Short gym workouts may work for some

The shorter workouts won't build pro football muscles, but they will let an ordinary person build strength and stay strong. And if more people fit exercise into their lives on a reduced regimen, experts say the result is a net benefit for society.

The express workouts typically require only one set of 8 to 12 repetitions instead of the 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 16 repetitions that physiologists recommend for an optimum workout.

Among the places at which shorter sessions are promoted is the Town Sports International chain of about 130 clubs on the East Coast. TSI says its XpressLine workout can be done in about 20 minutes.

When the shorter workout was tested against a traditional regimen, 78 percent of the 21 people on the shorter workout stayed with the program for two months, versus 57 percent of the 14 people who tried the traditional program, said Wayne Westcott, who ran the test for TSI.

Those in the shorter workout also gained about twice as much muscle, said Westcott, fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts. He speculated that people worked harder in the shorter program, although he said it would take follow-up research with more exercisers to prove the program's benefit.

Shorter workouts are the top fitness trend predicted for 2004 by the American Council on Exercise, an organization which certifies fitness instructors. Trainers will have to provide simple programs with simple equipment, so people feel they can accomplish what they want without investing too much of themselves in the effort.