I posted this in the "exercise" section but got very little feedback - I would like more feedback, so I'm posting the same question here!

I've heard/read that it's just as beneficial to exercise (say, for instance, walking) for 15 minutes 3x a day as it is to exercise 45 straight minutes. I find it much easier to slap 15 minutes into my daily grind 3x a day than carve out 45 straight. So last week, I started doing 15 minutes before breakfast, 15 at lunch, and 15 before or after dinner, in addition to my regular weight lifting routine & my "fun-time exercise" like weekend swimming/biking.

What do you think, and do any of you have success by exercising little bits at a time as opposed to one-fell-swoop of exercise?

My understanding is that this is true in terms of calories burned and blood sugar, insulin resistance. If you are still doing other activities, it seems like it would help you burn more calories.

As always, if you just keep moving and make it part of your life, this will be long term. There are some folks on the maintainers thread that talk about this.

I heard that you had to exercise for half an hour before you started burning fat, I'm not sure where I heard it but I imagine it's a load of bull.

I can't think for any reason that 45 minutes broken up is any less effective than 45 minutes of constant exercise.

Once upon a time "they" used to say that it takes at least 20 minutes of continuous exercise to convert from glycogen stores to fat burning. Technically, I suppose this is still true. You don't have to burn fat during exercise, you want a deficit over the course of a day.
Cumulative exercise is still beneficial. This is even more true if you use that time to do High Intensity Intervals- which have been shown to provide a longer-term burn.
If you're looking at strictly calories in/out equation, you burn relatively the same number of calories be it in one session or many.

From what I was taught in human anatomy, last semester, is that you go through your various energy stores before you start burning fat. About 45-60 minutes before you start burning fat. We were taught of the downsides of this and such but it appears to be true. If you're just looking to increase your cardiovascular health though, I'm sure that breaking it up is fine.

I don't know the science/physiology behind it all, so I'll stay out of that part of the conversation. I would just add that exercising is better than not exercising, so whatever you can do (15 minute chunks, 45 minutes solid, etc.) is good no matter the comparative pros and cons of each.

Hey Beach Patrol!

My understanding, from reading books like Fit Or Fat, is that you have to be in the "aerobic" zone of exercise for at least 12 minutes before you deplete the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver and awaken the fat burning metabolism. So, I would say, extend those walks to 20 minutes. That's an hour a day, and that should be just fine.

Personally I feel better if I do something like a walk in the morning and then a longer exercise period in the afternoon, than if I just do one big exercise period.

Jay

I do a lot of intense exercising and I don't think I would feel the same intensity in 15 minute increment. I prefer the gym and this morning I did spin for 60 minutes and weights for 30. I'll return this evening for 45 minute cardio.

Hey JayEll!!!!

I've heard of that "aerobic zone" or "fat burning zone" etc. I'm certainly not opposed to giving myself another 5 minutes on each walk, in fact, my morning & evening walk is right around 22 minutes and my lunch walk is right around 18-20. I guess I just don't see how a few extra minutes can "really put ya in that fat loss burning zone".

Cause like, you know, with weight lifting - you really don't get "cardio" from that (unless you're doing a cardio/weight lifting training regime) but because of the muscle activity, you continue burning fat even after the exercise period is long gone. Muscle burns fat. Right? (I'm doing weight training 2x/week... sometimes 3x)

And you know how "they" say every little bit helps... such as "park farther away" or "take the stairs instead of the elevator" cause "every little bit adds up"... and like, what about that 10,000 steps thingymaroll? People trying to get in those "Extra Steps" by walking to a co-workers desk instead of sending an email, etc. So where's the "fat burning zone" in all that?

Sometimes I think I'm just in "information overload" - and I really have trouble weeding out the good advice from the so-so advice. Ack!

*also wanted to say I appreciate everyone's input! - I'm getting many more responses than I got on the exercise thread!

When I started at the gym the trainer told me that 10-15 minutes is how long it takes your body to get used to one exercise so staying on the same machine for an hour isn't going to give you as good of results as rotating between different exercises. THe other thing though is that to burn fat you have to raise and mantain your heart rate for more than I think its 30 minutes but I'm not 100% sure on that. So 3x 15 minute sessions might burn a few calories but it probably wouldn't be enough to get in a real fat burning workout. But hey any exercise is better than none so if thats what you have time for I would think do what you can.

From an article in Runner's World, published March 2010:

MYTH: Walking won't do much to help you lose weight ~
A 2009 study in the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition* found that healthy adults ages 19 to 30 who were car-happy gained up to 15 pounds more over a 15-year period than those who used their own two feet more often to get around. To motivate yourself to walk more, invest in a pedometer. A 2007 study in the *Journal of the American Medical Association* determined that using a pedometer can lead to significant decreases in body-mass index and blood pressure. "Aim for 10,000 steps daily," advises McCall. "That's two and half miles of walking, which means you'll burn an extra 250 calories everyday." You can boost your chances of reaching the 10,000-step goal by walking to a coworker's cubicle instead of e-mailing, trading in the elevator for the stairs, and parking at the farthest corner of the mall lot.

I say do what you can.

"They" are always changing their minds. I've pretty much no longer believe anything that says you have to do things a certain way to get the most out of it, food or exercise-wise. Someone once sent me something about how you have to time your fruit, otherwise you're doing it wrong. Give it break! These are pretty much the only things I "believe" any more.

1. Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. -Michael Pollan.
2. Eat less, move more.

Obviously, if you're training to be in peak performance for some athletic endeavor, "move more" isn't enough. But until you're at that point, I think it's all good.

Beach, I agree. Walking 3 times a day would be just fine. I know there is some science behind the idea of the switch from glycogen to fat burning, but I don't have time to look it up right now...

I also see too many people decide that to lose weight, they need to run a half-marathon, start P90X, worship at Jillian's feet, or some such... one extreme to another!

Jay

I can't stand exercising for longer periods of time, like over 45 minutes. But I love to exercise 15 to 30 minutes in the morning and then 15 to 20 more minutes at night. (I can walk outside for an hour though, sometimes. But that's rare). I'll always break it up, no matter what the experts say.

Ya know, a few years ago, on yet another one of my many dieting/exercising to lose weight attempts... "trying to lose weight" ... ( ) I was walking 6 miles per day. I did 2 in the morning, 2 at lunch & 2 in the evening. I gave up sodas, junk food, and ate a veggie/lean meat type diet... did this for 8 months.... EIGHT MONTHS! - and lost not one.single.pound.

But I felt better (physically speaking) - had more endurance, etc. When I went to a concert with a friend, and we had to park a ko-jillion miles away from the venue, I easily made the trek (LOTS of hills, work those quads! ) while my very thin friend could barely keep up at all. So all the exercise wasn't for naught!

Soooo.... maybe I should just look at exercise as a simple means to "movement is good for you" ~ THAT IS... I shouldn't count on it for weight loss, but rather for fitness. Yet, it's always that "voice" in my mind "You need to get moving! Move more! You're not doing enough! Lift MORE weight! Walk MORE! Swim MORE! Pedal for crying out loud! One more mile! Five more laps! Three more lifts!".... Stupid evil brain voice.