Are Mini-Workouts Effective Throughout the Day?
Key takeaways:
Three 10-minute workouts throughout the day can provide the same health benefits as one 30-minute workout.
Ongoing research shows that even 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous daily exercise can improve your health.
You don’t need fitness equipment or access to a gym for effective mini-workouts.
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Let’s face it: Most of us are really busy these days. Between work, family, and everything else vying for our time and attention, it can be difficult to squeeze in a workout.
But what about shorter workouts? With mini-workouts, you do shorter bouts of exercise throughout the day instead of one longer session. And some exercise is better than none at all. One study found that if adults added 10 minutes of daily physical activity, it could prevent more than 110,000 premature deaths a year.
Keep reading to learn the science behind mini-workouts. You’ll be surprised at how much you can do for your body with just 10 minutes of exercise.
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What is the recommended amount of exercise per week?
You probably already know that regular exercise is critical for your health and well-being. But exactly how much exercise do you need? According to the CDC, adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week. That, coupled with two weekly strength training sessions, can maximize the health benefits.
Let’s break that down.
Aerobic exercise, often referred to as cardio, is movement that elevates your heart rate for a sustained period of time. This type of exercise strengthens your heart and lungs.
During moderate-intensity aerobic activity, your heart rate increases, and you start to break a sweat. You breathe harder, but you can still speak in short sentences. Examples of moderate-intensity aerobic activity include:
Dancing
Cycling on a flat-road or stationary bike
Swimming or water aerobics
Playing golf
During vigorous-intensity exercise, your heart beats even faster, and you’re breathing hard enough that you can only say a few words comfortably. Examples include:
Jogging or running
Playing singles tennis
Spinning
Spinning
Get active: Taking more steps is a great way to increase physical activity. Try these tips to boost your daily step count.
Stay motivated: It can be hard to stick with your workout routine. Learn expert-approved strategies to get and stay motivated to exercise.
Try Tabata: This high-intensity interval training method helps you burn calories in less time. Here’s how to get started with Tabata training.
What is a mini-workout?
A mini-workout is a short — usually around 5 to 15 minutes — exercise session. It’s designed to fit more physical activity into a busy daily schedule.
Most people do one workout a day. For example, you might split 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio into one 30-minute workout 5 days a week. But short bursts of exercise, or mini-workouts, throughout the day can be just as beneficial.
Are mini-workouts good for you?
Yes, replacing one continuous workout with several shorter sessions can be good for you.
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A 2019 review found that one 30-minute workout and three 10-minute bouts of exercise — of the same intensity — provide the same health benefits. There were no differences in cardiorespiratory fitness, blood pressure, or blood sugar outcomes.
Additional research suggests that short bouts of moderate to vigorous exercise throughout the day can be just as effective at reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome (a collection of health conditions that puts you at higher risk of heart disease and diabetes), chronic diseases, and even death.
Benefits of shorter workouts vs. longer workouts
When it comes to reaping the benefits of your workouts, there are some added perks of shorter bouts of exercise. Mini-workouts can:
Provide more schedule flexibility: It’s easier to find 10 minutes to squeeze in a short workout than to dedicate a 30-minute block of time to exercise. So 10-minute workouts throughout the day may be more feasible than longer workouts for many people.
Make it easier to exercise at a higher intensity: With 10-minute workouts, you can exercise at a higher intensity that might not be possible to maintain during a longer workout. You can make it a 10-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session by adding brief, higher-intensity intervals.
Help you stick to an exercise routine: Many people struggle to commit to a fitness routine. But you can do almost anything for 10 minutes, right? It may be easier to motivate yourself to do mini-workouts than one longer workout.
Boost your mood throughout the day: Exercise produces chemical mood boosters like endorphins. So you may get a mood boost after each bout of exercise. It could leave you feeling better throughout the day.
Can you get fit in 10 minutes a day?
The short answer is yes. You may be able to improve cardio fitness in as little as 10 minutes a day. But your exercise intensity is crucial. And much of the current research, such as the 2019 review, compares one 30-minute workout to three 10-minute workouts.
