As the saying goes, the best workout is the one you’ll do. If you’re still thinking exercise has to be the old school, hours-long sloughs in the gym, think again. With more and more workout options available to us like EMS (Electrical Muscle stimulation), which has you in and out in 20-30 minutes and on with your day, even the busiest parents or professionals or students can find something that fits into their hectic life.
You’ve likely heard that short and sweet workouts can be more effective than long ones, but why is this? let’s take a look at the short plus long workouts debate and break down the key differences.
Short Workouts Are More Likely to Get Done
We know there’ some people out there who truly love logging long hours in the gym or completing grueling two-hour weight lifting sessions. However, we’d venture a guess that they’re in the minority.
For most of us, even if we may love the post-workout feeling and the benefits of workouts, actually completing the exercises aren’t always super enjoyable, and certainly not for hours on end. Couple that with the hectic schedules most of us have, and a shorter workout just makes more sense and stands far more of a chance of being something we can regularly accomplish.
For most people, hours in the gym each day simply isn’t doable, but 20-30 minutes? That we can handle. Especially if it’s efficient and delivers results.
Long Workouts Can Actually Break Down Muscle
In terms of muscle gain, more is not always more.
If you’ve ever witnesses a fellow gym-goer who’s already lifting when you get there and still sloughing away when you leave, chances are good they’re over training.
The problem with a workout that creeps up to the 1.5-2-hour mark is that when your body starts to have elevated cortisol levels, as it does once you get past the 45 minutes mark, your body can start to break down muscle for fuel.
Clearly, this would be highly counterproductive if gaining strength and muscle is goal #1.
Too Little Recovery and Increased Injury
Furthermore, too-long workouts mean that you may be putting too much wear and tear on your muscles without giving them ample recovery time. Since muscle growth and gains happen during the downtime, this is also counterproductive to muscle/strength gains, and will actually cause you to take a step backward in your progress.
Yet another concern with overly long workouts is that you’re putting your body through the ringer, and making it extra susceptible to possible injuries from overtraining.
Bottom line? If your workout is intense, taxes your muscles and get your heart rate up, shorter is definitely sweeter. A short-but-super-effective workout like you get with EMS can be over and done with in 20 minutes, and is equal to the amount of work your body would be put through in 90 minutes of traditional weight training.
Less time in the gym can still equal more results and better progress, and frees you up to spend more time outside the gym, doing what you love.
FITtec. – Live your Best Life
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