You’ve probably heard all the experts suggesting that you get thirty minutes of exercise, three or more days of the week. But what if it’s really hard to squeeze in a full thirty minutes at a time? Does that mean you should just not bother? NO! Even just ten minutes of exercise at a time can be good for you.
Just ONE HOUR of walking in an entire week can cut your heart attack risk. Oh sure, you say — maybe by one or two percent. Nope! Cut your heart attack risk by as much as fifty percent by accumulating an hour’s worth of walking time. Walk for ten minutes every day of the week and you’ve gone above the one hour threshold. You can do it! That one hour of walking can also help lower your triglycerides and raise your good HDL cholesterol levels. In fact, studies have shown that taking several short walks is better at raising your HDL cholesterol and lowering triglycerides than one continuous walk.
Breaking up your exercise into ten minute chunks can really help you lose weight, too.
Women between the ages of thirty and sixty who took three ten minute walks most days of the week lost twice as many inches as women who did single thirty minute walks. If you’re worrying about inches (and let’s face it — all the weight loss shows count both pounds and inches lost) then you might benefit from breaking up your workout.
A University of Pittsburgh study showed that breaking up your exercise into ten minute segments spaced throughout the day can help you lose up to thirty percent more fat, too. And you’ll also improve your cardiovascular endurance by spacing out your workouts.
Why do short workouts work so well? Maybe because you’re more likely to make time for them. A whole uninterrupted hour or half hour may seem next to impossible… but ten minutes? That’s easy!