Break it Down, Baby

Last week, I had the pleasure of doing a book signing at Uplift Studios. I was lucky to sneak in a few minutes before the festivities began to chat with president & co-owner Leanne Shear about my own fitness routines, and get some valuable input from her on how to stick with a program, but not gauge my eyeballs out in the process.

My biggest complaint is "I have no time." Sound familiar? Unless you're a lady of leisure who is home all day with no job or kiddies or responsibility, then 1) I am insanely envious of you and 2) You probably have all the time in the world to hit the gym. Must be nice. But for the bulk of us, working out is just another check on that to-do list that seems to stretch on for miles and miles.

Aside from having no time, I also get bored. The ADD kicks in after about 10 minutes into a workout, and I'm already mentally on to the next thing before I've even completed my second set of lunges. So what's a busy, distracted gal to do? Split 'em up, says Leanne! I had NO idea that you could cram in 20 minutes of working out by banging out 10 minutes in the morning and another 10 minutes at night. Hello? Piece a cake!

via Pinterest

And Leanne isn't alone in her belief that shorter bursts can be more effective. A recent research study published in Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging compared the fat metabolism between a single 30-minute bout of exercise and three 10-minute bouts at the same intensity and found that the repetition of 10 minutes of moderate exercise can contribute to greater fat oxidation. You can get the full scoop on that article here.

So I've been giving this thing a whirl over the past couple of days, and can I just tell you how obsessed I am? I set the stopwatch on my iPhone (the first day I did two 10 minute sessions, and today I'm doing two 15 minute sessions) and I have felt nothing short of fabulous. Not only were my workouts much more doable, but I really put my all into them, kicking up the intensity and pumping it up because I knew there was an end in sight. I also feel like I can actually have a life at night and not spend an hour of my precious down time in a gym. More time for wine and Real Housewives -- er, I mean, snuggling with my husband.

Have you ladies tried breaking up your workout routines? Will you give it a try? Let me know what you think, and don't forget to have a bottle ready to toast yourself afterward for kicking ass!