Is a 10-minute workout a waist of time?

Nope. Of course any amount of movement has value, so grab whatever time you have. Get your heart rate up if you can, work your muscles as much as possible … but just move.

A different question though might be what results you should expect from a 10-minute workout. If you do a Web search for “10 minute workout” you’ll find a ton of articles, videos, books and assorted plans on how to “get fit in 10 minutes a day.” The implication is that if you work really, really hard for 10 minutes, you can get the same results as you would with a more typical hour-long workout.

An intense 10 minutes cannot be a condensed version of a 60-minute workout. It is a portion of it. That means it’s missing some stuff – in particular, ramping up your heart beat at a healthy rate (depending on your age and health, you may need a full 10 minutes of just warm-up time to avoid injury), and stretching (more about flexibility in another blog).

So be realistic. The concept of being “fit” is usually considered to be the full meal deal: balanced strength, healthy body fat, lung endurance, quick heart recovery, a full range of flexible movement and a healthy diet. Most 10-minute workouts focus only on strength with a bit of heart elevation. Be aware of what is missing and set realistic expectations for the results you want. A reputable exercise health professional can design a program to meet the full definition of fitness and that works with your lifestyle.