P.A.C.E.: The 12-Minute Fitness Revolution

I have been following Dr Sears advice for a couple of years now. I bought this book about two weeks ago, and after my first workout I could tell this would be the one for me. It forces you to increase your intensity level by level. I have never been so tired after such a short workout. I am in the military, so fitness is very important for my career. I would recommend this book to anyone (I already have). Try it, you won't regret it. I have yet to try some of his supplementing advise, but I am eager to begin. The book introduces you to the Glycemic Load diet which is a lot like Atkins, but much better in my opinion. If you follow this workout there is no way you will remain at your current level of fitness. I love that it only takes 15 to 20 minutes. I will update this as I get further into the workout.

In Sears' book, we discover we don't need cardio, aerobics or weightlifting. He tells us that our society is overweight and out of shape and that these activities only make our problems worse. I was interested to discover that Sears offers a great way to help yourself avoid a heart attack or stroke. He says that those events can happen when a person is under sudden stress or something happens to cause the heart to beat faster than normal. For example, you've heard of the person who had a heart attack upon hearing of the death of a loved one or perhaps after shoveling snow. So using his method, you train the heart to be strong and to be prepared for these triggers and you'll safely go through them. "When your heart has the capacity to jump into high gesr whenever it needs to and then recover at a moment's notice, you are in excellent health," he says. So the routines you learn in the book will help you get your heart in good health in short spurts. He says long duration workouts are unnatural and dangerous. Sears says your lungs shrink with age and each time you practice extended endurance-related cardio, you're making them even smaller and weaker. His PACE program is designed to solve that problem. Of regular exercise programs he says, "These misguided forms of exercise downsize your heart's output, shrink your lungpower, and encourage your body to make more fat." He tells us we can reverse this problem. You don't need to force yourself through monotonous "cardio", aerobics or weight training. He suggests you replace these strategies with activities that mimic your challenges in a natural environment, the results come much faster and easier. On top of that, it takes much less of your time and it's fun to do. This is called functional strength training. He encourages you to do about twelve minutes of high intensity exercise plus recovery and rest. Moreover, he wants you to change how much you do --- progressively increase your intensity --- and change your routines regularly. A routine should last no more than 15 to 20 minutes. He says, "Researchers from the University of Missouri found that short bouts of exercise were more effective for lowering fat and triglyceride levels in the blood.4 (High triglycerides dramatically increase your risk of heart disease.) " Sears adds, "Another study revealed that the duration of exercise routines predicts the risk of heart disease in men. They found that several shorter sessions of physical activity were more effective for lowering the risk of coronary heart disease." PACE® stands for Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion. The PACE® program starts with interval training, but takes it a step further. According to Sears, the key is the afterburn. By limiting your workout to 15 or 20 minutes, you'll continue to burn fat for at least 24 hours after you finish your exercise. He also suggests you use your own bodyweight and not weights to exercise for strength. He claims weight lifting is

This program has increased my lung and heart capacity without having to go to the gym for lengthy workouts or running long distances. I feel much less winded after walking up nine flights of stairs at work after five weeks on this program, which only takes about twelve to fifteen minutes three times a week. Before, my heart would continue racing for minutes to recover after doing anything strenuous -- that has now gone down to less than a minute and a half and is still improving. My weight had been holding steady at 166-167 lbs. for at least a year, despite regular workouts, and has now gone down to 161-162, five weeks later, with more muscle and less fat, which is closer to my target weight of 150(I am a 5'8'' 51-year-old male with a medium size frame). I have used a home exercise bike to follow the PACE program in the mornings, but you can do it on stairs, sprinting outdoors, or doing calisthenics -- no fancy equipment required. I highly recommend you buy this book and follow the exercise program. The nutritional program I have not followed so I cannot comment.

I have always been bored with cardio so was relieved to see some data and logic backing up the idea that cardio as westerners know it (75% exertion for 20 minutes or more) is not only boring and unnatural but it is deteriorating to the heart, lungs and joints as well. I was already doing interval training (walk/sprints, kettlebells and bodyweight exercises) but after reading this book have tailored my routines to conform with PACE, which basically meant putting more focus on the rest period (I was already progressively increasing the exertion). I also got a heartrate monitor which really helps to keep you in the 80, 90 or 100% exertion zones as well as monitor recovery time. In just one month my body fat went from low to extremely low, not that that was my aim. I wish I had more fat to burn because I am curious to see how much and how fast it would come off. I am using kettlebells, sprints and biking. I am trying to convert some overweight friends to see if they experience the fat loss too since I don't know if I am typical.

I love this program. I have recommended it to all of my friends. I have seen numerous examples of why the information in this book is true. I used to be a marathon runner and fought continuously to keep my weight down. My most effective weight loss program was doing 10 minutes a week of high intensity strength training and ZERO cardio. I was in the best shape of my life. Due to some heavy traveling, I have put back on 15 lbs and I am using this program to take it off. Its effective, leaves you feeling great, keeps you in great shape and it is a very small committment of time. If I had known this back when I ran marathons, I might have saved my knees!