Spreading Elements across the day

G'day all,

 

I won't bore anyone with detail, but I have reasons for sometimes not being able to complete all the elements for a given workout (Foundation) in a single session; sometimes leaving an element until later in the day. An example being:

 

AM:

- FL PE5 & iM

- sPL PE1 & iM

- RC PE3 & iM

 

Work, work, work... then get home and:

 

PM:

- HBP PE3 & iM

 

In the above example I warmed up before the AM session and also warmed up before the PM session (obviously a very quick 'session'; more just to ensure I was hitting all the elements for the day. Warm ups are just the 21-15-9 or 15-9 rep scheme of previous elements).

 

Now my question - is it detrimental to split the elements of a workout? On the extreme, if someone were fairly constricted by their job, is it worthwhile completing a single element of their total workout every couple of hours?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Callum

In a similar boat here - due to time and work constraints I've split my Fa and Fb across two sessions, so do Fa.i in the morning and Fa.ii in my lunch hour M&W and do Fb.i and Fb.ii T&Th.

Not sure about taking it to the extreme you mention, but I would think it's better than not doing it at all 

Yeah it most certainly is better than nothing. Thankfully I am not at the level described in the extreme example (just using it for emphasis).

 

There must be a benefit of performing all the elements together from a general conditioning perspective (or perhaps not?) - however I wonder how much of a benefit this would be, if at all. I vaguely remember Coach mentioning somewhere that your body doesn't understand an 'exercise period, or a rest period' it just understands it is working. So really, you could just break down exercise as time between every set... I just wonder if having six or so hours between when you do most of your elements and then the last one would still work - or if it would be better to fight to fit them all in together within your lifestyle.

It's not detrimental, but it's not optimal. Better to get the work done than not do it at all, but in that example, I would question the need to split up your last element (HBP/PE3) into a different PM session. If you are performing this as prescribed, even the week 11 rep scheme should not take more than 6-7 minutes. If you really are that tight for time then OK, but could you get up 6 minutes earlier in order to complete it in one session? Probably.

The biggest disadvantage to such an approach would be the fact that you are not building up your work capacity as much as you could. 

How's your progress?  If you're advancing in exercises, getting stronger and more mobile, then it's working.

Thanks all for the comment - and pretty much as I suspected.

 

Regarding the timings (SoyeBoy) you are right and yes, it does come down to 6-7 mins. I won't bore you with detail.

 

Ultimately, I could do all of the work in the afternoon - however I find exercise in the morning to be optimal (motivation, individual feeling, etc) so I think it is better to get 75% of it done under a more powerful frame of mind than slogging through it sub-optimally in the evening... even if this means I need to split one element.

 

I have not been doing it long enough to notice an impact on progress, but HBP PE3 is difficult for me so it might be good to separate it into it's own session anyway. Trial and error is the answer here I guess; no point switching it up until it is confirmed as not working.

I wouldn't recommend this approach for a couple reasons.  1) as pointed out above, you will struggle on work capacity and conditioning;  2)  You will artificially be able to do more, which may seem good, but will increase your risk of injury ; 3) you are in effect needing to warm up twice.  The warm up is really not optimal if all you are doing is the warm up for that element.  You will be at increased risk of injury and you are wasting time (warm up typically takes a good 25% of my workout time); 4) You are more likely to have something come up and get in the way of getting the second part done.    I would recommend a morning mobility session to get you ready for the day.  Do a stretching routine, or all the iM's of the elements you're working on.  This is a great way to start the day, then get your whole routine in later in the day all in one sitting.  

Mm. I can see arguments and counter-arguments for this one, but it comes down to time efficiency for me. Narrow focus, fast workout, bam, move on with your day. If that involves further training (ideally not strength training) then so be it, but spreading out one session worth of work doesn't sit well with me.

Work capacity is the biggest consideration of course. Your eventual warmup is not one element, a nice rest, then another one when you are fully recovered; you need to be able to circuit through the strength elements despite some overlap in them, and taking more time here is wasting time.

I don't want to say this approach *can't* work, but I think over time you will be putting obstacles in your own path