"breaking up" exercise

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tmoore_20
tmoore_20 Posts: 49 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've lost weight so far by pretty much just making better food choices and moderation. I want to start exercising 6 days a week because when I do exercise I absolutely love it. As a single, full time working mom I am always on a time crunch. My question is do you think it's effective to "break up" exercise? For example when I wake up in the morning I will do 10 minutes of cardio before work, then while I am at work I will power walk for 15 minutes, then in the evening I will exercise for another 20 minutes which will include cardio and strength. People are telling me that it's not really helpful because I should be working out for an hour straight for maximum fat loss.
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  • tmoore_20
    tmoore_20 Posts: 49 Member
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    Bumping for advice
  • fablevins
    fablevins Posts: 111 Member
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    I think fitting in exercise where you can will work fine. Everytime you start moving, you're going to bump up your metabolism. Plus, it will help your mental focus. Good job for making time for yourself! :smile:
  • droogievesch
    droogievesch Posts: 202
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    I have heard that short bursts (10 or 15 minutes) don't really do anything and that you need your heart pumping for a good 20-30 minutes for maximum fat loss. Now, does that 10 or 15 minutes HURT anything? Nope. Does it do SOME good? Yup. Just don't expect 1 hour broken up to be the same workout as 1 hour straight. Only thing I can recommend is asking whoever watches your children (because I'm assuming you have a child care provider during work) to watch them an extra hour so you can work out. I have no idea if this is feasible or not. Some gyms also offer child care. Otherwise, depending on their ages invite them along. My 8 year old LOVES doing 30DS with me, but I hate it when she does. She's bouncing all over the place and is like, "Jumping jacks are SO EASY! I can't believe people have problems with these!" as I'm huffin' and puffin' away. Otherwise, take them for a family walk/bikeride. I remember being little and doing my mom's aerobic tapes. Teach your children from a young age that exercise is fun, and hopefully they won't be 30 going, "Ughhh! I hate going to the gym and I can't believe I had to walk an extra 20 feet from my parking spot this morning"
  • D3vAnge1
    D3vAnge1 Posts: 104 Member
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    Quite frankly, there's no wrong way or perfect way to do it...Just get it done. At least that seems to be the most common theme in the workout community. Fit it in wherever & however you can and you'll be good to go.
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
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    I am not any kind of authority on exercise and certainly not into hard core fitness. But, here's my 2 cents worth:

    Search NEAT on the threads. I have been reading and hearing a lot about how every little bit helps. Including taking the stairs when possible, parking farther, etc. Everything adds to your calorie deficit! Can you do 30 minutes at a time? I seem to remember reading that the ideal is to get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes to see results. If your kids are still young can you take them out and play catch with them? Or, take them for a walk or to the park? Every little bit helps and you aren't spending time away from your family!
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
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    Really, there is no "best" way to exercise. Your body recognizes it all as exercise, no matter what time you do it, how long you do it, or how many times you do it. It's all exercise, and it's all helpful. The best way for you to get the physical exercise you need to be healthy in is to integrate it into your daily life, because that will allow you to stick to it.

    The idea of "only" exercising for "maximum fat loss" is great if you're training for a fitness competition, and are really worried about getting rid of the fat to be lean. It sounds more like you're looking to have a healthier lifestyle that you can stick to, and getting in your exercise when you can is a great way to start. As you go on, if you feel like you want to do more, you can do more. You just need to be aware of your own desires and capabilities, and work with yourself. :)
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    It depends on your goals. So, in terms of calorie burn, yes, it matters. You will be able to do 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there. But, from a "what's best for you perspective", it would be more healthy to do the 25 mintues all at once from a cardiovascular perspective. However, don't let that discourage you. It's just information. Breaking it up is fine for now. And, as you move forward, work to extending it whenever you can.
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
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    I think anything is better than nothing!! If you have little time, like I do, try the 30 Day Shred! It's 20-25 minutes, and really gets your heart going! I think I'm gonna start it up again.
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    I'm not sure whether the plan you describe is "as effective" as an hour long workout would be (I'm not saying it's not, I really have no idea), but what I do know is that it is *far* more effective than doing nothing. If you have to break up your exercise into small chunks to be able to fit it in, so be it.
  • holly3585
    holly3585 Posts: 282 Member
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    Hahaha whomever said that it is no good to do short bursts or exercise is sliiiightly mistaken :indifferent:

