Question about warmups and quickie workouts

[Sassy]

I have a question about little quickie workouts, etc - and warming up.

I'd like to try to get more activity in throughout the day, and I'd also like to get in better shape, so I've been trying to throw in some quickie (5-10 minutes) workouts, and spot moves just to get in a little extra.

What I'm wondering is - If, for instance, I have a quiet moment at the office, and I decide to get on the floor and do a couple of one minutes planks and then get back to work, will I still get the same muscle toning/strength building benefits of that as I would if I did them in the middle of a regular workout where I'm properly warmed up? Will I get any?

Or if I grabbed some weights and cranked out 15 shoulder raises or whatever?

I don't think they are hurting me - but I'd like to know if they are helping me more than just getting the blood pumping a little.

[buffmama]

I'm going to say yes. Building muscle and benefitting will depend on fatiguing the muscles - try harder variations or heavier weights, or superset 2 exercises to get there. It's all good and beats sitting on the couch.

[kalliope999]

I also vote for it being fine, and a good way to sneak extra things in!

I could be totally wrong here, but I always thought that warming up was more about reducing injury and just making it more comfortable for the body to do challenging work by slowly ramping up in intensity.

If you're mostly doing things like planks or some arm moves, or other controlled exercises like lunges or squats or leg pulses, I don't see why you'd need to warm up first. Especially if your body feels okay the way you're doing it. On the other hand, if you were going to randomly bust out some burpees, do quick twisting moves, or other fast-moving stuff, I could see that a warm-up or joint mobility routine would help protect you from tweaking something.

[Sassy]

Originally Posted by kalliope999

Especially if your body feels okay the way you're doing it. On the other hand, if you were going to randomly bust out some burpees, do quick twisting moves, or other fast-moving stuff, I could see that a warm-up or joint mobility routine would help protect you from tweaking something.

Yes - this.

Everything I like to slip into a day is slow moving controlled stuff for the most part - certainly those things that I get up from an hour at my desk to do.

[Alan]

Yes, this is kind of the idea behind the "Grease the Groove" method, where you do easy sets of a particular exercise (pushups, pullups, etc) several times a day.

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/...-grease-groove

[PrairieGem]

Great thread! I'm currently having trouble finding even 20 uninterrupted minutes during a day to get in any kind of organized workout (I get as far as rolling out the yoga mat before there's a crisis! ), and doing something like this has crossed my mind. At the very least, I know for a fact it would help my overall energy levels.

Has anyone seen or made any kind of plan for this? Like a "do these 5 moves throughout your day" sort of thing?

Alan, that article was really helpful. I'm at a point where my fitness goals (such as they are right now!) are entirely functional: can I do this daily work without injuring myself? And this sounds like a very sensible way to gain functional strength.

Off to run a few flights of stairs & do some plies....

Thanks!

[cyana]

Originally Posted by PrairieGem

Great thread! I'm currently having trouble finding even 20 uninterrupted minutes during a day to get in any kind of organized workout (I get as far as rolling out the yoga mat before there's a crisis! ), and doing something like this has crossed my mind. At the very least, I know for a fact it would help my overall energy levels.

Has anyone seen or made any kind of plan for this? Like a "do these 5 moves throughout your day" sort of thing?


Thanks!

I've never made any sort of organized plan, but have been doing this for years. I've been on a multi-year string of hectic jobs, taking care of family members, etc., so it was learn to adapt in order for my fitness life to survive. I rotate a stash of fitness implements through my office. For example, right now I have a 3lb weighted ball, exercise tubing with handles, a Yamuna ball and a high step topper. I'll rotate in various sets of DB's, the tall step, use my desk for push-ups, etc. It's fun to make it up on the fly and see how much you can accomplish.

[Sassy]

Originally Posted by PrairieGem

Has anyone seen or made any kind of plan for this? Like a "do these 5 moves throughout your day" sort of thing?

I'm thinking about trying to come up with something. A year or so ago, I was toying with this idea and downloaded a timer app that allowed for creating more complex alarms, that would do things like give you a reminder once every hour, etc. I'm pretty sure I would need to incorporate something like that, or I will forget to do it on a regular basis.

Alan - thank you for that link. It's extremely encouraging.

[marki64]

This spring and summer, on my lunch hour, I am going to start walking. My back does not like all the sitting I do. I am also doing some things at my desk to keep my legs moving. I am really getting tired of the nagging achy, lower back, hip and hamstrings. I am stretching my hams out more too. I hope it helps. Then I will get in my after work workout.