Cardio in 'sets' ?

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The title might be a little misleading, but what I mean is:

Will doing, let's say, 20 minutes of cardio in the morning and 20 in the afternoon have the same effect as doing 40 minutes of cardio all at once?
I am asking because I read that your body starts to burn fat only after 20 minutes of exercising.

Also.

If I were to do 10 minutes of cardio followed by 5 minutes of break, then 10 minutes of cardio again etc, would that affect the results? If you're sprinting and the break is walking, it can be considered HIIT training. But if you run and then sit on a bench? What's that considered to be?

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  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    edited September 2015
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    the short answer is no- it does not have the same impact.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    follow up question: does it matter?

    depends on your goals.
    Training for a marathon- definitely matters.

    Training just to improve your cardiovascular health? matters a lot less.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,670 Member
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    Not really. Unless you're training as an athlete for an event or comp, it's about total calorie burn.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    It depends what your goals are.
    If its calorie burn then at equal intensity id say no for calorie burn.
    If its fitness you want then being able to run 40 mins continuously is going to require a higher degree of fitness than 20 in the morning and then 20 in the evening.

    What matters is total calorie burn.