When you are busy taking care of children, working, going to school, or anything else our busy world demands, trying to burn fat doesn't always fit neatly into your schedule.
Many people opt to do shorter workouts throughout the day, such as doing three or four ten minute sessions instead of one long one. Does this work?
You often hear that it takes the body about twenty minutes to start burning serious calories and fat, so wouldn't that make shorter workouts ineffective? What is the best way to burn fat on a tight schedule?
If you spend the same amount of time on your short workouts as you would on one long ones, the American Heart Association says that you will get the same benefits.
This means that if you do four ten minute workouts, you are doing the same great things for your body that a single forty minute workout can do. To make it even more effective, the AHA recommends that you make these short workouts as intense as possible.
Moderate exercise won't cut it for your short workouts. You need to make them challenging. Try the following tips to get the most from your mini workouts.
1. Run like the wind.
Try to go at a faster pace than you normally would. If you're not a runner, walk very briskly for ten minutes. Both will get your heart pumping.
2. Do a gym machine for ten minutes.
If you are at the gym or have equipment at home, jump on and exercise extremely rigorously for ten minutes.
3. Use the stairs. Or a hill.
Then walk back down and repeat until you hit ten minutes.
4. Have flashbacks to phys ed with jumping jacks.
5. Do ten minutes of jumping rope.
What makes a good ten minute workout is intensity. Work hard, go all out, and you'll burn fat. Strength training is also great for your mini-workouts.
Your body needs a variety of activities in order to burn fat. Warm up for a few minutes with light cardio, and try the following moves:
* Squats. These are one of the best moves to get your body in shape.
* Lunges
* Pushups
* Tricep dips
* Deadlifts
You can do sets of each or combine them to create compound moves. These work more muscle at the same time. Examples of compound moves are: squats combined with overhead presses, lunges paired with chest presses, and knee lifts with tricep kickbacks.
Just because your workout is condensed, don't neglect the warm-up and cool-downs. Walking briskly to warm up, and walking at a more moderate pace to cool down is sufficient. You can also do some stretching moves to release tension in your muscles.
If you can only fit in short workouts into your schedule, you are doing great things for your body. Above all, you will burn fat and lose weight.
Working out for shorter periods of time can also be much more motivating and can help you stick with your exercise program.
You may have a hard time getting yourself to do a forty minute workout, but you can always do ten, right? - 29951
Many people opt to do shorter workouts throughout the day, such as doing three or four ten minute sessions instead of one long one. Does this work?
You often hear that it takes the body about twenty minutes to start burning serious calories and fat, so wouldn't that make shorter workouts ineffective? What is the best way to burn fat on a tight schedule?
If you spend the same amount of time on your short workouts as you would on one long ones, the American Heart Association says that you will get the same benefits.
This means that if you do four ten minute workouts, you are doing the same great things for your body that a single forty minute workout can do. To make it even more effective, the AHA recommends that you make these short workouts as intense as possible.
Moderate exercise won't cut it for your short workouts. You need to make them challenging. Try the following tips to get the most from your mini workouts.
1. Run like the wind.
Try to go at a faster pace than you normally would. If you're not a runner, walk very briskly for ten minutes. Both will get your heart pumping.
2. Do a gym machine for ten minutes.
If you are at the gym or have equipment at home, jump on and exercise extremely rigorously for ten minutes.
3. Use the stairs. Or a hill.
Then walk back down and repeat until you hit ten minutes.
4. Have flashbacks to phys ed with jumping jacks.
5. Do ten minutes of jumping rope.
What makes a good ten minute workout is intensity. Work hard, go all out, and you'll burn fat. Strength training is also great for your mini-workouts.
Your body needs a variety of activities in order to burn fat. Warm up for a few minutes with light cardio, and try the following moves:
* Squats. These are one of the best moves to get your body in shape.
* Lunges
* Pushups
* Tricep dips
* Deadlifts
You can do sets of each or combine them to create compound moves. These work more muscle at the same time. Examples of compound moves are: squats combined with overhead presses, lunges paired with chest presses, and knee lifts with tricep kickbacks.
Just because your workout is condensed, don't neglect the warm-up and cool-downs. Walking briskly to warm up, and walking at a more moderate pace to cool down is sufficient. You can also do some stretching moves to release tension in your muscles.
If you can only fit in short workouts into your schedule, you are doing great things for your body. Above all, you will burn fat and lose weight.
Working out for shorter periods of time can also be much more motivating and can help you stick with your exercise program.
You may have a hard time getting yourself to do a forty minute workout, but you can always do ten, right? - 29951
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