Let’s start from a very clear base: miracles in matters of weight loss, do not exist. You will never lose weight with five minutes of exercise a day if you then combine it with a couple of donuts. The key to losing weight and shaping the figure will always be a balanced diet and exercise. Forever. That’s why when we read about an exercise that “without effort” promises miraculous weight loss, we are suspicious.
Kenichi Sakuma is the creator of this method that promises a lot: with only 5 minutes and without extra effort, we will lose weight and shape the figurebut what does this type of exercise consist of?
Kenichi Sakuma, the “Marie Kondo” of fitness
Like the guru of order Marie Kondo, Kenichi Sakuma has managed to achieve success with his own method that he collects in his book The Sakura methodthat already has sold over two million copies in Japan. In it, he explains how you can achieve your goals and shape your body in just two weeks by correctly using your core muscles. According to this trainer, “you will transform your silhouette with only 5 minutes of exercise a day and you will not have to worry about the rebound effect”.
Model @yuipom0706 have worked out at #charmbody with @bodymakesakuma #training #workout #fitness #diet #loseweight pic.twitter.com/fp52iZfFNj
— Ken Sakuma (@Ken_Sakuma_Inc) April 18, 2016
The Sakura method. What does it consist of?
The key, as Kenichi Sakuma himself explains in his book, is to correct the postural habits of the body that prevent fat loss. In other words, it performs postural corrections by exercising a series of specific muscles with five different exercises of one minute each. During the first two weeks, the trainer recommends performing the exercises daily and from the third week, interspersing them with rest days, performing only the exercises 3 days a week.
In the book he explains how to work the abdominal and torso muscles in five exercises, which according to Sakuma are the key to “improving the figure and the basal metabolism”. Does this method replace a healthy exercise practice such as HIIT, running or swimming? No. Can it make you lose weight and shape your figure in two weeks? Of course, if you don’t combine it with a slimming diet, no.
Sakuma method exercises
One of the exercises helps to work the lower body and is the one that illustrates the cover of the book. It consists of lying on your stomach with your hands clasped behind your neck, your chin against your neck and your torso slightly off the ground. From this initial position two movements are made. The first is to press your legs against each other and hold the position for 10 seconds, and the second is to cross your legs at the ankles and perform a push-up that raises your legs and torso as if a thread were pulling from the ceiling, as well for 10 seconds.
These two exercises are repeated 3 times and without breaks, then moving on to a second exercise also on the ground. The second exercise works the glutes also from a lying position, but this time crossing the ankles, with the knees flexed 90º and spreading the legs (the knees cannot be together). From this position, the buttocks are squeezed and the legs are raised without changing the posture of the knees.
The Sakuma method also has another seated exercise to work on and, according to Sakuma himself, slim your waist. It has exercises to do without leaving the chair and even has a section of exercises to overcome the rebound effectfor days when you have eaten too much or especially if you have trouble losing weight.
The book also proposes dietary changes which includes consuming plenty of protein throughout the day, such as lean meat or eggs, and eating breakfast within half an hour of waking up, a theory that is supported by a statement: “skipping breakfast is one of the routines that follow, for example, sumo wrestlers to gain weight”.
Despite its success, we still do not believe in this “miracle” that does not support its theories with scientific data but rather that it works with top modelsas stated by Sakuma himself on the cover of his book. If you want to lose weight, it is best to consult a specialist and support a balanced diet with physical exercise. It is the healthiest and easiest way to lose weight according to experts, because we will remind you of something: miracles don’t exist.
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