In a new study, participants who did 10 reps of these four exercises every day saw physical and mental improvements after a month

Simple Movements You Can Do at Home Might Improve Strength, Flexibility, and More Experts reveal why it might work for you, too

• New research found that a few minutes a day of eccentric exercises—which emphasize muscle lengthening—can improve strength, flexibility, and endurance in sedentary people.
• Every day, participants did 10 reps of chair squats, chair reclines, wall push-ups, and heel drops, but experts say any exercise that focuses on the muscle-lengthening phase will work.
• This study adds to growing research that shows even a little bit of daily movement can provide health benefits.

If you’re not a regular exerciser, it may only take a few minutes of simple movements each day to improve your fitness, according to a recent study.

People who didn’t routinely work out and then started doing eccentric exercise training daily for about a month experienced a host of benefits, including better muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility, researchers reported March 15 in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

Eccentric exercise emphasize the muscle-lengthening phase of a movement, usually requiring you to slow down or pause during that portion of the exercise. For example, you might gradually straighten your arm out after a bicep curl or slowly lower down into a squat. Research suggests this type of exercise exerts less strain on the body and effectively enhances muscle size and strength.

And, per the authors of the new study, you might not need to do much of it to see results. “This study shows that even a small amount can provide real benefits,” study author Benjamin Kirk, PhD, a researcher from Edith Cowan University in Australia, told Health.

Four Weeks of Exercising

For the study, researchers recruited 22 sedentary but healthy individuals between the ages of 32 and 69. The participants, most of whom were women, underwent a two-week control period before completing four weeks of an eccentric exercise routine.

Each day, they performed 10 repetitions of chair squats, chair reclines, wall push-ups, and heel drops. Participants held still for five seconds during the lowering phase of the exercises and for one second in the raising phase. 

“We picked chair squats, chair reclines, wall push-ups, and heel drops because they’re easy to do and target strength for everyday tasks, such as standing from a chair or walking,” said Kirk.

People who completed the 10 repetitions for each exercise easily for two consecutive sessions moved up to a harder version of the exercise. 

Before the study began, after the control period, and at the end of the four weeks, scientists measured participants’ heart rate, blood pressure, blood markers such as LDL and HDL cholesterol, body composition, and mental well-being. They also assessed physical fitness by examining things such as hand grip strength and sit-up, push-up, and step test performance. 

What Researchers Discovered

At the end of the four weeks, there were no significant changes in body composition, resting heart rate, blood pressure, hand grip strength, jump performance, or blood markers. However, participants significantly improved their sit-up, push-up, and three-minute step test performance, sit-and-reach flexibility, and mental health scores.

The results suggest that even small amounts of daily exercise can provide “sustainable and detectable” benefits for sedentary people, Ken Nosaka, PhD, a researcher on the Australia team, said in a statement. 

“Eccentric exercises are very effective in improving fitness,” he continued. “This type of exercise is also more accessible to most people, as it makes use of body weight and eliminates the need to go to a gym.”

Does the Study Have Limitations?

The study didn't include many participants and the short intervention period limited the ability to see changes in body composition, resting heart rate, and blood pressure, said Heather Milton, MS, RCEP, CSCS, a board-certified clinical exercise physiologist at NYU Langone. “Adaptations to exercise interventions can take longer than four weeks in these domains,” she told Health.

Additionally, Kirk acknowledged that the study results may not have been similar if consistent exercisers had received the intervention.

Should You Try Doing Daily Bursts of Eccentric Exercises?

Although the study looked at non-exercisers specifically, Kirk said the “focus on eccentric phases, whether with bodyweight or weights, remains beneficial regardless of fitness level.”

The study also echoes previous research finding that shorter bouts of exercise can have perks. A 2023 study found that doing as little as an average of six minutes of exercise each day can reduce your risk of early death and chances of heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. Another report from that year linked just a few minutes of vigorous daily activity with lower cancer risk for people who didn’t previously exercise.

“Doing some exercise is much better than doing none,” Kirk said. “Many assume a small effort won’t matter, but our findings show that even a brief, low-effort routine can improve strength, flexibility, and other outcomes.”

Tips For Getting Started

If you want to try eccentric training, keep in mind that you don’t have to stick to the moves in the study. Any exercise can have an eccentric component, said Milton.

If you’re generally pretty sedentary, you’ll likely still notice progress even if you start at a low intensity and have very brief exercise sessions. Nosaka advised using five minutes daily as a starting point. Meanwhile, Kirk said to shoot for at least 10 repetitions of each exercise. “It’s a starting point to show what’s possible,” said Kirk.

From there, you’ll want to up the intensity or duration to continue increasing fitness levels, Beau Greer, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Sacred Heart University, told Health.

“We know from previous studies that five minutes per day is absolutely better than nothing,” Milton said. If you’re able to work your way up to 150 minutes per week, as many health organizations recommend, “that is even better,” he added.

Edited by Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Jani Hall Jani Hall Jani Hall is a news editor for Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation. learn more

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Kristen Fischer