There's no magic formula or specific number of minutes that make a workout beneficial, but you can find commonalities among effective exercise routines. A 10-minute workout performed three times provides the same benefits as one 30-minute workout, according to the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association.
Quality vs. Quantity
Tennis points generally last less than 10 seconds, and tennis players hit a ball only about 15 minutes of every hour. Still, because of the intensity of tennis points and the energy system the body uses, tennis burns more calories than aerobic exercise, and produces a longer post-exercise burn. A one-hour tennis workout burns 584 calories in a 160-lb. person, while an hour of high-impact aerobics results in a 511-calorie burn for that same person, according to the Mayo Clinic. The number of calories you burn during a 30-minute walk or when riding an exercise bike varies. You burn calories based on how many hills are on your outdoor course or, the incline of your treadmill, the gear settings you use while riding, or whether you use dumbbells while walking or riding.
Recommendations
The American Heart Association recommends 30-minute workouts if your goal is heart health, and 60 to 90 minutes of exercise if you wish to lose or maintain weight. These recommendations are for workouts performed at a vigorous pace.
Stamina-Building vs. Calorie Burning
If you are beginning an exercise program, your main goal will be to improve your cardiopulmonary stamina and muscular endurance so you can raise the level of your workouts as you get into better condition. At first, a longer walk, ride or swim at a slower pace is preferable to a shorter workout at a higher-intensity pace.
Circuit Training
To increase your calorie burn, exercise in one- to two-minute bouts of activity, taking a break of two or three minutes between exercises. Do two to four different exercises for a total of two minutes, or do one exercise for one to two minutes. Work at a pace that doesn't cause you to end your workout early.
Workout Format
Your workout should include several minutes of warmup to let your heart rate rise gradually and your muscles warm and stretch. After you exercise, spend several minutes lowering your heart rate with a cooldown. At the end of each workout, finish with several minutes of stretching.
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