No Time for a Full Workout? Try ‘Exercise Snacks’

In a perfect world, you’d have time in your schedule every day for a lengthy workout session. But our hectic daily lives – filled with work and family obligations – create a world that is far from perfect.

Every week, you should spend at least 150 minutes engaged in some form of moderate-intensity exercise. That minimum amount of activity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will help you live longer and healthier by lowering your risk for a wide range of disorders that could affect your heart and brain.

Breaking that into five half-hour sessions during the week doesn’t sound all that challenging. And yet, it is no easy thing for some people to manage.

But what if you could gain the benefits of exercise without having to find blocks of time in your schedule? That’s where “exercise snacks” can come into play.

The term describes short, vigorous bursts of activity – usually just a minute or two in duration. They can be perfect for people who struggle to find larger chunks of exercise time. Studies have shown that these “snacks” can be an efficient way to protect your health.

Benefits of Snacking

Perhaps the biggest benefit is that you can do your snacking pretty much anywhere, at any time of day. Even on your busiest days, you’re sure to find small empty spots here and there. When you get to work, for example, run up and down the stairs for a minute before heading to your desk. Do jumping jacks while watching TV. Or knock out a quick set of push-ups in between phone calls.

And unlike a trip to the gym, you don’t need to change into workout clothes or worry about taking a shower afterward.

Among the health benefits:

• Better cardiovascular fitness
• Increased endurance
• Improved flexibility
• Stronger muscles
• Lower blood sugar levels

What Makes Exercise a Snack?

There’s really no hard and fast rule about what counts as a snack. It needs to be something that gets you up and moving and that briefly raises your heart rate and makes you breathe harder.

You’ll know you’re exerting yourself enough if it would be difficult to sing or whistle. And If you don’t start sweating, don’t worry about it. You won’t be working out long enough to work up a sweat.

And remember that you need more than one or two snacks during your day. Your target is still a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise each week. You could manage that with 10 or 11 two-minute sessions each day.

Try These Snacks

The great thing about snacking is that you don’t need a gym or specialized equipment. If you have a stationary bike or treadmill handy, jump on it for a couple minutes here and there throughout the day. Likewise, any stairwell will do. Just go up and down a couple times to get your heart pumping.

Among the other possibilities:

• Lunges
• Jumping jacks
• Jumping rope
• Chair squats
• Short sprints
• Push-ups
• Sit-ups
• Burpees
• Taking a brisk walk around the block
• Jogging in place

You may also find it beneficial to get your coworkers involved. You could turn it into a group effort – possibly with assistance from a supervisor. There may be certain times of the day when a short exercise break won’t cause disruptions or slow down work flow. A session before lunch would be ideal.

In the end, the most important thing is that you get your body moving and avoid prolonged periods of sitting. Whether you prefer to tackle your weekly exercise goals in larger “meals” or in smaller bite-sized “snacks,” exercise can be a key to a healthier life.