A question about exercise (probably a dumb question)

[JunieJay]

If a person exercises 20 minutes in the morning and then 20 minutes again in the evening, is that equivalent to 40 straight minutes of exercise each day? Are the benefits the same as far as improving lung capacity, weight loss, etc.?

 

[annegal]

Same, I guess. I lift weights in the early AM & walk 2 miles(30 min) in the PM

 

[NMAmy]

The people in our wellness program tell me it's the same. I sure hope so because there's no way I can exercise for more than 30 minutes at a time. I get bored easily.

 

[sammi]

The experts say yes! You can spread out your exercise during the whole day and it still adds up!

 

[lovemygoofy]

I also think it depends on what exercise you are doing. If you are doing weight training in the morning and maybe treadmill in the evening, you are working different muscles. If you are going to do the same thing that you did in the morning that afternoon, I would say no because you have to work up the fastest point in your exercise routine all over again. It takes time to get your heart rate up and your muscles limber.

I'm sure someone better than I can explain it better lol. The personal trainer I've been working with says that a good solid 30 mins a day is the best way.

 

[Goofyluver]

Okay...confession: I'm addicted to Oprah & Friends on XM Radio. What does this have to do with anything??? Well, the other day, while driving to visit my friend meeska, I was listening to Bob Greene, Oprah's trainer. He said that it's about the length of the intense training. So, if you have only 20 minutes to work out, use that 20 minutes and go at full tilt as long as you can. If you have 40 minutes, and you do warm-ups, etc...still try to go for 20 minutes at a level where you are pushing yourself. 20 minutes of strenuous exercise was what he wanted everyone to get in. He said you should be at a level where you could speak if you needed to, but it would be difficult.

 

[Christine]

If you are going to do the same thing that you did in the morning that afternoon, I would say no because you have to work up the fastest point in your exercise routine all over again. It takes time to get your heart rate up and your muscles limber.

I'm sure someone better than I can explain it better lol. The personal trainer I've been working with says that a good solid 30 mins a day is the best way.

I agree with this. I think if you are doing cardio and you are breaking it up into 20 minute segments, then the effort is probably not as intense as doing 40 minutes of cardio. It takes time to warm up and cool down and if you do that in 2 segments, then you have two warm ups and two cool downs and less time "in the zone" if you know what I mean.

However, if you are doing weight training in the morning and a walk and night, then I think that would be about the same as doing them together.

 

[grlpwrd]

Yes, according to fitness experts workouts can be split into different sessions, but you really need to make sure they are intense workouts.

 

[JunieJay]

I had always heard you needed to exercise for at least 20 minutes and anything less is worthless. And that its only that exercise AFTER 20 minutes that is of benefit to your general health.

Of course, I don't know where I got this from. I've always exercised for 40 minutes in the morning but I'm considering changing my work hours to an earlier shift and don't think I would have 40 minutes to spare in the morning. I thought about doing 20/20 but want to make sure its not for nothing.

 

[sugarpie]

I think to get a good cardio workout you need more than 20 minutes. There just isn't enough time to keep your heart rate up when you factor in warming up & cooling down.

 

[Wishing on a star]

It depends on your goals....
Different workouts do different things...

for cardio, for me, I think 20 minutes at a time is fine. With maybe a few exta minutes for the warmup and cooldown.

It takes time to build up to a fitness level that would support any longer than that. You don't want to push yourself.

Cardio and weight-loss/body shaping are two very different things...
Cardio provides a good cardiovascular workout, but high intensity exercising like this is not the best at burning fat and shaping the body.

Working harder/faster is not always better.

For that, slower and steady, longer time period, does the trick.

I can remember one episode of Extreme Makeover where their trainer explained all of that. He said that most people do it wrong... try to run the treadmill too fast. It showed him having the makeover people spend a longer time on the treadmill at a slower pace. Just barely fast-walk, not a 'jog'. Clearly, for this, 20 minutes would not be enough.

I don't know if you want to focus on the intense cardio workouts unless one is an athlete working on strength and endurance??????

This is a very interesting discussion!

 

[trip]

Last week our newspaper listed new heart guidelines for women. In the exercise catagory it listed at least 30 minutes of exercise preferably daily; 60-90 minutes if you need to lose weight.

It all counts even if you split up the time.

 

[Amy]

I think the longer, more sustained is better for cardio. But like someone above said, if you do weight training for 20 min and then cardio for 20, you're working diff. muscles.

I think overall, though, it doesn't matter if you do 40 min all at once or two 20-min sessions, the important thing is that you do SOMETHING. Every little bit helps. If I can't fit in my usual 30 min on the treadmill and can only do 20 min, then I still do the 20 min. 20 min is better than nothing.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I go on my treadmill for 20 minutes, 3 times a day. I have lost 60 lbs. But I am dieting also.