Health experts strongly advise people to stay active in order to avoid lifestyle diseases in the future. Many of us are too busy that couldn’t give time to go to the gym or go for a jog. According to the National Nutrition Council's ten 10 Kumainments, Filipinos should be physically active. If you're too busy to fit in a 30–45-minute workout, mini workout is good for you. These shorter sessions replace one longer workout by breaking up a continuous routine into several smaller ones.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise — or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise — per week. The CDC also emphasizes the importance of doing strength training at least twice a week. These activities should concentrate on total-body workouts that target the major muscle groups. Many people follow a fitness routine that includes one longer workout session per day in order to meet these guidelines. However, you can divide a longer session into several mini-workouts to achieve the same results as well as to meet the recommended number of minutes.
According to Glenn Gaesser, PhD, professor of exercise physiology at Arizona State University, the most common reason for not exercising on a regular basis is due to lack of time. "This is because most people associate exercise with a lot of effort, time, and a change of clothes." "Mini workouts throughout the day may appeal to people who don't have the time or inclination to do a full-body workout," he said. According to Gaesser, mini workouts could consist of 5–10 minutes of walking or resistance exercises that do not require changing clothes.
Shorter, multiple exercise sessions provide increased flexibility in your daily schedule and allow you to prioritize your health while juggling family, work, and friend obligations. In other words, performing small workouts throughout the day can help you stick to an exercise program and reap the many benefits of regular exercise. Several studies have found that accumulating exercise in short bursts of at least 10 minutes of activity throughout the day has similar effects on a variety of health-related outcomes as performing the same exercise in one continuous bout.
According to Sara Lindberg of Healthline, maintaining a high level of intensity for seasoned athletes for an extended period of time is a difficult task. As a result, shorter exercise sessions appeal to fitness enthusiasts of all levels. Reduced time allows you to exercise at higher intensities that would be difficult or uncomfortable to sustain for longer periods of time. Mini workouts, according to Christine Ogbonna, DPT, a physical therapist at Providence Saint John's Performance Therapy Center, help busy people achieve their fitness goals. She stated that shorter workouts allow people with busy schedules to focus on what they can do in small controlled routines throughout the day without any worries.
According to Gallucci, the main disadvantage of doing such activity is you need to warm up and cool down before and after each workout throughout the day to avoid injury. Furthermore, he claims that due to the time constraints imposed on workout length, increasing your endurance may be difficult over time. Although it is unknown whether multiple short bouts of exercise burn enough calories to have a significant impact on weight loss, we don’t know that high intensity intervals burn more calories than continuous exercise. Breaking up a longer session into three smaller ones, choosing one body area to focus on during each workout, planning ahead, and following a predesigned format are some tips for incorporating mini workouts into your day.
When you divide a longer session into small, frequent workouts, finding time to exercise becomes much easier. Shorter bursts of movement several times a day allow you to accumulate the time required to meet the CDC's minimum physical activity guidelines. Moreover, mini workouts can provide benefits comparable to a single long session. We're all busy in our daily tasks but we should give time for our physical health. Who knows, you might end up making it as a daily habit.
PNFP Marie-Claire Gaas, RND
References:
1. Fit It In: Mini Workouts Are a Great Option When You’re Crunched for Time
Medically reviewed by Micky Lal, MA, CSCS,RYT — Written by Sara Lindberg on September 22, 2021
https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/fit-it-in-mini-workouts
2. 10 Kumainments
https://www.nnc.gov.ph/40-10-kumainments/195-10-kumainments-collaterals
3. How much physical activity do adults need?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm
