Exercise Snacks: A New Approach to Fitness

When you hear the phrase “exercise snacks,” the first thing you think of might be something that you’d eat either before or after a workout. But as much as we love our pre- and post-workout snacks, exercise snacks doesn’t actually refer to food at all. It’s pairing the concept of snacks – small increments of something throughout the day – with a strategy for fitting your workout in!

What are exercise snacks?

The idea of exercise snacks is that rather than getting one workout “meal,” so to speak, of 30-45 minutes straight in the gym, you’re breaking up that workout with several shorter exercise breaks throughout your day. That’s where the name snacking comes from! The breaks can be as short as 20 seconds or as long as 15 minutes – it’s all about what works best for you and your schedule.

What are the benefits of exercise snacks?

One major benefit for many people is that exercise snacks don’t require scheduling an hour to go to the gym or fitting in a long workout. Instead, exercise snacks simply call for sneaking in 5-15 minutes of fitness a few times a day, which is much more doable for most people! Whether you borrow a few minutes of your lunch break or finish a meeting early, the idea of exercise snacking is that it’s easier to fit into your day. And that’s just the practical benefit. While some people don’t believe that exercise snacks can be effective compared to a single longer workout, they’d be surprised. More on that in the next paragraph.

Are exercise snacks effective?

Short answer: yes! You don’t need to spend a continuous 30-60 minutes in the gym to get an effective workout. Studies have shown that small breaks of exercise throughout the day can have a positive impact on your overall health. One study asked participants to climb three flights of stairs, three times a day, with a 1-4 hour break in between, and remain sedentary otherwise. The results showed that even a small amount of exercise had been effective in improving cardiovascular fitness! Another study showed that taking two minutes to exercise and break up sitting in your desk chair can have positive effects on your blood sugar. We all know that moving throughout the day is good for us, and when done correctly, it can have serious positive effects on our fitness level, too!

How can I start practicing exercise snacks?

Exercise snacks are as easy as getting out of your chair right now and doing a five or ten minute workout. We like this 10-minute core routine. You can fit exercise snacks into your day in whichever way is best for you. Some people like setting a timer that reminds them to move, while others use mealtime to get their ten minutes of exercise in. You can also use cues from your daily life as a reminder to sneak some exercise in; jogging up the stairs rather than walking is a great way to get your heart rate up

One thing to be clear about: exercise snacks are not the same thing as movement minutes, that is, intentionally adding more movement into your day. While movement minutes are exactly what they sound like – a great way to move more and sit less – exercise snacks are more focused and usually higher-intensity. While movement minutes might look something like doing squats while you brush your teeth, an exercise snack would be closer to 5-10 minutes of HIIT exercises before you get in the shower. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is a movement minute; sprinting up the stairs three times in a row is an exercise snack. Both are great for your health, but if you’re looking to improve your performance in the same way a workout would, exercise snacks are the way to go.