    ANYTHING you do rather than sit and look at something is good for you. your three a days sound like a lot more than a lot of people put in! Keep it up girl you are doing great!
  • melissafaith24
    melissafaith24 Posts: 251 Member
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    i thought this was about sex :ohwell:
  • Tennessee2019
    Tennessee2019 Posts: 676 Member
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    When I first saw the title of your post I thought it said "breaking up exercises" & thought it would be one about shadow boxing while you imagined that your ex- was the shadow & you punched away at it. I'm glad I was wrong & maybe it's time I got my eyes checked?
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,003 Member
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    I think it all helps, Any extra movement helps to burn calories and increase your metabolism. Probably doing at all at one time and really getting your heart rate up probably burns more calories but any form of movement helps. So I say fit it in where you can. Also maybe you could walk to the park with the kids after dinner and while they play on the playground you continue to walk around the park. I do this often with my kids also swing on the swings with them this also helps tone your legs. JUST MOVE
  • milu1f
    milu1f Posts: 21 Member
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    Oh come on ppl! Maybe its not perfect, but its a great way 2 start! Do that and then in a month or two see how u feel if u can fit in half an hour in one go. It is a life change, not a diet, so stay active. And thats what u want to do, I wish u luck! :)
  • Rubyayn
    Rubyayn Posts: 433 Member
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    I am a workin mom and I break my workouts up, too. I do manage to get up earlier and get the bulk done in the am now, about 30 minutes. I then do another 15 on my break and sometimes more after my daughter goes to bed. It has worked for me so far, even for strength training. I do pushups and life weight with my daughter. I say, get it in where you fit it in! There is no way I could fit in an hour long workout at one time without sacrificing sleep or my family... not happening.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    yes, whenever you can get it in
  • OTchic
    OTchic Posts: 205 Member
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    i am just thinking if you split up the exercise into 2 or 3 pieces than u get 2-3 times sweaty and 2-3 showers eww!!

    can you work out at night or in the morning instead and do a 20-30 in workout. in all reality tho if you break it up i don't see why burning 100 cals in the morning and 100 cals at night won't lead to weight loss thats 200 cals burned for the day. the way i see it is calories in and out
  • kramalicious
    kramalicious Posts: 143
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    I think anything you do that is active is better than nothing. I also think you are making a good start at making exercise a part of your life. The more you do, the more you will want to do.
    As your fitness improves, you may want to look into doing HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Google it and read some more about it. This is supposed to burn more calories than working out at the same level. Basically what you do is to divide the time you have to exercise into intervals, where you go hard, then easier, for the full 20 minutes you have.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I will say, for me, using my HRM, the longer I exercise, the higher my heart rate gets and the more calories I burn. So, walking for an hour would burn more than walking 3 times, for 20 minutes each. But not a huge amount more. You would still be burning calories with the three separate activities!

    Do what you can. I have a treadmill that I will use after the baby is in bed. Late night exercise!
  • 2othirteen
    2othirteen Posts: 1
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    Tmoore, all of the research I've done (lots) says that at a certain level of fitness (moderately fit, for example not an athlete) breaking up your exercise is fine.

    BUT there are some guidelines I keep seeing: for cardiovascular exercise you need at least 20 minutes: 5-7 to warm up, and 13-15 at a consistently elevated heart rate.

    For fatburning exercise you need about 40 minutes: fat burning happens at a lower heart rate than cardiovascular exercise, and takes about 20 minutes to kick in; that is, after about 20 minutes at a low level the body basically says "oh I get it, we're not going to burn glucose here, I can use fat for fuel instead).

    Strength training would be especially effective at short doses: you could work basically any body part effectively in ten minutes. For instance, doing ten minutes of sit-ups in the morning, ten minutes of pushups midday, and then ten minutes of squats in the evening would be a really effective, successful workout in one day.

    In some ways shorts bursts of strength training would be the most effective form of exercise. Because strength training is more intense, you can do less of it and still burn the calories. Also, in short bursts, you won't get totally exhausted. Also if you are just using bodyweight exercise to build strength (situps, pushups, squats with no weight, lunges with no weight, etcetera) then you really don't even need a gym or gym clothes!!!

    Finally, and this is the best and worst part of strength training, and the advice I myself have the hardest time following: to really change your metabolism and really lose weight permanently, you really need to focus on strength training. It is strength training that builds muscle, and bigger stronger muscle burns more calories.

    Good luck! I wish you the best!

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