Do you find 10-minute workouts to be effective?
VoluptuousComedyNerd
Posts: 12 Member
I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed early enough for a workout, but I have compromised by finding a 10-min strength/cardio workout to do as soon as I get up. But a friend of mine burst my bubble and said it was pointless if I’m not getting a half hour of cardio at a time.
What do you guys think? For reference, I’m over 300lbs and live a pretty sedentary lifestyle.
The workout I’m doing is:
20 high knees
20 squats
50 jumping jacks
20 superman plank
20 lunge kicks
20 toe taps
Repeat one more time or until 10 minutes is up.
What do you guys think? For reference, I’m over 300lbs and live a pretty sedentary lifestyle.
The workout I’m doing is:
20 high knees
20 squats
50 jumping jacks
20 superman plank
20 lunge kicks
20 toe taps
Repeat one more time or until 10 minutes is up.
14
Replies
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That is 10 minutes that you weren't doing before is the way that I see it. Maybe at some point add another 10 minute session in the evening or up your 10 minutes in the morning to 15 minutes. Over time you will find it easier to work longer.
IMO...doing what you can is better than doing nothing. In 10 minutes you won't burn a lot of calories but exercise should be done for other reasons than to burn calories. It will make you a stronger more beautiful woman.18 -
Your friend is wrong. It is based on very outdated research. The new recommendations say any exercise is good exercise, even if it was only for a couple of minutes. So 10 minutes of exercise is certainly beneficial and is far from "pointless". Health guidelines do recommend 150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise per week, but you do what you are able to do at your level. 10 minutes a day is certainly better than 0 minutes a day.23
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Your friend is wrong. There’s been a study on this recently which led to government recommendations being updated, which found mini exercise periods as short as 3 minutes distributed throughout the day had an effect on health.
Not to mention what you are doing can improve your blood pressure a lot if done often throughout the day when you would otherwise be sitting. Throw out some squats or high knees or counter pushups whenever you get up to use the bathroom, or while waiting for the microwave to ding. (I would add some arms to your routine.)
What this won’t do is increase your cardiovascular endurance. But you start where you are! Do a little more every day, and as you lose weight you will be so excited by what you can do that longer cardio will probably come naturally.14 -
Not effective for me but long endurance is one of my priorities.
But 10mins instead of nothing is absolutely brilliant - keep on keeping on and ignore your friend.8 -
How does it make you feel? Does it give you an energy boost?
I've done them at times, usually with resistance bands, sometimes for more like 20 minutes. I thought it added quite a lot to my overall fitness. I'll probably take the resistance bands on my upcoming trip.
Aside from the immediate benefit, you are establishing a habit. You may find that as you keep doing it, you will want to do a bit more. It definitely happened for me: today I got up at 5:15 and joined a friend for an 11-mile run. The first bit was in the dark!5 -
Is it not amazing how so called friends, like to shoot down other friends? As she is your friend I guess *kitten* slapping is out. I continue to be amazed how when we share information with our friends, instead of building us up, how many will try to point out a negative. Your routine looks great.
I went through this when I first started getting some cardio in 2018. My Dr. said start small, everything counts. Then when 5 or 10 minutes get easy you will know it is time to increase time and add more to it.5 -
Thanks all for your input! I will keep doing my workouts and hopefully will be able to build up from there
I know it seemed rude of my friend but her suggestion wasn't meant to be mean. She just wants me to be healthy. She just doesn't really understand that I have to start at a much lower level than where she is right now.6 -
If you're new to exercise, then starting slow is a great approach. There is no reason to jump into half hour workouts, which may not even be ideal for your current fitness level and lifestyle. Not everyone is able or interested in doing a longer workout. While a longer workout will offer different benefits than shorter workouts, it sounds like short workouts are good for your current goals. Your short workouts will definitely have more benefits than no workouts at all.
Your friend's comments sound discouraging, and don't have evidence to back them up.2 -
I do a whole bunch of "10-minute workouts" in a day ... walking as part of my commute, taking a 10:30 break at work and climbing stairs, lifting weights at home, etc.
All better than nothing. 5 -
agree with others....ANY TIME you move is better than not moving at all!5
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Yes they would be, any lil bit of activity is good (: there is a great 10 minute abdominal workout video on youtube by fitnessblender. Check out their channel. They have all kinds of workouts varying in lengths but a lot don't take up a great deal of time and are great for at home.5
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It worked for me, I started with 7 min HIIT workouts app and it did wonders.. Don't get me wrong, I was daying most of time (overweight bookworm all my life) , but with time it got easer and I started to play with durations and variations of exercises... They were my intro in stronger, healthier lifestyle that I built over time.. Now, when my fitness s on my peak, looking back it does seems as tiny baby steps but back then, for my fitness and health they were huge leap that set me to motion and I can't be more grateful for deciding to do "those 7 min from hell".. This week u will do 10,next week u will do 15, u will get better, stronger, fitter.. Don't listen to anyone except ur own body, be kind to it but also do challenge it Coz that s how u will change it3
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Effective for what? They don't get you into the Olympics, but if you're Goodall is to get in better shape and burn some calories in the process, they'll be good for that. 🙂1
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maureenkhilde wrote: »Is it not amazing how so called friends, like to shoot down other friends? As she is your friend I guess *kitten* slapping is out. I continue to be amazed how when we share information with our friends, instead of building us up, how many will try to point out a negative. Your routine looks great.
I went through this when I first started getting some cardio in 2018. My Dr. said start small, everything counts. Then when 5 or 10 minutes get easy you will know it is time to increase time and add more to it.
