Just seven minutes a day to health bliss!

The following are highlights of an exciting fitness regimen I read on pages, 72-73, in India Today, Aug 11, 2014

Journal of the American College of Cardiology’s simple new guideline: run at slow speed for just 7 minutes a day and cut down on your health risks. Scientists studied over 55,000 adults over a 15-year period. Runners had a 30% lower risk of death from all causes and a 45% lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke. They lived, on average three years longer compared to non-runners.

The article discusses how running benefits the brain (beta endorphins release creates high), lungs (more oxygen with each breath), arteries (keeps open preventing heart attacks), stomach (immunity boost by improving blood flow), calories (pushes up peptide YY, appetite suppressants), bones (strengthens, enhances stability, delays arthritis) and blood (arteries elastic, lowers sugar level).

The American College of Sports Medicine also recommends a 7 minutes set of high-intensity workouts-with just body weight, a chair and a wall. The article lists twelve 30 seconds exercises performed in rapid succession with 10-second rests in between

To make you feel guilty for not doing this, you can buy a snazzy wristband that gives you a mild electric shock if you slack off at the appointed workout time. Check out this new technology from Mahesh Sethi’s start up Pavlok

Guess which among a 2014 Accenture survey of 6 countries-Australia, Canada, India, S. Africa, UK and US had the highest (80%) number of consumers who desired to buy fitness monitors? Surprise: India

Have a healthy productive day