Ok I know you’ve heard multitasking isn’t effective. But do you really believe it?
It can be a tough pill to swallow because, as busy women juggling a million things, we want to believe it’s fine. I mean, if you’re not listening to a podcast, while folding washing and planning tonight’s dinner in your head – are you even living?
Guess what multitasking looks like when it comes to exercise?
👉🏻 It’s the woman walking with small dumbbells in her hands, swinging them side to side. (for toned arms, right?)
👉🏻 It’s the 45-minute “weights circuit” class done at lightning speed (cardio and weights in one?)
👉🏻 It’s trying to turn your slow, steady walk into a power walk (because “faster is better,” right?)
I get it. We’re busy. We’re trying to squeeze everything into less time.
But here’s the cold hard truth: multitasking doesn’t work. Not for your brain, not for your to-do list, and definitely not for your workouts.
When you try to do everything, you end up with the worst of both worlds.
In exercise, this often leaves us stuck in the moderate-intensity grey zone. And for women, especially over 40, we don’t want to hang out in this zone too much. Why? because it can increase our baseline cortisol levels, which are linked to
- increased abdominal visceral fat
- disrupted sleep, and
- reduced recovery
- The solution isn’t to always push harder or longer. It’s to work smarter.
Here’s what I mean:
👉 If you’re strength training, slow it down and focus. You’ll get stronger faster.
👉 If you’re walking, let it be easy. Enjoy the recovery benefits of low intensity.
👉 If you’re doing high-intensity intervals, make them short and sharp. No longer than you need.
Simpler. Smarter. Better results.
You know I’m all about bang for buck. I don’t want you punishing yourself (or avoiding exercise because you think it has to be punishing) without seeing real results.
Now go and try that multitasking experiment for yourself—you’ll feel exactly what I’m talking about!