Do you have a strong desire to start exercising, but just can’t seem to find the time? Due to our hectic schedules, it seems that our lives are consumed by our careers, family obligations, social life, etc. Because of this, finding time to work out seems to end up on the back burner time and time again. There is certainly no shortage of health and fitness information available on the internet; however, because of time constraints on a full schedule, perhaps adjusting our attitude toward exercise might be what’s really needed. If a full 30-60 minute exercise session isn’t practical, consider a day consisting of multiple short exercise sessions.
The daily 30 minutes of aerobic exercise that is recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine can be accumulated in smaller amounts of time through traditional aerobic exercise or through various activities of daily living, which may include yard work, household chores, and even childcare. Does that sound too good to be true? Maybe so, however, several research articles have shown to improve health through accumulated exercise from multiple 10-minute bouts of exercise per day.
In a 2006 study, 30 minutes of jogging broken up into multiple 10-minute sessions per day, performed five days per week for a total of four weeks found to have a significant impact on reducing total cholesterol and LDL-C (bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL-C (good cholesterol) with no changes in diet or body weight. Another study from 2004 showed that just a single day of accumulated exercise (three, 10-minute bouts) can lead to short-term decreases in triglycerides. For those wondering about pedometers and daily step counts, studies targeting step accumulations have shown that this approach to an active lifestyle is proven to be effective as well.
Studies such as these provide evidence that accumulating short bouts of physical activity can promote health-related fitness and can reduce chronic diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
