4 minute Workout on the ROM Machine

By chance, I was walking past a building that had big signs all over it say ” 4 minutes a day gets you in shape”. I wanted to see what kind of BS they were selling so I ventured into the place. I asked a million questions, I even tried out this so called “4 minute workout” and my conclusion is that there is NO BS.

The place I went to is called  EnerG fitness and Nutrition. They have posters up everywhere touting their “losers” or clients they have that have lost a lot of weight. I went to the counter and interrogated one of their employees who offered to let me try the machines so I could see what they were all about. I went on the ROM machine for 8 minutes. The facility recommends that you do 4 minutes of upper body and 4 minutes lower body no more than 3 times a week and never to train the same body part two days in a row. Their philosophy is easy and followed by any serious workout addict, you don’t want to over train any part of your body. These ROM machines are simple. There is nothing special about them. They work out the back, the shoulders the abs, the chest and the legs but not in a way that any other weight bench wouldn’t. But what makes these machines so unique is that it works out all the muscle groups of the upper body OR the lower body in one work out in 4 minutes using a modified Tabata method.

What the heck is a Tabata Method? Only the greatest method for working out EVER!!!  Tabata is the name of a Japanese researcher who discovered an interesting way to increase both anaerobic and aerobic pathways at the same time. Cross fit actually borrows its style from Tabata style workouts. 

 What is it? It’s simple: take one exercise and perform it in the following manner:

1) For twenty seconds, do as many repetitions as possible.

2) Rest for ten seconds

3) Repeat seven more times!

The only difference with these ROM machines is that you do it a little more than 8 times. YOu go for 4 minutes without any rest per se. You do get a small rest while you transition from movement to movement on the machine.

Tabata is used by professional athletes all over the world for all kinds of training, bicycling, running, wrestling..you name it and any serious athlete will know what tabata training is.  The method kicks anyone’s ass. Why? simple..you do something you’re not use to as hard as you can and you’re going to feel results, no matter who you are or how in shape you are. P90X is successful because it never Trains the same muscle group 2 days in a row. YOu need to trick your body to do new things otherwise it peeks and stops improving ( or strengthening). That’s right folks. The human body is so smart, so efficient, that if you do the same exercise day in and day out, your body will find a way do be dumb and not have to work as hard and eventually you stop gaining any benefits from working out. You basically are doing maintenance on what you already have. To constantly improve you must trick your body with a new work out and different diet.

The Program at this place EnerG is pretty fantastic. They have different work outs for people with different goals and people who have doing the program for different lengths of time. Energy has a “personal” trainer there for you for each work out to make sure you don’t fall into the monotony of doing the same work out day in and day out. Also, if you try to work out everyday, they will yell at you. They know how important rest and recovery is in order to build a stronger, harder, hotter foundation. EnerG in my town cost a whopping $40 a year….can you believe that? I was mistaken on the pricing. Most of the gyms charge $50/month but you do get one on one training and goal setting/monitoring which is well worth the money even at $50/month
Check your area for an EnerG near you. They are independantly owned and each state varies. If you do not have an EnerG near you, then inquire at your gym to see if they will be getting these Rom Machines or google to find a place near you that will have them. As they stand right now, they are about $14,000 so unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, I don’t suggest getting one for your home. Besides, having the great help of the staff at the places who do own these is well worth the membership fee so you don’t over do yourself.