Exercise Snack Your Way to Better Health
Are you a “snacker?” Tell the truth. Do you love to sneak in a little bite of chocolate between meals or a handful of chips in the late afternoon? Do you enjoy a nice bowl of ice cream before bed? Or, maybe you’re a healthy snacker and you prefer veggie sticks and berries. (No really, good for you!)
I’ll go first. My truth is: I am mostly full before dinner because of all the cheese and crackers I find myself mindlessly nibbling on while preparing the “actual meal.” When it comes to pre-dinner cheese snacking I could probably single-handedly keep a small dairy in business.
Recently I became intrigued with a different kind of snacking though. And these are snacks that I can’t overdo and they certainly don’t make me gain weight. It’s the exercise snack. Exercise snacks can be loosely defined as frequent, mini movement sessions performed throughout the day. There really are no rules, but they can be as short as 1 minute and can include a variety of movements like: walking, jogging in place, squats, and jumping jacks.
The Exercise Snack is not a new concept, but I’ve developed a new appreciation for the efficiency and convenience of incorporating more of these into my work day — and for reframing how I think of these “efforts.” Formerly I thought of exercise as something I needed to do, but reframing it as a snack has turned it into something I get to do (like a reward). Please bear with me if you’re currently rolling your eyes.
Using the exercise snack as a reward for a number of completed tasks, I’ve also been able to reduce work procrastination. Working from home means I tend to spend many hours a day on the telephone and sitting with my laptop. It’s easy to get distracted and forget to stand up or move around or drink all the water I’m supposed to drink (I mean, for the love, that’s a full-time job in itself, amirite?!)
I’m constantly implementing little checks and balances to keep myself accountable. If you have an Apple watch, chances are you’ve felt scolded like I have when you’ve been sitting too long and you get the infamous: “Time to Stand” reminder. (I always feel so indignant when that reminder calls me out with the gentle tap of admonition. How can an hour have already passed!?! It seems like I just sat down). Nevertheless, it’s always a great reminder to get up and move around a little when the numbness in my rump doesn’t get my attention.
Speaking of rumps… We’ve all heard the science behind getting off our behinds. Studies show a correlation between sitting for long periods of time and an increase in blood pressure, higher blood sugar, excess body fat, and possibly even brain fog. According to research, Exercise Snacking has specifically been shown to improve cardiovascular health, metabolism, and stabilization of blood sugar. With or without the science, I think we can all agree that we feel better when we move more. Energy begets more energy after all.
Exercise Snacks are perfect for people who:
- are short on time
- are new to exercise or dislike exercise
- work at desk jobs
- lack equipment or space
- have small children running around
- are traveling
- experience fatigue or daytime sleepiness
- work from home
Remember: the key is to “reward” yourself with exercise snacks throughout the day. If you have an Apple/smart watch that reminds you to stand, use that hourly reminder to get up and move for at least one minute every hour. There are plenty of apps that do the same thing and, for that matter, you could even set a simple timer (like a kitchen timer).
So do yourself a favor that will improve your health & productivity, help fight fatigue, and will likely make you smile more throughout the day: try incorporating a few snacks a day into your movement diet. Start right now. Just get up and move for one minute…
jog in place.
plank it out.
walk up and down a flight of stairs.
jumping jacks.
jump on rebounder!
If you want to really get creative try setting a timer and dancing to your favorite music — or lunge to your mailbox and back. The options are limitless and the beauty is … it doesn’t matter how you move as long as you commit to moving more throughout the day. It’s just one minute, what are you waiting for?! You will love how it makes you feel. Go ahead now. Just move, Snack away!
hyperlink the above to this article on my blog:
Why Snacking is Good for Your Health
In our current culture of more is better and “go hard or go home,” you don’t hear many people extol the virtues of exercising less. Yet, according to bluezones.com research shows “exercise snacks may be as good or better than traditional workouts.”
People who live in Blue Zones, such as Sardinia, Italy, are known to generally live longer and experience less sickness and disease than those in other parts of the world, and yet they tend to do less traditional exercise, if at all. Rather than performative exercise, people in Blue Zones tend to do functional movements required for daily tasks and living (aka: walking long distances to food or water sources, working in the garden, etc.) and this movement translates to greater cardiovascular gain.
According to a study in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism , research “found that people who performed three intermittent bouts of stair-climbing (of three flights or 60 steps per bout) a day achieved a similar cardiovascular boost one would get from a longer moderate-intensity workout.” And more New research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology “shows that interrupting 30 minutes of prolonged sitting with short activity breaks like a set of squats or a 2-minute walk can help stabilize blood sugar levels in healthy adults”
So there you have it, just as in the old fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare” slow and steady wins the race. Consistency is king when it comes to health in movement. So, for today, forgive yourself if you missed your CrossFit class and just commit to moving a little throughout the day. Have an exercise snack here and there and reap the rewards of better health!
