Breaking up workout into several a day

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alsaxon
alsaxon Posts: 124 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys,

So I'm getting more serious about my fitness and I'm realizing 20 minutes of working out a day isn't enough no matter what anyone says. I've been working out for an hour to an hour and a half a day. Typically the latter. I take Saturday and Sunday off. Anyway, I am soooo busy and it's getting harder and harder to get that hour and a half in. I used to do the hour on my lunch break at work, but I'm often eating at my desk. I can't get away. On top of that, I've been good about working out at home when I miss my lunch workout but I get home late after work, plus I have a part-time job and it's just getting hard to find that hour. Will my results be less impressive if I break my workouts into three or 4 intense sessions per day? I know in theory there is some threshold you have to reach for exercise to be effective. I know I'll get a bunch of different answers and suggestions. What I'm looking for is people who may have tried this and determined it worked or didn't work for them. I'm thinking I can do a 15 to 20 minutes session in the morning. At work I will do two 15 minute sessions (afternoon and late afternoon) (intense stair running I do there). At home I can finish with 20 min of HIIT or something of the sort. Thoughts?

Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    It depends what you're trying to achieve from your training. It may work for you, it may not.

    From your phrasing it doesn't sound as if you have any particular training objectives, it's about general health and weight management? In that case it's just a question of whether you can be bothered changing, showering, changing three to four times per day?

    If you've got objectives in mind then it's probably not as straightforward, with 20 minutes not really being long enough to get a meaningful training effect from.
  • lbinkley35
    lbinkley35 Posts: 16 Member
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    Too me it's not necessarily the amount of time it is the intensity of the workout. I do several intense workout throughout the day especially stair climbing that works every muscle in your body. But you can get a good workout within that 15 to 20 minutes honestly if you go hard for 20 that's a lot better than 45 minutes at a standard pace.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    alsaxon wrote: »
    Hey guys,

    So I'm getting more serious about my fitness and I'm realizing 20 minutes of working out a day isn't enough no matter what anyone says. I've been working out for an hour to an hour and a half a day. Typically the latter. I take Saturday and Sunday off. Anyway, I am soooo busy and it's getting harder and harder to get that hour and a half in. I used to do the hour on my lunch break at work, but I'm often eating at my desk. I can't get away. On top of that, I've been good about working out at home when I miss my lunch workout but I get home late after work, plus I have a part-time job and it's just getting hard to find that hour. Will my results be less impressive if I break my workouts into three or 4 intense sessions per day? I know in theory there is some threshold you have to reach for exercise to be effective. I know I'll get a bunch of different answers and suggestions. What I'm looking for is people who may have tried this and determined it worked or didn't work for them. I'm thinking I can do a 15 to 20 minutes session in the morning. At work I will do two 15 minute sessions (afternoon and late afternoon) (intense stair running I do there). At home I can finish with 20 min of HIIT or something of the sort. Thoughts?

    I bet you can get away :)

    I start thinking about lunch at noon and generally manage to get away by 2. I'm more productive and energized in the afternoons for having done so, and this energy carries over to the evening as well.

    I lose weight faster during gardening season when I am getting in gardening before, during, and after work. I wouldn't know if this is because I am exercising more or if there is benefit to interacting with gravity more frequently, which I have read to be true. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MU12HU8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1
  • alsaxon
    alsaxon Posts: 124 Member
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    thank you for the replies guys! All very helpful!
  • AnirbanMookherjee
    AnirbanMookherjee Posts: 46 Member
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    Lol, that's EXACTLY what I'm doing right now! Schedule has gotten too hectic to go for a 1 hr+ workout so I am doing four 15 min workouts on 5 days, one 1.5 hr workout on one day. So far so good, working great for me. If you have certain physique goals, the routine needs to be planned out really well! This may not be optimum for fastest results but I believe whatever you can work in your schedule is most optimum, unless you are a sponsored athlete. Because consistency is key!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    lbinkley35 wrote: »
    Too me it's not necessarily the amount of time it is the intensity of the workout. I do several intense workout throughout the day especially stair climbing that works every muscle in your body. But you can get a good workout within that 15 to 20 minutes honestly if you go hard for 20 that's a lot better than 45 minutes at a standard pace.

    Again you're in the realms of asking what are the desired outcomes.

    Lots of 20 minute sessions aren't going to help improve performance where one needs to sustain effort for an hour, or four hours plus...

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