Can You Split One Squat Workout Into 3 Mini Sessions? What a New Trial Found

A resistance-training session does not always have to happen in one uninterrupted block to improve strength.

That is the practical idea behind fragmented resistance training: take the work planned for one session and distribute it across the day. In a new eight-week trial, young men who performed 60 squats in three mini sessions improved strength and muscular endurance without a statistically detectable disadvantage compared with men who completed all 60 repetitions at once.

The split group also enjoyed its training more.

Short answer: In 45 trained young men, both schedules—three daily sets of 20 Smith-machine squats or three sets of 20 in one session—improved strength, isometric force, and muscular endurance versus control. Researchers found no statistically significant difference between the schedules, but the trial was not designed to prove equivalence and did not test hypertrophy or a full-body program. Prescribed squat volume and load were matched.

How the Mini-Workout Study Worked

The randomized controlled trial included 45 recreationally trained male students ages 18 to 25. Researchers assigned them to fragmented training, traditional training, or a usual-activity control group that did not receive the supervised squat intervention.

Both exercise groups trained three days per week for eight weeks with Smith-machine squats. The load progressed from 40 to 55 percent of one-repetition maximum.

The traditional group performed three sets of 20 repetitions in one session. The fragmented group performed one 20-rep set on three separate occasions. Prescribed squat volume and load were matched.

The fragmented bouts were separated by at least one hour and scheduled in morning, afternoon, and evening windows; each included a brief warmup. The continuous group rested three minutes between sets. Every rep used a two-second descent and two-second ascent, and all training was supervised.

The comparison does not show that scattered repetitions possess a special advantage. It shows what happened when researchers matched the prescribed squat work but changed its timing.

What Changed After Eight Weeks

Both training groups improved more than the control group.

At follow-up, the adjusted differences versus control were 20.59 kilograms for squat 1RM and 27.89 kilogram-force for isometric squat force in the fragmented group; the corresponding traditional-group differences were 28.93 kilograms and 35.24 kilogram-force. On the endurance test, the adjusted differences versus control were 9.97 repetitions for fragmented training and 14.11 for traditional training.

The endurance test used 40 percent of each man’s current 1RM, so improved scores reflected repetitions performed at a potentially heavier absolute load, not fatigue resistance alone. The study detected no statistically significant differences between the two training schedules on the three outcomes.

Participants rated the fragmented approach as more enjoyable. Enjoyment was measured only after the final session, so pre-existing preference differences cannot be ruled out.

That does not prove the methods are perfectly equivalent. A study this small may miss a real difference, and it was not designed as a large equivalence trial. It shows that spreading a matched squat prescription across the day can still produce meaningful gains.

When Splitting a Workout Makes Sense

Fragmented training is most useful when the alternative is skipping training because you cannot protect a continuous block of time.

If your plan calls for three sets of goblet squats, you could complete one set at three points in the day. Record the load and repetitions so the prescription still gets done.

Choose familiar exercises that are easy to set up safely. Moderate-load movements are easier to repeat than a near-maximal barbell lift requiring a long warmup and spotters.

Mini sessions may also let you approach each set with less accumulated fatigue. That is a plausible advantage, but this trial did not establish the mechanism.

What Three Mini Workouts Cannot Replace

The researchers tested one lower-body exercise in young men. They did not measure hypertrophy, body composition, cardiovascular fitness, long-term adherence, or results from a complete program containing pushing, pulling, hinging, and loaded carries.

That means the study does not prove that 20 air squats three times per day replace a well-designed gym program. It does not show that training volume no longer matters. And it tells us little about women, older adults, advanced lifters, or people training specifically for maximum muscle growth.

The wider evidence remains promising but developing. A recent review of nine studies involving 313 insufficiently active adults found a small overall improvement in neuromuscular performance from exercise snacks, but rated the evidence as low certainty and found the strength-specific estimate remained imprecise.

The Bottom Line

You do not necessarily need to finish every set in one visit to the gym. In this trial, three 20-rep squat sessions built strength and endurance without a detected disadvantage compared with one 60-rep workout.

But breaking up a workout is not the same as shrinking it. Keep the exercises, total work, progression, and technique. Divide the clock—not the training stimulus.

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Use appropriate equipment and obtain qualified guidance if you are new to resistance training or have an injury or medical condition. Men’s Fitness did not participate in the study, and no commercial entity paid for or influenced this coverage.

This story was originally published by Men’s Fitness on Oct 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Training section. Add Men’s Fitness as a Preferred Source by clicking here.