The 90-Second Fitness Solution!

The full title of The 90-Second Fitness Solution: The Most Time-Efficient Workout Ever for a Healthier, Stronger, Younger You isn’t exactly catchy, but the idea of it is tempting. A 90-second get-fit promise? Most would say “sign me up, NOW.” But not so quick FBGers…like anything that sounds too good to be true, it usually is. And although this book has some good tips, it also has some things that I’d call “suspect.”

Don’t get me wrong. Author Pete Cerqua seems to know his stuff, and, despite being a dude, seems to get women pretty darn well. The book’s premise is that women today don’t have enough time to raise the kids, work, have a life, sleep, breathe…you get the gist…let alone work out. And they feel guilty for not working out because they know they should. Sound familiar? I only have a dog and a husband, and Pete’s message got me enthusiastically nodding my head “yes, yes, YES.” What the book is great at emphasizing is how you can fit in a good strength workout without spending a lot of time.

The title is a little misleading because the workouts are longer than 90 seconds—90 seconds is actually the time per strength exercise repetition, not the workout time—but honestly, they’re not much longer. There are three at-home workouts to do that vary in intensity and length, and three in-the-gym workouts that also progress in difficulty. Every workout is based on exercises that effectively target multiple muscles to get more workout bang for your second, such as planks and wall sits. Then, and here’s the kicker: you hold those exercises for 90 seconds. Sounds easy, huh? It’s not. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Do a wall sit or plank for 90 seconds. I guarantee it’ll be the longest one-and-a-half minutes of your life.

I tried the level two at-home workout, which included 90 seconds of each: superwoman, plank, wall sit, sit-up and leg raise. The only one I didn’t try was “Hangin’ Out,” which required hanging from a pull-up bar, and I don’t have a pull-up bar in my home nor do I particularly want one. (If you can’t tell, being required to have this bar for the “at-home” workout kind of annoyed me, as you need NO OTHER equipment. Really, who has one of these at home?) Even though my strength session only lasted 10 minutes (including rest between exercises), it sufficiently kicked my arse. I even weenied out on the plank and leg raise after only 60 seconds. I blame that on a super long run the day before, but even if I was rested, doing the full 90 seconds would be a challenge. I’ll admit, the long run is really just a cop out.