Q&A with MizFit: Maximizing Exercise Time
Hey guys! Jen and I are delighted to host our third Q&A session with the lovely one-time personal trainer and life coach, MizFit.
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Dear MizFit:
Ok, the days are getting shorter and my life is getting crazier. I can only fit in a work-out in 3 different 20-minute slots per day. What is the best way to maximize this time?
Answer by MizFit, www.MizFitOnline:
I love this question for so many reasons.
First is that I totally get you’re not being able to spare 60 minutes at one time and, in a way, I think it’s a good thing!
My philosophy is we all need to set ourselves up for success (in all of life. I‘m a one-time life-coach after all).
Sure your life (uh, one’s life. We’ve already established this isn’t you 
) may “support” your being able to work out for hours on end *now* but my philosophy is why start something you can’t realistically keep up for the long haul (please also to see Biggest Loser workout routines & cross reference under Oprah when she did Optifast).
I don’t work out a great deal every day (at all) but I have done the same not-too-long routines for a while now. For almost sixteen years.
In my opinion it is all about consistency. Moving a little every single day. Period.
(Ok, I’m now refocusing and getting to the specifics of your question. I did wanna digress though and just hit upon the notion that life is busy and only getting busier Finding a plan now that works in bits & pieces will set you up for long term success as we can ALL FIND a few spurts throughout the day to exercise.)
Studies show that if you’re not training for an athletic competition, breaking up your workout is just fine! The phrase many trainers throw around is that 10 plus 10 plus 10 DOES equal 30. If you find three ten-minute segments during your day to do cardiovascular exercise by sundown it is as if you’d done one thirty-minute bout.
Now, not knowing your specific goals, I’d recommend this:
Morning and evening cardio sessions.
I figure you can SWEAT then and it wont matter as it would if you did cardio during your lunch hour.
DVDs, recorded On Demand exercise shows, running, walking, jump rope—-ANYTHING for the twenty minutes you have before and after work. I tend to do cardio more frequently but less of it. I might do 20 minutes in the morning and then ten minutes/stretching after work.
20 minutes at lunch. I’d love to know more here. Is there any way this can be your resistance training time? Do you work near a gym? Even if you don’t belong, you might wanna see if you could get a month membership and try it out. Do you have an office (you could shut the door and EASILY do many of these exercises in the privacy of your office)?
If you do decide that this is your resistance training time you could break up your body into five parts (chest, back, biceps, tricep/shoulders, legs) and EASILY be finished in 20 minutes.
You could also do a full body routine three times a week and just relax or meditate on the other two days.
I hope this helped some.
I’m a big believer that by starting out not over-exercising but planning a routine you can do for the long haul you will be able to easily maintain your weight loss.
MizFit
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What do you guys think about that? As a loyal member of the MizFit Fan Club, I have heard MizFit emphasize that the best work out is the one you can keep up throughout your life. This means that 2-hour cardio sessions (guilty!) and 2-hour strength-training sessions (guilty!) are not very feasible for the long-haul. Where do you guys fall on the feasibility spectrum of maintaining your current work-outs for the long-haul? Or are your work-outs currently structured as part of a “short-term” goal? Is that a good thing? Do any of you work-out at the office?
Review First Q&A with MizFit here.
Review Second Q&A with MizFit here.
<3,
The Cranky One
p.s. Gnu Bars is currently testing out two new flavors of their high-fiber bars — Espresso Chip Bar & Lemon Ginger Bar (see here) — that are not available in the store. You can try them for $0.99/each, but will have to pay an estimated shipping of close to $5.00. Just thought I’d pass along the news…I love me some Gnu Bars…
Tags: cardio, consistent work-outs, exercise, gnu bars, mizfit, strength training
12 People have left comments on this post
Great post! I always love reading MizFit, but this is a great point she makes today. I try to do my cardio all at once, but there are days, especially with 7 kids, that I just can’t. So I do break it up.
For me, just always reaching for better fitness and health is my daily goal. Once I lost my 150 pounds I never want to go back to how I was before.
thanks for having me!
Love,
Miz who so wants to nag you about those dang cardio sessions but will later. in private. or at your house. either way
I’m definitely not a person who has a ton of time to devote to exercise in one large block.
That’s why i try to do 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there.
As much as i’d like to be able to think i can dedicate 45 minutes of straight cardio and 30 minutes of weight training per day, i don’t think that will be sustainable for my life in the years to come.
I’m trying to find the balance of pushing myself and being fit, but also knowing that i want to enjoy the other parts of life too, and have a happy medium.
I am all for doing what you can sustain long term. Saying that, I have always done longer workout sessions even when I was working long hours. For me, it seems I have always had to do a bit more than most people but I also have a specific look I want to keep. If I wanted less muscle & a bit more body fat, I could do less. I think some people can do this & be fine but I also think that we are all different so you may have to experiment to see what works for you. I do agree that you can break up your sessions in a day but I am just one that wants to get that cardio out of the way. If I had no choice, then I would do what I had too. I hate working out at night so that is why I like to do my stuff early & have it done.
I love MizFit. She is great! Just for me, even when I was younger & the bod worked better, I always had to do more & eat clean… just my bod!
I love the idea of breaking up the workouts when you’re strapped for time!
Great Q & A! And that’s what I like about the 30 day shred dvd.
But like you said, it’s all about what you can do for the long haul. A couple hours of walking each day? That’s something I totally intend on doing for the long haul (honestly) because I adore it so much. I can’t imagine a life without walking for a couple hours daily. (But strength training? No thanks. I’ll do that in as short a time as possible
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Great post! I always wondered if breaking up the segments are equal to one long one!
I currently do a 30-40min workout in the AM on Mondays & Wednesdays after dropping off the Nutty at daycare, which is something I can definitely maintain. Tuesdays I have off, so I go to the gym with her, and Thursday afternoons I go before I pick her up. Right now I’m at a place where I can maintain my level, and now that Hubs is getting into the fitness lifestyle, it’s definitely easier!
The nice part is that I can do lunges and squats all day at my job – I have to, I’m doing them with other people (!) – so I always hope that Im getting a “little extra” in. ;o)
Found you through MizFit. Lovin’ the blog. As for the little bouts of exercise, I was a huge proponent of blocking off ONE time per day to do it, but I’ve fallen in love with a little bit before work and a little bit after now. There is no way I could get in a full workout before work (I’m so not a morning person), but I can get in half of it!
First off, thanks for an inspiring blog!
I have a pretty intense workout schedule right now, and I might not be able to keep it up forever, but I have been able to stick with it throughout the spring while I’ve been working some really long hours, so I know it’s possible, but I won’t be too hard on myself or let myself feel guilty if at some point I need to take it down a notch, if my body needs it or my life situation demands it.
Wonderfully sensible guidance from Miz, as always. Thanks for the q & a with her!
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