Weight training—mini sessions vs long session

[fairfarmhand]

I don’t generally have time for one 40 minute  long weights session so I break it up into smaller sessions of 10 minutes throughout the day. Am I getting the same benefit by doing this?

Edited December 5, 2023 by fairfarmhand

[PeterPan]

Are you warming up before each session? Your need to warm up increases as you age. The heavier you're lifting, the more essential this is. How many days a week are you trying to work out? If you're trying to work out 1-2 x a week at 40 minutes, you could spread that across 4 days at 20 minutes (upper body two days, lower body two days).

Could you do the warm up portion (biking or treadmill) while doing something else (daily reading, whatever)?

Have you thought about flipping the time of day when you work out? Most people like to work out in the morning, but I generally prefer to work out at night. It gets me good and relaxed so I sleep better. No one is up then (or I'm at the gym), so I use the time to catch up on my tv/youtube/news/movies, again doing double duty.

[fairfarmhand]

18 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Are you warming up before each session? Your need to warm up increases as you age. The heavier you're lifting, the more essential this is. How many days a week are you trying to work out? If you're trying to work out 1-2 x a week at 40 minutes, you could spread that across 4 days at 20 minutes (upper body two days, lower body two days).

Could you do the warm up portion (biking or treadmill) while doing something else (daily reading, whatever)?

Have you thought about flipping the time of day when you work out? Most people like to work out in the morning, but I generally prefer to work out at night. It gets me good and relaxed so I sleep better. No one is up then (or I'm at the gym), so I use the time to catch up on my tv/youtube/news/movies, again doing double duty.

I'm moving all day long. I generally walk 7-8 miles a day, doing lots of lifting and carrying. So, no I don't really warm up. And I'm not necessarily doing heavy lifting. I'm just trying to keep from losing muscle mass. Just basic dumbells. 

[wintermom]

Sure, you can split your weights work-outs into shorter segments and get the same benefit. Having warmed up muscles before lifting is good for injury prevention, so you could time the weights to be right after walking or light carrying.

You should also add in some stretching when your body is warmed up, too - again for injury prevention. I can be tacked onto the end of a weight session, or after walking.