A 3×10 Exercise Plan That’ll Work for You

Sometimes it’s hard to fit 30 minutes of exercise into your day. But did you know you can break up daily workouts into shorter segments and get the same health benefits?

Exercising for just 10 minutes at a time, three times a day, counts toward the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

The trick is that you have to work hard enough to get your heart rate up. And you have to do the activity for the full 10 minutes. Make it easier by working exercise chunks into your existing routine.

For instance, try getting off the bus or train a stop or two early and briskly walking the rest of the way to your workplace. Then take another 10-minute brisk walk 10 or 15 minutes before you eat lunch. When you get home from work, grab your bike and go for a quick spin around the neighborhood before dinner. (As a bonus, this may even help curb your appetite and make you feel satisfied with smaller portions.)

For a bigger calorie burn, choose 10-minute blocks of more strenuous “vigorous-intensity” activities like swimming, jogging or playing a game of basketball with your kids. These exercises can give you all the benefits of a moderate-intensity activity like walking in half the total time — just 75 minutes per week. You can even alternate between moderate and vigorous segments over the course of each week.

So, it’s possible to find the time for workouts after all. Building exercise into your daily routine isn’t as hard — or as time consuming — as you might think.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details both daily and weekly exercise goals by age group and what exercise options will work best for you.

Source: HealthDay