Trying to reduce portion sizes, many find themselves struggling to lose weight, because they are always starving, especially in the beginning due to years of overeating and otherwise abusing the body. But many successful dieters, not just in the United States, have found more frequent meals to the answer. Smaller meals give your body a chance to digest the components on a more consistent basis, and some even find that they are eating more throughout the day, eating every 3 hours and 5-6 meals per day, but paradoxically they are losing weight.
What if workouts functioned in the same way? Medical experts are now suggesting that workouts broken into 10 minute durations throughout the day could actually effectively reduce the risk of heart attack as compared to those who only workout 1-3 times per week. Some studies have used subjects who exercised 5 times or more per week. These subjects had a lower rate of heart attacks and heart disease related death. Exercise was required to be vigorous enough to produce sweat, and timing was specific. But all these studies were only conducted on men, not women.
But the official statement from the American Heart Association remains the same. For most people, workouts of a 30 minute duration in those 65 or younger are generally the most effective methods of action. It has been suggested that any workout longer than 30 minutes is less effective for the time spent, and you are no longer burning so many calories as you are unnecessarily abusing your body.
Either way, some find that they can better stand smaller workouts throughout the day, both in the impact on their bodies as well as the impact on their available time. As our society becomes bigger, we cannot use large chunks of our day all at one time to complete the recommended amount of exercise. But if we break it out, we are ultimately getting the same amount of caloric burn, but in a way convenient to our individual situations.
- American Heart Association Science Blog. Frequent Workouts Better For Heart. http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/1997/A/199700045.html 1997.
- http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aerobic-exercise/AN01947
- Gruenmay, Jennifer. Frequent Workouts Are More Effective. Lifescript. October 29, 2006. http://www.lifescript.com/Body/Shape/Fit-tips/Frequent_Workouts_Are_More_Effective.aspx?page=postcomment