When it comes to exercise, new research suggests that smaller amounts of daily activity are more beneficial than less frequent but more intense workouts.
The study comes out of Edith Cowen University in Australia, and it suggests that muscle strength improvements are more attainable through daily exercise. For the study, three groups of people did controlled arm resistance exercises over the course of four weeks. The exercise was classified as “maximal voluntary eccentric bicep contractions,” and two groups did 30 contractions a week. One group performed six contractions a day for five weeks, while the other group did 30 contractions in a single day. A third group performed six contractions once throughout the week.
At the end of the four weeks, the group doing 30 contractions in a single day didn’t show any increase in muscle strength, but muscle thickness increased by almost 6%. The group doing six contractions a week showed no changes in strength or size. Interestingly, the 6×5 group showed significant increases in strength, with more than a 10 percent increase, and an increase in muscle thickness similar to the 30 contractions in a day group.
“People think they have to do a lengthy session of resistance training in the gym, but that’s not the case,” said said Ken Nosaka, ECU exercise and sports science professor, in a statement. “Just lowering a heavy dumbbell slowly once or six times a day is enough.”
And although researchers only examined the bicep, Nosaka said they “believe this would be the case for other muscles also, at least to some extent.”
Findings Seem Logical
Perhaps the tortoise was onto something when he suggested that slow and steady wins the the race over the fast but inconsistent hare. It makes sense that short but consistent exercise would be more beneficial than one or two mega sessions a week. The same is true for other aspects of your health, like dieting or sleeping. Focusing on small daily wins will be much better for weight loss and your overall health than eating inconsistently and having one or two days where you starve yourself.
And remember, while movement is helpful every day, you don’t need to commit to an exercise routine every single day in order to experience significant gains. Just find a consistent routine where you can exercise 4-5 times a week, even if it’s only for 15-20 minutes at a time. These regular routines will add up, and they’ll produce more gains than one or two intense sessions each week!