For those who celebrate, I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season and winding down for some R&R. Hopefully, you are enjoying some family time and treats. With a new year right around the corner, I wanted to take a couple of minutes today to discuss one of my favorite topics: snacking.
But not the kind of snacking you’re expecting.
Exercise snacking.
There’s a growing body of research that intermittent, short bouts of exercise throughout the day can result in surprising improvements in your overall fitness and cardiovascular health. In fact, according to a study published this year in the Journal of Applied Physiology, performing a 2-minute walk — or a quick set of exercises such as squats — can offset the effects of a half-hour of sitting.
That’s huge!
The first big study on the benefits of “exercise snacking” was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in 2017. The research showed that otherwise sedentary women who climbed stairs for just 20 seconds at a time, with rest, boosted their fitness levels by 12% in six weeks.
What can we learn from this?
Of course, it’s ideal to follow a complete, well-designed training program with your coach a few times a week, all in one shot. But what if life gets in the way and you can’t do “ideal” today? You can still get some amazing benefits from doing a few short bouts of squats, lunges, push-ups, or sit-ups whenever you have a couple of minutes throughout the day. —
OR
We have a library of time-saving, no excuse workouts designed for just this reason — 4- minute rounds that you can repeat to fit your schedule. Check out this one (be sure to Subscribe for our new ones)
Some people are still in the “I need an hour at the gym” mentality and that’s ok for them. But when they see what great shape you’re getting in, chances are they’ll want to join you. So don’t take the all-or-nothing approach. Start snacking on exercise and enjoy all the benefits.