Or her friend was just passing along the message she heard about needing a certain amount of cardio to get into the "fat burning zone," something I heard in every Kathy Smith and Denise Austin exercise video from the 90s. No need to ascribe negative motivations.1 -
VoluptuousComedyNerd wrote: »I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed early enough for a workout, but I have compromised by finding a 10-min strength/cardio workout to do as soon as I get up. But a friend of mine burst my bubble and said it was pointless if I’m not getting a half hour of cardio at a time.
What do you guys think? For reference, I’m over 300lbs and live a pretty sedentary lifestyle.
The workout I’m doing is:
20 high knees
20 squats
50 jumping jacks
20 superman plank
20 lunge kicks
20 toe taps
Repeat one more time or until 10 minutes is up.
I'd be worried about your knees and would suggest walking or other low impact activities instead.
(Never work through knee pain.)3 -
10 minutes is great. I follow a woman on FB who specializes in designing 10-15 minute body weight workouts for people and many of her followers have had great success.
That said, agree with above poster that you're putting a fair bit of strain on your knees. I'd consider swapping one or two for something more core or upper body oriented.1 -
Too bad that your friend is so discouraging. I think finding something you enjoy and can stick to is great because as you become more fit, you'll want to increase. Who knows, you might end up wanting to get up early so that you can do more 2
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VoluptuousComedyNerd wrote: »Thanks all for your input! I will keep doing my workouts and hopefully will be able to build up from there
I know it seemed rude of my friend but her suggestion wasn't meant to be mean. She just wants me to be healthy. She just doesn't really understand that I have to start at a much lower level than where she is right now.
We all start somewhere. The important thing is to be consistent and working to improve (more reps, more time etc) but progress at your own rate and keep it up.1 -
I hate lifting in the gym. For a while (currently I'm lifting more in the gym, LOL), I'd keep a heavy KB near my desk and a dumbell and for like 2 minutes an hour, just do KB swings, overhead presses, squats and pushups. Took like 3 minutes. It's amazing what a few minutes here and there can add up to.5
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kshama2001 wrote: »
I'd be worried about your knees and would suggest walking or other low impact activities instead.
(Never work through knee pain.)10 minutes is great. I follow a woman on FB who specializes in designing 10-15 minute body weight workouts for people and many of her followers have had great success.
That said, agree with above poster that you're putting a fair bit of strain on your knees. I'd consider swapping one or two for something more core or upper body oriented.
I haven't found a problem so far, but just to be safe I have been alternating the exercises that I do so that there are more core/upper body. I just wanted to make sure I got enough cardio in, want to get that heart pumping lol
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VoluptuousComedyNerd wrote: »I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed early enough for a workout, but I have compromised by finding a 10-min strength/cardio workout to do as soon as I get up. But a friend of mine burst my bubble and said it was pointless if I’m not getting a half hour of cardio at a time.
What do you guys think? For reference, I’m over 300lbs and live a pretty sedentary lifestyle.
The workout I’m doing is:
20 high knees
20 squats
50 jumping jacks
20 superman plank
20 lunge kicks
20 toe taps
Repeat one more time or until 10 minutes is up.
You're doing well! You're getting movement and exercise into your day. 50 jumping jacks (or 100 if you repeat) is a heck of a lot for someone who is overweight and not used to exercising. Go for it.
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You're doing well! You're getting movement and exercise into your day. 50 jumping jacks (or 100 if you repeat) is a heck of a lot for someone who is overweight and not used to exercising. Go for it.
I'd love to say I've been doing 100 jumping jacks at full force, but I realized that I'm better off doing the alternate version!
I've actually compiled a list of a ton of exercises, so now I just alternate which ones I do (making sure it's a full body workout every day). Up to 15 minutes now!3 -
Eating less and moving more, in whatever way you can, is what counts.
Imagine trying to run 5 km from being totally sedentary and not even running?! Yeah, disheartening, so way to go lady! Small steps, that are totally realistic...
Keep on keeping on and the 10 mins will get longer and maybe in time, you can head out to the gym or even do longer bouts of cardio...even a long walk is more steps!1 -
Not a bubble burster, but I think it is definitely in your best interest to find ways to add to what you do. Walk longer routes to and from your home, car, work or any other place that you can walk, even walking an extra lap around grocery store (making sure not to buy any more than you planned too of course). I have the advantage of time being a retired person (yet still didn't find the time or more correctly avoided finding it because of bad hips that I since had replaced). However, I am convinced that there is time to be found to exercise during the busiest of days. There is a famous couple whose home and professional lives are so crowded they often can't find time to workout until midnight or later...so that's when they do it. Your time is there somewhere, you've just got to find it and grab it. And the situation as you've offered it is dangerous.1
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Just be consistent. If you keep at it every day, you will find that you need to do more to challenge yourself before long. Last week’s struggle is next week’s warm up.1
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Just to update you all in case you’re wondering how it went!
I did 10 minute workouts every day for about a week and I felt stronger immediately. Now I *want* to get up earlier and increased my workouts to 25 or 30 minutes per day, depending on how many times I hit snooze lol
So it really was a good idea for me to start there. I recommend anyone who has trouble getting up in the morning start with 10 minutes of any kind of strength/cardio routine!3 -
I just remembered the first days after completing my post-op PT how I got back into my routines. I started on my treadmill for 4 or 5 minutes then began adding literally 15 seconds a day to that. I did that for weeks. It wasn't until I approached 20 minutes that I gave myself permission to "get after it" and start doing other things. Glad to see that a similar approach seems good for you. Stay with it. Try to avoid the snooze button 😊1
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Like others have said, any little bit helps! Just like small changes to diet help!
Also, I read a study that correlated working out in the morning with healthier decisions throughout the day so it may have even more benefits than you realize!1
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