What qualifies as an exercise snack?
One of the best things about exercise snacks is their flexibility. They can be as short as 10 seconds or as long as 10 minutes. They can also target different components of fitness, such as aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening, flexibility, or balance. The details are entirely up to you.
Here are a few examples:
- Aerobic snacks: Do a few jumping jacks or take a 5-minute walk.
- Muscle-building snacks: Do a few squats, lunges or push-ups.
- Balance snacks: Dance around for a few minutes when you hear a favorite song.
- Flexibility snacks: Try some yoga poses that don’t require a mat.
“One patient told me they do 20 push-ups every time they go to the bathroom,” notes Scherezade. “Personally, I cannot do that many push-ups. But there are lots of other ways to increase your upper body strength. You can also find modifications to various exercises — such as how to do push-ups against a wall — in our resources at The Learning Center.”
Who benefits most from exercise snacks?
The short answer here is: everyone. If you’re not active and tend to sit a lot, exercise snacks are a great way to start working your way up to a more active lifestyle.
“The thought of doing 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity — which is the current recommendation — might seem a little daunting,” Scherezade explains. “But exercise snacks let you break that up into much smaller, more digestible pieces.”
Exercise snacks are also good if you maintain a regular exercise routine.
“If you’re already getting up and working out for 30 or 45 minutes every morning, that’s great,” notes Basen-Engquist. “But if you turn around and spend the rest of the day sitting behind a desk, that can have its own risks. So, exercise snacks are a good solution to break up your sitting time.”
Listen to the entire podcast to learn more, including how to make the most of exercise snacks with “habit stacking,” and details on programs like Active Living After Cancer and clinical trials like Harmony & Health.
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