Buzz
Many of us have fitness gear conveniently located near where we spend most of our day. If you can visit your home gym multiple times a day, does this approach outperform or equal a single, uninterrupted workout? In some cases, it does! Let’s delve into the specifics.
For the sake of discussion, let’s assume you’re choosing between two workout schedules:
A conventional strength training session, where you warm up followed by four or five different exercises, each performed in multiple sets. This routine could last anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the exercises and intensity.
The same exercises, but divided into shorter segments—spending about 15 minutes on each part of the workout before returning to your daily tasks.
The advantages of distributing your exercise routine across the day
A 15-minute workout likely feels far less daunting than a full session, and this is perhaps the most apparent benefit of dividing your exercise routine. For individuals with hectic or unpredictable schedules—such as those with demanding jobs or new parents—it’s often simpler to carve out small pockets of time for exercise rather than dedicating a single block for a complete workout.
Here are four compelling reasons to consider splitting your workout:
Each brief workout feels less overwhelming, as it concludes in just a few minutes.
Short sessions can be more easily slotted between other responsibilities and activities.
You’ll enjoy several mental and physical breaks throughout your workday (especially beneficial if you spend most of your time seated at a desk).
You might experience less fatigue at the beginning of each exercise, thanks to an hour or two of rest instead of just a few minutes.
The drawbacks of spreading your workout throughout the day
While the benefits are appealing, there are notable drawbacks to dividing your workout, depending on the type of exercise you’re doing. Many people might find it’s not worth the effort for these five reasons:
Instead of making a single decision to work out, you’ll face four or five moments throughout the day to choose whether or not to exercise. Skip one, and you’ve only completed, say, 75% of your routine.
You’ll start each exercise cold, rather than staying warmed up from the previous one. While warmups aren’t always essential, they can significantly prepare you, particularly for an effective strength training session.
You likely won’t shower after each mini workout, meaning you might spend time in sweaty clothes. It’s often satisfying to finish a workout, freshen up, and feel accomplished.
You’ll spend much of the day anticipating another workout instead of completing it early and moving on.
Certain workouts are structured so that each segment builds on the previous one—for instance, activating or pre-exhausting a muscle early on, then moving to the next exercise before full recovery. Splitting the workout can reduce its effectiveness or, paradoxically, push you to use heavier weights or exert more effort than if you’d done it all at once.
Aside from the last point, which applies only to sequential workouts, most reasons for choosing one approach over the other boil down to time management. Will you be more or less likely to complete four mini workouts compared to one full session? Are you comfortable with the tradeoffs—like extra time spent warming up or cleaning up—if it means avoiding a full lunch break dedicated to exercise? Only you can decide.
“Exercise snacks” can serve as an effective alternative
If a dedicated workout isn’t feasible, consider incorporating exercise “snacks” every few hours.
Recent studies have explored ways to encourage people to exercise more for better health. One study involved older adults performing a 10-minute, equipment-free workout twice daily. The routine included repeated chair stands, marching in place, and calf raises.
After four weeks, participants improved their sit-to-stand test scores by an average of 31%. Short workouts clearly have an impact and are far superior to doing nothing.
Whether this approach works for more athletic individuals engaging in weight training requires further research, but anecdotal evidence suggests it can be effective.
Mini workouts such as “greasing the groove” can enhance strength
Another type of mini workout, widely supported in fitness circles, is known as “greasing the groove.” This method, reportedly coined by kettlebell coach Pavel Tsatsouline, involves practicing a specific exercise multiple times a day without reaching failure. For example, if you can’t complete five pull-ups in a row, you might do one or two pull-ups every hour throughout the day.
Many individuals have discovered that this method improves their performance in the exercise, primarily for two reasons. First, the volume: performing two pull-ups every hour for six hours totals 12 reps. Repeating this daily results in 60 reps during the workweek, surpassing the volume of three sets of five pull-ups done on two or three workout days. While each set feels manageable, the cumulative effect is significant.
The second benefit of greasing the groove is the extensive practice it provides for the specific movement. Strength exercises aren’t solely about muscle size; they also involve skill development. Just as practicing the piano improves your playing, consistently practicing an exercise enhances your proficiency.
What happened when I experimented with splitting up my workouts
That’s a lot of theory—how does it play out in real life? I decided to test it myself and have two experiences to share.
First, I’ve been following a grease-the-groove routine with a kettlebell exercise for several months. Whenever I’m at my desk and my wearable device alerts me that I’ve been sitting too long, I stand up and perform a bent press (or two or three) using my adjustable kettlebell. I increase the weight when it feels too light, but I keep it at a level that feels comfortable—more like practice than intense training.
I genuinely believe my shoulders feel healthier, and I’ve noticeably improved at this specific exercise. A few months ago, pressing 24 kilograms was challenging, so I stuck to 20 kilograms for my daily bent presses, one rep at a time. Now, I comfortably press 24 kilograms for a double, three times a day, without needing a warmup.
While writing this article, I also experimented with splitting my regular workout to evaluate the approach. (My routine for the day included four main components that seemed separable without compromising the workout’s purpose.)
I completed the first exercise—five sets of heavy quarter squats with a barbell—while assisting my son with his workout in our garage gym. I alternated between sets, adjusting weights, chatting with him, and repeating the process. I finished my mini workout well before he did.
Later, I moved on to the next exercise: three sets of sit-ups. I didn’t even go to the garage for this; I simply did them on the floor in my office. Afterward, I tackled my supersets of pull-ups and dips.
This workout usually feels daunting because it can take a long time. (It includes eight sets of pull-ups and dips—seriously, that’s a lot.) But breaking it into smaller segments made it far more manageable. Handling eight sets of pull-ups and dips feels less overwhelming when I’m not doing another intense exercise immediately before or after.
That said, I encountered one of the issues mentioned earlier: I had to commit to the workout four separate times. By the end of the day, I opted out of the final segment—a 15-minute core circuit. Since I’d already divided the workout, I figured postponing the circuit to the next morning wouldn’t hurt. But now it’s "the next morning," and I still haven’t done it. I’ll get to it eventually. Maybe. Probably. After today’s workout.
