Exercise Snacks: The Benefits of Short Bursts of Movement

Hello friends,

Today’s issue is all about tiny, tiny, TINY bits of movement.

When I build my “Five Minute Movements.” I wasn’t trying to make a fully optimized workout, I just wanted to help you get started.

But as it turns out, it does have REAL benefits.

This week in building health 👇

The Real Benefits of “Exercise Snacks”

We believe exercise has to be a long workout in the gym, studio, or on the road.

That’s why it’s always put off.

You’re at your desk, thinking “I should work on my health, but who has time for a full gym hour?"

That’s why the "Exercise Snack” concept was developed.

What is an “Exercise Snack?”

These are short, intense exercise bouts that last less than a minute, that you sprinkle throughout your day.

How Exercise Snacks Boost Your Mental Fitness

For me, the main benefit of Exercise Snacks is how it helps your mindset.

• It beats perfectionism.

• You let go of being all or nothing.

• You can do something small and still benefit.

It helps build momentum and it's easier to keep going once you start moving. You're not stuck.

You did something good for yourself, even if it was just for a minute.

What are the Measured Benefits of Exercise Snacks?

I thought it was all about mindset.

Because it’s hard to believe you can get real results with just a minute here, two minutes there.

But I was happy to be proved wrong.

Study after study after study shows:

There are measurable benefits to doing tiny exercises throughout the day.

Here are just a few from the research:

• Exercise snacks significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic health in all populations.

• It is especially beneficial for older and immunocompromised populations.

• 'Exercise snacks' may offer a viable and effective way to improve health outcomes for cancer patients.

Why You Should Stop Telling Yourself “It’s too Small to Matter”

It's easy to think small actions don't matter.

We believe we need long, intense workouts to see real benefits. This all-or-nothing mentality is counterproductive and can lead to inaction.

Embracing exercise snacks can help you break free from this belief and make progress, one minute at a time.

Remember, consistency is key, and every bit counts.W

→ Read more on this here

My favorite health things for the week

// one

Exercise Snacks are Especially Effective Around Meal Time

60 Seconds | Rhonda Patrick

Wondering when to do your Exercise Snacks?

Try right before eating.

There’s some evidence that it can help with regulating your blood sugar.

→ Read more on this here

// two

An 'Exercise Snack' Plan

4 minutes | Howard Hartley

Here’s a quick article that offers suggestions.

Things like:

• Pacing in your office while you're on the phone,

• taking the stairs instead of the elevator,

• trekking up the stairs at home during a TV commercial break.

• Or break up the day with two-minute walks—for example, to the mailbox, or in a loop around your office corridor.

The target is to hit about 100 calories a day this way.

→ Read More About it Here

// three

What’s the Difference Between HIIT and Tabata?

8 minutes | Ashley Boyer

This is a question I get asked often.

There are a lot of “quick and efficient” workouts that you can do. And they all give you good bang for buck.

The TLDR is that:

• A HIIT workout alternates short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods, typically conducted in varied cycles for a duration of about 20 to 30 minutes.

• And Tabata workout is a workout consisting of eight rounds of 20 seconds of work at maximum effort, followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is a total of 4 minutes.

They both have similar goals, but the aim of Tabata is to be super quick and efficient.

→ Read More About it Here

Until next time

Thanks as usual for reading!

Exercise snacks are on my mind because taking care of our baby girl has become busier and busier.

Thankfully, 5 minutes is enough for me to keep going.

Have a Healthy Weekend