This may be a stupid question buuuut i was wondering, would it be a big difference to do 30 minutes of exercise a day in smaller intervals? Or would it be better just to do the 30 minutes?

I normally do 30 minutes on my elliptical trainer everyday, but today i just didn't have the oomph for it, so i did 10 and i plan to do the other 20 later.

What do you think?

( i can't believe i spelled exercise wrong on the thread title I'm such a spelling **** too )

Everything that I've read says that it's OK to exercise in increments, like you did today. I often split up cardio into morning and afternoon chunks myself.

PS - I fixed your title for you, o spelling ****!

lol thanks for fixing that...and for the reply!

any exercise is good, even if broken up. but i think to get a lot of the cardiovascular benefits you need to keep your heart rate up for a longer time.

It's definitely ok to exercise in increments I do it all the time... it keeps your metabolism running faster twice/day instead of only once... if you can fit in 30 minutes twice that would be even better

I think I agree with Lauren. Its probably best to have your heart rate elevated for a longer period so that you can burn more. I'm not sure if its true though. Another thing is I just like to get it all done and overwith

Cardio exercise should be done for 20 minutes minimum. However, bouts of 10 minutes at a time is also good when you can't do the 20 minutes. And breaking it up every once in a while certainly doesn't hurt.

Encouraging people to do 10 minutes several times a day is used when they don't do any cardio exercise at all. This is a good way to get them started.

It takes the heart and cardio vascular system 10 minutes to reach steady state when the calorie burning begins. If you can go for 15-30 minutes after that, you are burning the calories.

Note: I am talking about moderate, longer duration cardio, not intensity.

You don't burn calories for the first 10 minutes of a workout?? I MUST be reading that wrong, cause that sounds weird lol.

I normally do 30 minutes at a time, i just couldn't yesterday for some reason. I did the last 20 minutes later though. I guess i was tired yesterday!

Hey, I say get it in any time you can!!! It ALL counts and we don't always have "ideal" timeslots or "perfect" opportunities!

IMO - It's not that you don't burn calories in the first ten minutes. It's that you burn more calories when your heart rate is elevated. It takes me like 5 minutes to get my heart rate to about 65% of capacity.

That being said...I think any moving is good. The point is make a habit of moving every day. And finding something to do that you enjoy.

I also split my workouts up. I read as long as you get your heart pumping then you ok. You can just burn calories just by sweeping the floor so now matter if you do 10 mins here and 15 mins here just as long as you getting your heartrate up you is burning calores.

There is actually a program out there that was first released and written about in the February 2001 issue of Fitness magazine called The Spark. The author Glenn Gaesser PH.D. wrote the book and it's based on the premise of doing three 10 minute workouts spaced throughout the day called Sparks. It is a mixture of cardio, strength and stretching sparks. I did this program a while back and it actually did work. I'm now trying it again after I totally fell off the exercise wagon and then forgot about this program until just recently. I've been doing Leslie Sansone workouts and did 60 miles last month with no big change to my body so I'm giving this program a try again. I'm also following a better diet and cutting out the sugar which is very hard for me. For example yesterday when I got up I did a 10 minute cardio workout before work and when I got home I did another 10 minute cardio workout and later last night I did a 10 minute strength training workout. Today I'll do two cardio workouts and a stretch. You have to do 15 sparks a week with one day off but you can't take more then two days off in a row. Also the sparks should be spaced at least 4 hours apart. It's very easy to do. Ten minutes goes by fast and it doesn't seem as daunting as doing a 30 or 40 minute workout at once!

I've read that it is fine to break up your exercise. And I hope it's fine because I have done it several times especially with my walking. If I have a busy day around the house I figure I can always stop for a ten minute walk on the treadmill through out the day.