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
    I've done similar with my HRM on and it's around 30 cals. the point isn't the cals burned though it's because it kick starts your metabolism for the day :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    a well known easy fix that apparently can be more effective than up to 40 minutes of normal cardio

    and you're basing this assertion on ????