January 2010, I read an article featured in the Globe and Mail about the 4 minute Tabata workout. “Mom’s drop pounds with a 4 minute workout,” you can imagine my disbelief.

Although the article and concept was interesting, I dismissed it and continued with the ‘routine’ I had started five months earlier. I had gone back to my first love: weight training, which was 3-4 days a week of intense weight training mixed with cardio, spending about 1.5 hours on each workout.  I had also joined an hour-long grueling masters swim group that met once per week.  I was feeling strong and fit and was under the care of a Homeopath and had not felt better in years.  I had been unwell for about two years prior to this, so becoming healthy enough to follow this routine was a big accomplishment for me.

I followed this routine for six months.  Why change a good thing?

Until, by chance, I came across www.Bodyrock.tv / Zuzka Light

I just happened to press YouTube on my iPhone by mistake.  That is the day everything changed.

There was Zuzana breathing and working hard, sweating and looking strong!  My first impression was that I was not quite sure what I had found; the camera angles were slightly suggestive.  However, I quickly identified her solid technique and incredible discipline.  And it seemed to me that they were using this platform to grab our attention.  Well, it worked.  Bodyrock.tv is now one of the top viewed sites and has built a supportive community of  BodyRockers who share their success stories.  Their stories inspire me.

Her husband, the videographer would capture her every move.  They were authentic.  Not selling anything (free content) but they had affiliate codes; just blogging the changes to her physical body, health and well being from one short-duration body weight workout a day.

When I caught up with them they were two years into their experiment.  So I figured, I would give it a try for three months, ‘just to see what might happen’.  Within two weeks I started noticing small changes.  Cool!  I could not wait to see what changes would be in store three months down the road.

It has been exactly one year since I started my “just to see what might happen” experiment.  I have not been back to the gym since.  Now I do all my workouts from home and they are on average twelve minutes long!  I still swim but only for 30 minutes at a time.

Clearly, the short-duration philosophy has got a new proponent.

Update: As of September 2011 Zuzana and Freddy went their separate ways. BodyRock.Tv carries on under Freddy’s direction; he is experimenting with different hosts leading workouts.

Zuzana is living in L.A. and is running her own workout video’s from her Zuzka Light YouTube Channel. Looks like she has been taken under the watchful and talented wing of Darren Capik. From the looks of it, the best of Zuzka is yet to come.