One 1H session or two 30 min sessions?

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supermysza
supermysza Posts: 167 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Sweet and to the point: Does it make a difference in burned calories if I exercise for one hour straight or for 30 mins at two different times during the day? Is one better than the other?

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  • blahblah1990
    blahblah1990 Posts: 19
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    Do you really have time to work out 2 times in a day? It won't really make a difference.. As long as you're working out, you're on the right track :)
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    I've never tried the two 30-min blocks, but always had more success if I kept my workouts to 50 or more minutes.
    It's like nothing happens weight wise until I hit more than a certain amount of time....
  • ronbo62098
    ronbo62098 Posts: 59 Member
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    Purely anecdotal with a sample size of one (me), but I've personally had better results with single longer sessions than smaller separated ones. The reason (as told to me by my physical therapist) is that it takes about 20 min of cardio to get your body up and running to full burn, so one hour session = 20 min ramp up with 40 min burn. Two sessions = 20 min ramp up with 10 min burn - done twice.
    Edit: this is for low-impact cardio - other types of exercise will have very different burn rates.
  • angf0679
    angf0679 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    I do two separate 30 minute workout videos. However, I do them back to back, so it actuality, I guess that makes it an hour workout. (There is a couple min pause between the two to pull the next video up on youtube and drink some water)
  • ThreePartBreath
    ThreePartBreath Posts: 27
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    I haven't seen a huge difference from when I was doing an hour straight to now where I split my work-out up.

    I find it more sustainable to split my work-out into two because after a long day the idea of working-out for an hour straight makes me want to hurl..Or sleep... Both..

    Anyways, I've seen countless times that the best exercise you do is one that you can maintain. Can you maintain one hour long session or is it better for you to split it up? I think it's a personal choice and depends on what you're looking to achieve in the long run.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    Sweet and to the point: Does it make a difference in burned calories if I exercise for one hour straight or for 30 mins at two different times during the day? Is one better than the other?

    It won't matter in terms of the calories burned.

    It will, however, take away some of your recovery time as your body builds back so it can exercise again. Not a problem if you are doing lighter exercise, but just use good planning so that the morning 30 minute session following an intense prior evening session would be more centered around lower intensity or recovery type of exercise. Not allowing your body to recover properly by doing 2 a days could lead to fatigue depending on the intensity. The harder you go, the more time your body needs to repair itself.

    What types of exercise are you doing in these two 30 minute sessions? Knowing that would help.
  • supermysza
    supermysza Posts: 167 Member
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    Thanks for the replies everyone :flowerforyou:
    I am currently studying for exams so I just prefer the thought of two 30 min walk/jog sessions than a whole hour. That way I can clear my head for half an hour and get back to work without being majorly tired. Was just curious about the calories as comfort eating during study is the main reason for my weight gain and I don't want to ruin the progress I've made so far :wink:
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    Thanks for the replies everyone :flowerforyou:
    I am currently studying for exams so I just prefer the thought of two 30 min walk/jog sessions than a whole hour. That way I can clear my head for half an hour and get back to work without being majorly tired. Was just curious about the calories as comfort eating during study is the main reason for my weight gain and I don't want to ruin the progress I've made so far :wink:

    With that in mind, you're good to go to walk whenever you want. There is really very little recovery needed from walking and jogging (6 mph and less). You could do 2 sessions per day and be fine. Maybe take 1 day off per week to be safe in terms of allowing the body to adapt.

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