[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Do you, like most people, find it
a challenge to fit in consistent exercise sessions? Many people don’t feel they have the time to perform 60 or even 30-minute workouts most days of the week, never mind the extra time it takes to commute to a gym, change, warm up, shower, and commute back home or work.
If this sounds familiar, you’ll want to keep reading. Novel research has found that even short stints of activity majorly benefit your health and wellbeing. They’re called ‘exercise snacks’ and, like the culinary kind, can help bridge the gap between more significant exercise “meals,” provide you with energy, encourage focus, and help you break up the day.
Why you should try exercise snacks
While most people know it’s incredibly beneficial to be active each day, fitting in blocks of exercise can prove challenging for many people. Survey data shows that the average person takes fewer than 5,000 steps daily, with some reports revealing an
average daily count of 3,000. The
CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week. If you take less than 5,000 steps, you will not likely reach this goal.
Sedentary lifestyles lead to weight gain and contribute to several health concerns, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and mental health issues.
Increasing your overall daily activity can greatly reduce these risks.
One of the
most significant obstacles to getting in enough activity is sedentary jobs and lifestyles that leave little room for natural daily movement. What’s more, at the end of a long day at work, you’re likely tired and busy with other responsibilities such as child care, meal preparation, chores, and family time. These factors make longer gym sessions or exercise bouts difficult, if not impossible, to fit in regularly.
Even if you have the time to work out for an hour each day, if you’re new to exercise, you may feel intimidated by the gym or by committing to longer workout sessions. Exercise snacks are a fantastic alternative. They require only a minute or so and can be done anywhere. Practical benefits of exercise snacks include:
- Convenient and easy to implement
- Reduce time spent being sedentary
- Increase overall daily physical activity
- Promote healthy exercise habit development
What are exercise snacks?
Exercise snacks are short, mini-exercise sessions or bouts of physical activity. These can last anywhere from one minute to 15 minutes and can be done multiple times per day. They are an extremely efficient and convenient way to fit more movement into your day. In fact, if you take the stairs at work, walk your dog around the block at a fast clip, or chase your toddler at the park, you’re already getting in some exercise snacks.
Health benefits of exercise snacks, according to research
Research is emerging that these short stints of activity can have incredible benefits. One
2019 study published in
The Journal of Physiology revealed that 15-minute workouts, including a warm-up, cool-down, and a bit less than 5 minutes of vigorous activity, can improve blood sugar levels and heart and lung functioning, thereby reducing cardiometabolic health risks.
Another
2019 study published in The Journal of Aging had groups of older adults either perform their regular activities or complete twice daily exercise snacks for four weeks. Each group also added protein to their day in the form of 150 grams of low-fat Skyr yogurt. The “snacks” consisted of one minute each of five exercises, including sit-to-stand from a chair, seated knee extensions of alternating legs, standing knee bends of alternating legs, marching on the spot, and standing calf raises. The group who performed the exercise snacks showed a greater improvement in developing leg muscle function and size, which helps reduce injury risk and keeps elderly folks independent with a higher quality of life.
Further
research published in 2022 in Exercise and Sport Sciences Review discovered that one-minute bursts of vigorously intense exercise performed at various times throughout the day can improve heart and lung health and help counteract the adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle on cardiometabolic health.
Another
2022 study published in Nature Medicine reports that performing three short stints of vigorous movement of any kind (not intentional exercise) throughout the day, lasting one to two minutes each, can reduce your risk of dying from any cause, including a 38% to 40% reduction in all-cause and cancer mortality risk and a nearly 50% reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality risk. So, if you take those stairs two at a time, you’re already doing yourself a huge favor, according to science.
How to add exercise snacks to your day
There are several ways you can implement exercise snacks into your day. Depending on your fitness level,
exercise snacks can consist of 10 minutes of gentle exercise twice a day or 60-second stints of vigorous exercise 3 to 8 times a day. Of course, you can also do a combination of both.
According to
The Journal of Nursing, the primary considerations for exercise snacks include:
- Choosing multi-joint exercises over single-joint exercises
- Choosing lower body exercises more than upper body exercises
- Including dynamic and rapid movement that pushes away from the ground to promote bone formation and help prevent osteoporosis and fractures
With the risk of sounding repetitive,
stair climbing or taking stairs two at a time at your office building, for instance, is an excellent example of all three stipulations. Here are more exercise snacks you can try in your living room or office.
You can choose one to do for 60 seconds or two for 30 seconds each multiple times per day or try 15 seconds of each exercise to reach 60 seconds of vigorous activity. Choose an option that suits your fitness level and do as many reps as possible with good form within the timeframe (15, 30, or 60 seconds).
- Bodyweight squats with a small hop or jump when you return to standing.
- Burpees with a push-up at the bottom and a hop or jump at the top.
- Jogging or performing high knees in place.
- Sit-to-stand from a chair.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title="Featured Products" border_width="2"][vc_row_inner equal_height="yes" content_placement="middle" gap="35"][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="166221" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1682030467463{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/cure-hydration-hydrating-electrolyte-drink-mix-berry-pomegranate"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="166222" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1682030482623{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/garden-of-life-organic-creamy-protein-with-oatmilk-powder-chocolate-brownie"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="166223" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1682030500887{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/munk-pack-keto-nut-seed-bars"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
