Which is more beneficial...

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jmruef
jmruef Posts: 824 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This might be one of those "why even bother things" but I thought I'd throw it out there...

While my lunch is microwaving (usually only for about 2 min or so) I like to do *something* active. Today I ran up and down the stairs 7 times. Sometimes I'll do squats or lunges, or butt kicks.

Is this even worth it? It's only for 2 minutes.

Also - is one better than the other? Is 2 min of something like running up the stairs better than lunges, or is it apples & oranges?

Thoughts?

Replies

  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
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    Any activity is better than no activity in my book! Did you burn massive calories in those 2 mins?? Well of course not, but you burned a few! :)
  • luly727
    luly727 Posts: 202 Member
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    Any cardio that makes your HR is good :-) Taking advantage of these "little things" start to add up at the end of the day :)
  • KeyMasterOfGozer
    KeyMasterOfGozer Posts: 229 Member
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    From what I've read, you don't really gain metabolic benefit unless you keep your heart rate up for 20 minutes, but also you don't gain very much metabolic benefit from going more than 20 minutes. If you think about it, you are probably only burning 20 calories at most in 2 minutes. If you do nothing at all, you are probably burning 2000-3000 calories in a day (depending on your size and metabolism), so that 20 calories probably doesn't really benefit you enough to be very worth it.

    I've also read that when stretching you don't get much benefit past 20 seconds. Perhaps you could come up with 5-6 stretch exercises to do during your 2 minutes, and you might gain more overall benefit, and save your cardio unti la time when you can give a solid 25-30 minutes?
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    Anytthing you do that is not sitting on your butt in your office or on the couch is worth it :)
  • vlc1979
    vlc1979 Posts: 227
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    IMO it may not be super duper benificial cardiac wise, however, I can't imagine that it isn't helping to build muscle, as least a little bit. I do somehting similar, like walking lunges on the way to the br or something.

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