It depends on what your goals are, OP. If you are just trying to get the basic exercise benefit (reduced rates of heart disease, etc) 20 every day is great. If you want to "feel in shape" and have your body LOOK like you exercise...you'll need to make sure those 20 min are intense.

I used to work out for @ 40 minutes a day. Now I have a baby and I do 20 minutes. I'm the same size as when I worked out more. Try 30 Day Shred or jumping rope or doing jumping jacks or something similarly intense.

People who say that 20 minutes isn't enough don't know what they're talking about. It's what you DO with the 20 minutes that counts.

The NY Times 7 minute workout will kick almost everyone's butt. Ditto for crossfit. If you have access to a gym, try doing hard running intervals, or incline intervals (I don't mean an incline of 2-3, but an incline of 10/15). Do resistance intervals on an elliptical, where you bump the resistance to 10/15 for a minute or two, before bringing it down for a minute or two.

All of those will really get your heart rate up even for a short period of time, and most experts agree that HIIT (high intensity interval training) is excellent for health in short bursts of time, if not better than easier, longer-duration workouts. Longer is not necessarily better, or more effective at burning fat and calories.

Try doing this:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/?_r=0

Anonymous wrote:20 minutes is a joke. Can you install a treadmill, or a hamster cage, at your desk? That way you can multi-task.

have you ever done a 20 min crossfit workout. I can tell you it is no joke. You can get a great workout in 20 min, you just have ot work at a high enough intensity.

depends on what you are doing in that 20 min. Walking for 20 min won't do much. 20 min of HIIT training, crossfity type of workout will kick you butt. It was even found that tabata workout give more benefits than longer cardio.

People have the misconception that you need to exercise for longer when in reality you just need to exercise smarter and push harder.

The difference between 20 and 30 minutes is pretty significant. I find my heart rate really gets going between the 22 and 30 minute mark. So if you can find another 10 minutes here and there I would do it. Even if you have 20 min workouts 4 times a week and 30 min workouts 3 times a week I think you will notice a difference.

HAHA!

Anonymous wrote:An hour a day, breaking a sweet.

Does snapping a candy count?

An hour a day, breaking a sweet.

20 minutes is a joke. Can you install a treadmill, or a hamster cage, at your desk? That way you can multi-task.

20 minutes daily can be plenty if you are pushing yourself hard enough. What are you getting your heartrate up to and how long are you sustaining it there? You WILL start to feel a difference if you are keeping your heartrate in the training zone for the majority of those 20 minutes. I invested in a heartrate monitor and it has made it so much easier to stay in my training zone.

If 20 minutes is all you can do, then do 20 minutes. But make the most of it and do intervals of high and medium intensity.

Sorry, dumb iphone. Is 20 minutes too (not to) little?

Is 20 minutes a day to little? That's about the best I can do right now (working 60+ hour weeks). Sometimes I feel it's not worth the effort. I don't feel much better after a few months. Perhaps it's time to acssess my diet as well. Also, not an easy thing to do when strapped for time and need something quick.