Three short workouts vs. one long

Misslisat

I have the opportunity to use a treadmill at work during breaks and lunch. So my routine has become two 15 minute walks at 3.4 mph with an incline of 8-10. I do this 5 days/week. And about 2-3 days per week I walk an extra 20 minutes before work starts. My question is this - is it just as effective for weight loss to break the workouts up like this? Also, how often should I use resistance bands and/or free weights? Thanks for any thoughts and words, as this is all new to me.

jenniejengin

I am interested to know as well.

wftiger

Here is one site that agrees that short are just as good as one long session. The Mayo Clinic also endorses this but I don't have the link to that article. http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/hliving/shvslonex.html

Whatever you fit in your schedule works as far as exercise.

dolldreams

I have been doing three 30 minute workouts daily for about a week now. I find that I am able to push myself through the entire 30 minutes HARD without letting up so I know I am burning more than I would be if I did one long workout and had to rest several times.

Right now, I just don't have the stamina to ride at 17 miles per hour for 90 minutes straight anyway.

lc52820

I have read that multiple short workouts can be as effective as one long session. For awhile I was doing the same sort of thing on my breaks at work except doing stairs instead. Also, I keep hearing the suggestion that making small changes here & there can add up over time, leading to gradual weight loss over time (like taking the stairs instead of the elevator). I think it's great that you are making time to walk, it can be a good stress reliever especially if you are having a bad day at work!

As far as strength training, I've always been told it's good to try to focus on exercising different muscle groups on different days (example: arms on Mon, legs on Tues, abs on Wed, & so on). This gets you into a regular rotation and also gives your muscles at least a day or two to recover.

stanvoodoo

No difference at least that's what the Dr. and Nutiritionist told me and it has worked so far!!!

All you can do is the best you can and try what you can and see if it works!!!

Best of Luck!!!

Crazy4Healthy

With weight training you can also do compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups (squats, deadlifts, etc) and still make sure to leave a day in between. This way you can weight train say Mon-Wed-Fri instead of weight training every day.

skyelogan816

bump