The Women's Health Big Book of 15-Minute Workouts: A Leaner, Sexier, Healthier You--In 15 Minutes a Day! Read Free Page B

average of 8 points. That’s enough to slash your risk of stroke by 40 percent and bring down your risk of heart attack by 15 percent.
    9. Avoid Diabetes
    Muscle is simply good medicine. A 2003 study from the University of Sydney, Australia reported that resistance training could improve insulin sensitivity, which means fewer blood sugar spikes and crashes as well as fewer of those binge-eating episodes low blood sugar can trigger. Research also shows that resistance training is particularly good for burning visceral fat, the kind deep in your belly that smothers your internal organs and raises your risk of metabolic syndrome. Even if you have diabetes, it’s not too late to benefit. Austrian scientists found that men and women with type 2 diabetes who started strength training were able to significantly lower their blood sugar levels and improve their conditions.
     
TIP: Research shows that resistance training is particularly good for burning visceral fat, the kind deep in your belly that smothers your internal organs and raises your risk of metabolic syndrome, a precursorto type 2 diabetes.
    10. Prevent Cancer
    Resistance training fends off cancer-causing free radicals, according to a study from the University of Florida. Researchers there found that people who did resistance-training workouts 3 days a week for 6 months had significantly less oxidative cell damage than their non-lifting peers. High-intensity exercise, like the kind found in our HIIT workouts, also has been shown to protect against breast cancer.
    11. Get Smarter
    No dumb jocks, here. Canadian researchers found that a year of just once-weekly strength training boosted brain power among women volunteers by nearly 13 percent. Other research has reported that strength training improves short- and long-term memory, verbal reasoning, and attention span. Now that’s a mind–muscle connection!
    12. Stress Out Less
    Survival of the fittest is especially true when it comes to handling stress. Scientists at A & M University discovered that the fittest people have significantly lower levels of stress hormones than their couch potato counterparts. Scientists at the Medical College of Georgia have also found that blood pressure levels return to normal faster after a stressful situation in people with more lean muscle tissue compared to those with less.
    13. Be Happier
    Pushups may work as well as Paxil for improving your mood. Researchers from the University of Sydney recently reported that people who did strength training on a regular basis were far less likely to suffer symptoms of major depression. Short bouts of cardio may be equally powerful. Scientists from Bowling Green State University reported that as little as 10 minutes of cycling improved mood in 21 men and women, compared with a similar group who did nothing during that time.
    14. You’ll Have More Time
    In the pages that follow, you’re going to find all the information you need to follow the Superfast 15-Minute Plan. And then you’re going to have hours (heck, days!) for everything else!
    How to Start
    So if 15-minute workouts are so great, why aren’t more people using them? Because you have to know how to put them all together to make them work for you. That’s why we set our minds to creating the most comprehensive guide possible to unleash the magic of the 15-minute secret. And even we were amazed at how the Superfast Fitness Plan can be adapted to every kind of exercise to meet every conceivable goal.
    This plan is the most versatile you’ll find. You don’t need to be bench-pressing barbells or even stepping foot in a gym (unless you want). You’ll find dozens or workouts you can do right in your living room. You can swim, bike, jump rope, elliptical train, and even power walk for your superfast fat-burning workouts. You’ll even find workouts to help you perform better on the tennis court or in road races, if that happens to be your weekend passion. You’ll also find an entire chapter