That being said, ongoing research suggests that a little exercise can go a long way. One very small study found that a 10-minute workout session with at least 1 minute of high-intensity exercise had the same aerobic and metabolic benefits as a longer, moderate-intensity workout.
Strength training is also a crucial component of fitness. It requires you to use your body weight or tools like free weights to improve your muscle mass and strength. Training to failure may help you reach those goals with short workouts. This means doing exercise reps and sets until your muscles tire. According to one study, doing a single set of 8-12 exercise reps to failure 1-2 times a week may increase muscle strength and endurance over time.
The research on shorter workouts isn’t exactly robust, but ultimately, any exercise is better than none at all.
Does a shorter workout need to be more intense?
In general, higher-intensity exercise can make shorter workouts more effective. That’s why the CDC equates 70 minutes of high-intensity exercise with 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.
HIIT may even help you burn more calories and lose more body fat. HIIT involves short bursts of vigorous exercise that are separated by brief recovery intervals. In a series of small studies, researchers analyzed the effects of brief rounds of HIIT. They found that several rounds of 4-second cycling intervals (totaling 2 minutes of exercise) at maximum intensity improved strength and endurance.
It’s important to keep in mind that high-intensity exercise is intended to be a tough challenge for your heart and lungs. So if you have any health conditions, it’s always a good idea to check with a healthcare professional to make sure this approach is safe for you.
What are some effective quick bursts of exercises you can do without weights?
The good news is that there are many exercises you can do without stepping foot in a gym. Here are some quick mini-workouts that don’t require weights:
You may choose to perform one exercise for your entire miniworkout. Or you might create a circuit and rotate between activities.
Frequently asked questions
The number of calories you burn in any workout depends on factors such as age, body weight, and exercise intensity. But generally, you can burn around 50-150 calories by doing moderate to vigorous cardio, such as cycling or running, for 10 minutes.
Yes, you can build muscle with mini-workouts. Focus on regular strength-training sessions 2-3 days a week. Consider the following tips to build muscle mass:
Do compound exercises, like squats and lunges, that target multiple muscle groups.
Work up to higher-intensity resistance exercises with weights, such as kettlebell swings and single-arm rows.
Practice progressive overload, which allows you to increase weight or resistance as your fitness improves.
The bottom line
Research suggests that several mini-workouts throughout the day can be as effective as one continuous workout of the same total time and intensity. So if you’re struggling to find time to exercise, consider adding several 10-minute workouts to your day. Not only will these provide similar health benefits, but you may find the routine easier to stick with over the long term. And it can provide helpful energy and mood boosts throughout the day.
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References
American Council on Exercise. (n.d.). Mountain climbers.
American Council on Exercise. (n.d.). Single-arm row.
American Council on Exercise. (n.d.). Squat jump.
American Council on Exercise. (n.d.). Tools and calculators.
Atakan, M. M., et al. (2021). Evidence-based effects of high-intensity interval training on exercise capacity and health: A review with historical perspective. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health.
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Adult activity: An overview.
Fischer, J., et al. (2011). Evidence-based resistance training recommendations. Medicina Sportiva.
Gillen, J. B., et al. (2016). Twelve weeks of sprint interval training improves indices of cardiometabolic health similar to traditional endurance training despite a five-fold lower exercise volume and time commitment. PLoS One.
Loprinzi, P. D., et al. (2013). Association between biologic outcomes and objectively measured physical activity accumulated in ≥10-minute bouts and <10-minute bouts. American Journal of Health Promotion.
Murphy, M. H., et al. (2019). The effects of continuous compared to accumulated exercise on health: A meta-analytic review. Sports Medicine.
Saint-Maurice, P. F., et al. (2018). Moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity and all‐cause mortality: Do bouts matter? Journal of the American Heart Association.
Saint-Maurice, P. F., et al. (2022). Estimated number of deaths prevented through increased physical activity among U.S. adults. JAMA Internal Medicine.
Satiroglu, R., et al. (2021). Four-second power cycling training increases maximal anaerobic power, peak oxygen consumption, and total blood volume. Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise.
Schleppenbach, L. N., et al. (2017). Speed- and circuit-based high-intensity interval training on recovery oxygen consumption. International Journal of Exercise Science.
