Can doing tiny bits of exercise throughout the day actually be effective?

I be up in the gym, just working on my fitness… or not.

When it comes to exercising, I used to be an all-or-nothing kind of girl. And by that, I mean that I’d either exercise for a block of time – 20 minutes at a minimum, one hour at the most – or not at all.

This method was fine by me, until I had a baby. Once I became a mother, those juicy chunks of time to myself became a rarity. This meant that I never exercised. Those long jogs that I used to go on, or the hour in the gym, became just a memory.

I thought that maybe I’d have more time to exercise once my daughter became a toddler, but instead, it’s become even more difficult.

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So, I’ve started to exercise in very short spurts. When my daughter is playing with some leaves in the park, I’ll drop to the ground and do a bunch of sit-ups. Later on, when she’s having a snack at home, I’ll do some quick star jumps. And when’s she’s finally gone down to sleep for the night, I’ll fit in a tiny bit of weight work and step-ups. I don’t have any gym equipment, and own just a yoga mat and little hand weights.

Is exercising in teeny-tiny bits doing me any good? Or should I not bother at all? (Post continues after gallery.)

I spoke to two fitness experts, Blake Worrall-Thompson and Em Esslemont, to find out once and for all: is exercising in short, fast bursts worth it, or should I just stay on the couch? (Please say couch, please say couch…)

Which is better: exercising for a large block of time, or doing tiny bits or exercise throughout the day?

Blake and Em both agree that when it comes to exercise, it’s better to do something, rather than nothing.

Blake: “Realistically, if you can arrange half an hour for exercise, you’d get a better outcome. But, at the same time, incidental exercise is better than nothing. I’m a big fan of high intensity exercises.”

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Em: “It all comes down to what the individual has to work with. The fact that you’re doing those short bursts of exercise is going to be better than doing nothing at all. You can definitely get benefits from doing a short, high-intensity workout. So all of those star jumps in the TV aren’t in vain – it’s definitely doing you good, for sure.”

Oh yeah. Did you hear that? I’m doing exercise right. Can someone please tell my high school PE teacher that? Not because I failed PE or anything…

Is it bad or dangerous to exercise in short bursts?

There’s nothing dangerous about exercising for short bursts of time, but remember to build up to more intense exercises. You don’t want to be hobbling around or all twisted up with an injury, do you?

Em: “No, as long as you’re using the correct technique and not doing any dangerous movements. There’s no danger from the health benefits you’ll get from that sort of exercise.”

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Blake: “The more intense, and the faster you go, the more chance there is of injury. When people talk short bursts, they mean high intensity. It’s great and effective, but I would rather someone build a bit of a foundation and slowly build intensity, rather than go all-guns-out first session”.

Can you recommend some super-effective exercises to do, if you only have tiny amounts of time each day?

If you only have small amounts of time for exercise, Blake recommends the Tabata method. Developed by Professor Izumi Tabata, the Tabata method involves doing four different exercises at high intensity.

Each exercise should be done for a total of 10 minutes, exercising intensely for 20 seconds and then having 10 seconds of recovery time. Blake describes this method as “really effective”, and says it can be done everyday.

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Blake recommends doing two upper body exercises and two lower body exercises, because “when you alternate upper body and lower body, it becomes a lot more effective in terms of fat loss.” Blake’s suggested Tabata routine is a lunge, a push-up, a squat, a resistance band and, if you’re keen for more, a plank. (Post continues after gallery.)

Em suggests “full-body exercises that are going to work the most muscles in the most functional way,” such as burpees, star-jumps, jumping lunges and push-ups. She stresses the importance of working out the leg muscles (which is why star-jumps are perfect), “because they’re bigger muscles, and by putting them through more exercise, you’ll be burning more calories.”

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For each exercise, Em recommends working for 40 seconds, resting for 20 seconds, and then repeating that for a total of four or five times.

See? It’s not as hard as you think. I’m definitely going to try the Tabata method tonight. As Blake and Em said, I’d rather do something than nothing.

Do you have any exercise tips for the time-pressed? Have you tried the Tabata method?