I was wondering if anyone's done this program before, and if so, what kind of results you got. It's mostly an exercise plan, although the author also offers a diet plan with it. But I'm disregarding his diet plan - I have my own - and just doing the exercise bit. Two exercises, four sets of 12 reps each, every morning. Working two different body parts each day (Mon:chest/back, Tues:shoulders/abs, etc).

I just was wondering how effective anyone else thinks it is...?

IMO, 8 minutes is not enough. Furthermore, you would not be lifting any more than light weights. It sounds like a good way to wake you up, but you could also do something else for that, like yoga, stretching.

To lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. That deficit comes from reduced calorie intake and increased activity. Cardio and lifting are the main ways that people talk about, but there are others. As long as the activity burns calories. If you burn roughly 200 calories in an hour of lifting, then 8 minutes equals 26.66 calories. I get that walking up and down the stairs at home.

I agree with Northern there is no way you can lose weight working out 8 minutes/day ... Otherwise I'd me doing it , it takes me at least 1 hour or more to lose weight PLUS you have to eat clean ....

Intensity is much more important than time.

Mike Mentzer's HIT program would have you in and out of the gym in a flash and on leg day, you only do three sets, but it is very intense. You are supersetting two exercises of the same body part, taking each one to failure with a slow tempo and then doing assisted reps and also rest-pause to take work beyond failure. If you try doing this for an hour, you will fry your CNS.

That said, the program you described is probably a far cry from Mike Mentzer's HIT.

You also did not tell us the exercises involved. There is a huge difference between a big compound exercise like squats and deadlifts, and smaller musle isolation exercises like bicep curls and tricep kickbacks.

I think if you are looking for a quick workout, you could get results with as little as 12 sets if you do the right exercises and progressively overload your muscles. For example if you do exercises such as Squats, deadlifts, bent over rows, bench press, military press... 4 exercises per workout, 3 sets of 8-10 reps each, 3 days per week. Choose weight that you can do 8 reps on each set with. As soon as you can complete 10 reps on each set, increase the weight for the next workout.

I did this 2 summers ago and lost like 8 lbs in the first week (of what, not sure!) and then down to 2 to 3 lbs after that. But I also did the eating plan and checked off all the little boxes. I gave up after about 3 weeks because all that charting was too much for me, and believe it or not, the workouts were really hard for me. Short, but my body wasn't equipped for them - things like pushups, leg work on all 4's, stuff like that. I do think it is too short and doesn't really address cardio. I think I would advise you to skip it and go with a more traditional cardio program, some weight lifting, and calorie counting.

Well, I'm using it as kind of an addition to my current program. Like I said, I've already got an eating program that suits me just fine. I just have a difficult time finding a cardio workout that interests/motivates me. I get bored really easily, which is why a short thing like this appeals to me. I'm looking into DDR for the cardio - don't laugh! - but I just wanted opinions on whether this would add toning benefits and such.

Thanks for your input, guys.

Meaning absolutely no disrespect to the above posters ... I'm going to disagree.
You've found a food plan that works. You're looking into cardio. 8 minutes of weights and/or resistance will balance this out very nicely.
8 minutes in the morning is a fantastic way to start!

I've heard great things about DDR, btw, no laughing at all!

I think DDR is great cardio!

Mel

sorry....guess i'm behind the times....what is DDR? I also agree that 8 minutes of intense weight training is definitely productive!!!

I think it all deals with results...whatever works for you.

DDR is Dance Dance Revolution, an interactive video game. You attach a large "dance mat" to the console, and the game, via your TV or monitor, flashes the steps you should do. It gets progressively faster and more complicated. A lot of places are using this in kid fitness programs.

Mel

Molly, you can watch clips of people playing it HERE

I was all set to take a nap, but all of this ddr talk has made me want to go knock out a couple of songs