No. You can break up your routines into 10-15 minute intervals throughout the day if that is more feasible for you.
There are studies out there that suggest that more frequent, but shorter session are just as beneficial as longer sessions. I have found both personally, and with my clients, that when a jam-packed day plagues our routines, if we split it up throughout the day not only does it give a sense of accomplishment, but also keeps the energy levels up throughout the day.
Absolutely not! We are all busy people. Some of us don’t have the time or desire to go to the gym so here is how you can fit in exercise whenever you have the time:
- Get a pedometer and get your steps up to 10,000 per day. Make these steps into greater calorie burners by doing some interval walking. In other words, as you are out for a walk, speed walk for a block and then slow yourself down for the next block. This is a great way to increase the intensity of your walks and get your heart pumping which will help you lose weight faster.
- Do simple exercises using natural opportunities throughout your day to sneak in exercise. For example, do some squats when you are waiting for water to boil, lunge down the hallway to get the laundry or do crunches as you are watching TV.
- Try to add accidental exercise into your day. Stand during phone calls at work, take the elevator instead of the stairs or park in the very last spot at the grocery store.
If you learn to be creative you can sneak exercise into your day more naturally and you won’t feel like you have to “carve” out the time. The world is your gym – so now go play!
When it comes to strength training and cardio, if it’s difficult to perform them one after the other, split it across the day or even perform them on different days. You’ll still reap the benefits of both. Exercise is about increasing activity in a systematic way, it doesn’t mean killing yourself in the gym to get it all in at once. Recovery time is just as essential as the workouts themselves so be good to yourself and pace your activity and spread out the workload.
You do not necessarily have to get all of your daily exercise at once. Will it be most ideal to complete a 30+ minute bout of exercise all at once, of course. However, will you still receive benefit from complete 2-3 separate bouts of exercise, yes. You ask why? Well if you do not complete any exercise then are you receiving any benefit? Nope. So completing some exercise is better than completing no exercise. Again, completing all of it at once is more ideal than completing it in separate segments.
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Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.