How long should I work out?

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ElyseL1
ElyseL1 Posts: 504 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So here's my question of the hour? Is it ok to break my one hr daily work out into two sessions? I like working out but its hard for me to get more than half an hr done at a time. Usually a half hr in the morning and another half hr in the late afternoon. I also add in somewhere bt two or three half hr walk during the day when i have time.

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  • trenley
    trenley Posts: 35 Member
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    I hear the minimum is 30 minutes a day. I, myself, sometimes don't do it all at once. Your body won't tell the difference between calories burned all at once versus over the course of the day. However, if you're trying to increase your cardiorespiratory fitness, try to do it all at once, no matter how treacherous that seems.
  • Larisonlj
    Larisonlj Posts: 426 Member
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    Sure, you can break it up. It doesn't need to be all at once.
  • ElyseL1
    ElyseL1 Posts: 504 Member
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    I hear the minimum is 30 minutes a day. I, myself, sometimes don't do it all at once. Your body won't tell the difference between calories burned all at once versus over the course of the day. However, if you're trying to increase your cardiorespiratory fitness, try to do it all at once, no matter how treacherous that seems.

    I'm not I can do an hr without getting winded it's just hard to find the time too.
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
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    Absolutely! When I was doing WW, they recommended 30 minutes a day, but in conversations about how difficult it can be to find 30 solid minutes, it was always said to be ok to do 10 minutes three times. However you can fit it in is fine.
  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
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    Most days I end up splitting up my time as well. Do what ever works for you!
  • tehzephyrsong
    tehzephyrsong Posts: 435 Member
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    Work out as long as you're able. It's OK to split up a 60-minute workout into multiple shorter ones, as long as you're not trying to build endurance. You could do six 10-minute workouts over the course of the day, if you wanted; it's not as if the calories you burn on your treadmill don't "count" until you've been on it for half an hour, or whatever. Your body starts burning them as soon as they're needed (i.e., as soon as you start moving).
  • Brenny_73
    Brenny_73 Posts: 5
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    I actually had that talk with my doctor. He said that it takes your body at least 1/2hr to start burning and loosing. So if you do only half an hour at a time, you're actually shutting down just as the body starts working to burn the fat. That actually pushed me to workout for an hour. Start at your half hour, then increase your workout 5 minutes. When you get use to that, then increase another 5. You'll see, in no time, you'll be doing your hour of working out. Make sure you have music that motivates you for an hour. That helps too :)
  • ElyseL1
    ElyseL1 Posts: 504 Member
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    I actually had that talk with my doctor. He said that it takes your body at least 1/2hr to start burning and loosing. So if you do only half an hour at a time, you're actually shutting down just as the body starts working to burn the fat. That actually pushed me to workout for an hour. Start at your half hour, then increase your workout 5 minutes. When you get use to that, then increase another 5. You'll see, in no time, you'll be doing your hour of working out. Make sure you have music that motivates you for an hour. That helps too :)

    It's a time issue not a motivation issue. That's part of the reason why I go for walks when I have time inbetween things and i'm not home. I also do the elliptical on a harder resistance level to try to work my muscles as much as i can in that short amt of time.
  • bren216
    bren216 Posts: 16
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    I actually had that talk with my doctor. He said that it takes your body at least 1/2hr to start burning and loosing. So if you do only half an hour at a time, you're actually shutting down just as the body starts working to burn the fat. That actually pushed me to workout for an hour. Start at your half hour, then increase your workout 5 minutes. When you get use to that, then increase another 5. You'll see, in no time, you'll be doing your hour of working out. Make sure you have music that motivates you for an hour. That helps too :)

    It's a time issue not a motivation issue. That's part of the reason why I go for walks when I have time inbetween things and i'm not home. I also do the elliptical on a harder resistance level to try to work my muscles as much as i can in that short amt of time.
    What she missed from the talk her doctor gave her is that your body ALSO burns for a while after your workout. So, once you've worked out for 30 minutes, it continues at a higher level then if you hadn't worked out yet that day.

    In other words, sure a long workout is nice -- but when you don't have time all at one stretch, a short one is fine, too.

    Since a long workout is do-able for you, I'd suggest mixing it up whenever you can. Maybe one or two days a week keep at it for a longer session, and the other days enjoy your two shorter ones.

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