girl doing a yoga pose - exercise snacking

Exercise Snacks: All You Need To Know

The concept of exercise snacks isn’t about what you consume before or after a workout. It’s a method of achieving the necessary 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week by engaging in brief bursts of intense activity – moving around furiously for a minute or two at a time.

Exercise snacks throughout the day might help make your wellbeing and fitness objectives more realistic. Especially for those of us who struggle to find 30 minutes or more to get out each day. As a result, the brief, uncomplicated activity can provide long-term health advantages equivalent to typical workouts.

girl doing jumping jacks as part of her exercise snacking routine
Image courtesy: Canva

What Are Exercise Snacks?

Exercise snacking is described as a short burst of high-intensity movement or activity lasting no more than two minutes. And it’s something you can and should do at various moments during your day.

The theory behind these brief bursts of intensive exercise is similar to that of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Thus, it is based on the idea of working your body for a short length of time, followed by a short period of recovery. after which the maneuver is repeated. However, with exercise snacks, the workout or activity lasts around two minutes, with an hour or more of relaxation in between.

Did a business meeting conclude early? Great. Use this extra time and do a quick burst of activity, such as two minutes of stair climbing.

girl doing squats as part of her exercise routine
Image courtesy: Canva

The Advantages:

While more study is needed to completely understand how workout snacks might enhance your health, current studies indicate that they may include:

  • Cardiovascular function has improved.
  • improved endurance
  • increased adaptability
  • Muscle strength has improved.
  • Blood sugar levels are lower.
Girl engaging in mountain climbers as part of her exercise snacking routine
Image courtesy: Canva

Examples Of Exercise Snacks

Need another compelling reason to experiment with exercise snacks? You don’t have to go to the gym or sign up for a class! As a result, you don’t need any specific workout equipment like weights, kettlebells, or resistance bands.

Thus, here are some examples of exercise snacks:

  • Climbing stairs
  • Jumping Jacks/ Stars
  • Rope jumping
  • Squats 
  • Lunges
  • Sprints
  • Pushups
  • Mountain or cross climbers

The possibilities for exercise snacks are limitless – any activity or exercise that gets you up and moving works. And make sure you’re doing these exercises vigorously, which means you can’t utter more than a few words if you need to take a breath.

Overall, the concept of workout snacks may be useful and assist you in reaching your fitness objectives or just giving you a burst of energy in the midst of your day.

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